Why youth should be involved in peace building

Patrick Godi, Irena Grizelj, Eliška Jelínková and Siril Kobbeltvedt Herseth (CMI).

In countries with ongoing peace processes, young people often constitute the majority population. Yet, youth are not necessarily given a seat at the table when peace is being built. What are the risks when young people are excluded? And what are the benefits when their voices are being heard? This webinar will tackle these issues together with youth from South Sudan, United Network of Young Peacebuilders and youth expert Irena Grizelj.  

You can attend onsite in Jekteviksbakken 31 or follow the conversation on Zoom. If you attend on Zoom, we kindly ask you to register here in advance. 

Panelists:

Patrick Godi is an activist and a leader in South Sudan’s vibrant youth movement #ANATABAN. He is also a Steering Committee member of the African Youth Networks Movement - a Pan African network under the patronage of stateswoman Graca Machel. In 2019, he was part of the African Union’s study group on the ‘Roles and Contributions of Youth to Peace and Security in Africa. In December 2018, he joined the South Sudan Peace Committee, a committee that works for peace and dialogue, engaging groups who abstained from signing the 2018 IGAD brokered Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCISS). Godi is associated with a number of initiatives including Mo Ibrahim’s Now Generation Network, Chatham House’s Common Futures Conversations, and the African Union’s Interfaith Dialogue for Preventing Violent Extremism.

Irena Grizelj is a leading expert on youth-inclusive peace and mediation processes. Originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina and based in Myanmar for five years from 2015, Irena has published over a dozen research papers and reports on the youth, peace & security, most recently the first global policy paper on youth-inclusive peace processes, ‘We are Here', commissioned by the United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth. Formerly Head of Programs at Search for Common Ground Myanmar, she led the oversight of a multi-pronged peacebuilding portfolio, including support to Myanmar's peace process and social cohesion in Rakhine state. She holds a Masters in International Relations and Conflict Management from John Hopkins University, and recently completed the Masters in Mediation in Peace Processes with Centre for Security Studies in Switzerland. Irena is currently leading the development of an international five-year strategic framework for youth-inclusive peace processes with UNDPPA, Search for Common Ground, and UNOSGEY. 

Eliška Jelínková is a co-director at the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) and co-chair of the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS). She is a young feminist peacebuilder with expertise on the YPS and Women, Peace and Security agendas. Jelínková focuses on advocacy for the meaningful inclusion of young people in peacebuilding and on gender responsive approaches within the YPS field.

Siril Kobbeltvedt Herseth (moderator) is a PhD candidate at CMI. She currently works on the involvement of China and the US in the peace process in South Sudan. Prior to joining CMI, she worked as an associated political expert at the United Nations Department of Political Affairs at the Office of the Under-Secretary General based in New York. She has also worked as a political affairs officer at the United Nations Office to the African Union, and as a special assistant to the Deputy-Special Representative to the Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the United Nations Mission to South Sudan, based in Juba. She has a Master’s degree in international relations from the Australian National University in Canberra.