This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. ATECHONG ARMELLE AWUNGJIA, a fourth year medical student in the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dschang, Cameroon. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.
Young people’s role in preventing and resolving conflicts, violence and extremism are essential to building sustainable peace. Peacebuilding and development are essential for fostering stable and prosperous societies. In the current global landscape, where conflicts and socio-political tensions are prevalent, the role of youth in promoting peace has become increasingly vital. Despite being often adversely affected by armed conflicts, young people are valuable agents of democratic change and as such should be actively solicited, empowered and engaged as part of building peaceful communities. Youth have the capacity, creativity and willingness to drive positive change within their communities.
Government bodies are supposed to develop and implement peace policies that promote human rights, conflict prevention and resolution, peace building and resilient societies. Create institutions and structures that sustain peaceful societies and social determinant of peace. Also, by signing international documents and treaties that aim to regulate usage, trade, and all other activities related to weapons of mass destruction, conventional weapons and other types of weapons with the overall aim of reducing their usage.
Continue to provide effective support to the UN and its agencies in their mandates towards the protection of the health and wellbeing of civilians during humanitarian emergencies.
NGO’s and the community can also intervene in the peace resolution process by raising awareness among communities, bring out the connection between peace and health in societies create effective intervention to promote peace. Implement programs to educate, raise awareness, and share knowledge of intercultural learning and diversity in all spheres of people’s lives. Foster collaborations to leverage resources and expertise to create effective interventions to promote peace and health in societies, centralising an interdisciplinary approach.
By using help from international peacebuilding organizations and through communication technologies they can consolidate wider public for disarmament and peaceful resolution of violent conflicts. Therefore, school teachers and/or informal education facilitators should develop curricula to inspire young people to engage in peace building and demonstrate their potential in peace processes. Such educational programs may include role plays, participation in international youth networks for peace and/or engagement in ongoing peace initiatives. Youths could engaged in public shows, like utilizing social media and news broadcasting channels, which would have a wide audience. This will give more force to their already existing actions and build a peaceful society where everyone is safe and joyful. This will help youth to acquire leadership skills and experience of resolving conflicts in a peaceful manner.
Finally, it is important to encourage youth with even the simplest rewards, such as certificates, prizes and scholarships. These types of awards are likely to motivate not only recipients of these rewards (by generating greater peace building efforts), but also other young people. Providing awards may encourage their peers to become more active and engaged in peace building.
In conclusion, Youths’ role in peace building is impeccable as they’re the leaders of tomorrow. By working together having as common goal to spread peace to those in need, we can all help to bridge the gap of conflict resolution.
References
1. Hunko et al, strengthening the role of young people in the prevention and resolutionof conflict https://assembly.coe.int/LifeRay/CULT/Pdf/TextesProvisoires/2021/20210412-YoungRoleStrengthening-EN.pdf
2. Ozcelik ., 2021
3. https://hedayah.com/app/uploads/2022/01/5-Module-English_FINAL.pdf
About the author
ATECHONG ARMELLE AWUNGJIA is a fourth year medical student in the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dschang. She is affiliated to CAMEROON MEDICAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION( CAMSA). She is passionate about research and public health. In her free time
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