Wilton Park Youth Dialogues: powering the future The Wilton Park Youth Dialogues is a series of events being held throughout 2017 and 2018 with a specific focus on the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The dialogues will bring together young people, government and non-governmental organisations, civil society, academics, educationalists and business leaders, for honest, inclusive conversations about young people and their role in addressing local, regional and global challenges. They will provide a forum to discuss the effectiveness of existing policy approaches and will explore what new approaches are needed in order to co-create a more peaceful and prosperous world. Goals and objectives This series of dialogues will focus on young people, creating a positive and action-oriented debate with emphasis on youth ambitions and opportunities in relation to employment, education, security and peace. It will look at how best to harness the energy and imagination of young people, whilst ensuring that they are equipped with the education, skills and tools that will allow them to become resilient and thriving citizens in a challenging world. Series objectives: Re-frame the youth challenge to reflect new perspectives on employment, agency and citizenship. Produce a number of articles, blogs and content authored by young people themselves, and conclude with a series of recommendations to policymakers. Use the SDG focus on universality ( leave no one behind ) to promote a broader, learning oriented dialogue across regions and countries. Envisage processes for co-creating a new social contract between government and young people. Create a network of young change makers. Explore the role of cultural relations in providing a space in which youth and governments can interact effectively and are able to co-create. In partnership with: In association with: 121017 OM/IA
Explore ways in which formal and non-formal education interventions can develop young people s personal resilience and enable them to create their own positive pathways. Ensure that the diversity of young people is adequately taken into account, including looking at the differing needs of young women and men. Examine the imagination gap between the future that young people imagine for themselves and that imagined for them by policy makers. Provide a model of good practice by designing and delivering the series in partnership with young people. Recommendations will be drawn from the series as to how to approach these issues from multiple perspectives. The recommendations will be widely disseminated among a diverse mix of policy makers, academics, private companies, multi-national organisations, civil society groups and NGOs. In partnership with the British Council, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the WANA Institute, Jordan, and in association with Restless Development, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Institute of Development Studies
Programme Youth as peacemakers Monday 16 - Wednesday 18 October 2017 WP1557 To be held in Jordan Young people make up a third of those affected by conflict. More than 600 million young people live in fragile or conflict affected areas; at least 25 per cent of those affected by the Syria crisis, for example, are aged 10 to 24. In addition, the protracted crises in Syria, Iraq and nearby countries mean that over 4 million youth in the region are at risk and could, in turn, pose a risk to their communities and the wider region. Unable to work and often traumatised, many of these young people may see joining an armed group or leaving their country altogether as the only choices open to them. Yet many young people are not choosing violence to address their grievances and are actively contributing to peacemaking and peacebuilding. This dialogue will examine how their actions can be supported and strengthened. What barriers do these young peacemakers face - and how can they be overcome? What lessons can be taken from the UN Secretary General s Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security and from other relevant initiatives, such as Conclusions of the Council of the European Union on the role of the youth sector in preventing and combating violent radicalisation of young people, or the OSCE s workshops on Youth and the Prevention of Violent Extremism. The conference will also showcase emerging local initiatives to empower young people and support them in their role in peacemaking and peacebuilding. How can such initiatives be scaled up to optimise young people s grassroots efforts, in the face of extremism and radicalisation? And what role can formal and informal education play in developing young people s citizenship, their active participation in their own communities and in wider society? And how can a culture of peace be supported where young people are heard and represented in a new model of governance? This is the second event in the Wilton Park Youth Dialogues: powering the future and takes place in partnership with the British Council, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the WANA Institute, Jordan, and in association with the Institute of Development Studies. Monday 16 October 1200 Participants arrive 1230-1330 Lunch 1330-1430 Welcome and introduction Alison Hilliard Programme Director, Wilton Park Erica Harper Executive Director, The West Asia North Africa Institute (WANA), Amman
Joel Bubbers Director, Jordan and the Levant, British Council, Amman Amanda McLoughlin Head, Department for International Development (DFID) Jordan, Amman 1430-1600 1. Beyond UNSCR 2250: an agenda for youth of the Arab region In 2015, The UN Security Council adopted UNSCR 2250, the first of its kind on youth, peace and security, urging member states to consider ways to give youth a greater voice in decision-making at the local, national, regional and international levels. It also urged member states to consider setting up mechanisms that would enable young people to participate meaningfully in peace processes and dispute resolution. But what does this mean for the Middle East, where the majority of states are either fragile, experiencing conflict or recovering from conflict? Here, young people have specific needs and vulnerabilities and, as a result, their role and opportunities for engagement will differ markedly. How can youth in the Arab region translate the UN principles and guidelines to play substantive and constructive roles as peacemakers in the Arab region? What are the consequences and implications that different levels and stages of conflict have on the notion of youth as peacemakers and how do conflict dynamics impact the roles young people may play? Muzoon Almellehan UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, New York Sultan Barakat Professor and Director, Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies Marc Sommers Research Advisor, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO), US Department of State, Washington DC 1600-1645 Photograph followed by tea/coffee 1645-1830 2. Youth as peacemakers Showcasing some of the initiatives where young people are leading peace-making efforts in the region. What are the challenges and obstacles for young people as peacemakers? Do these differ at the local, national and regional level? Is there a feminist/gender perspective on peacemaking in the region and how can current youth led peacemaking initiatives be supported and scaled up? Farah Mesmar Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Advocacy Adviser, Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, Amman Hunter Keith Country Director, Mercy Corps, Amman Abou El Mahassine Fassi-Fihri Regional Director, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Search for Common Ground (SFCG), Amman 1900 Reception followed by dinner hosted by: Edward Oakden British Ambassador to Jordan, British Embassy, Amman
Tuesday 17 October 0700-0900 Breakfast 0900-1030 3. Active citizenship: beyond a strengthened social contract 1030-1100 Tea/coffee One of the widely accepted lessons from the Arab uprisings was that youth need to be empowered to engage in governance with a view to strengthening or redefining the social contract. However, this overlooks the scale of youth civic engagement and how the pace of technological change and social networking has provided youth with unprecedented opportunities to connect, mobilise and create spheres of influence. Such forms of engagement - in public and online spaces - are powerful and growing, but still largely unexplored. This session challenges the focus on improving formal youth participation in governance - on providing a seat at the table. It will be an opportunity to consider alternative ways for young people to develop their capacity to bring about change. What form of new social contract do Arab youth really want? Do young people want rights of participation, less government or a form of social contract not yet envisioned? What kind of social contract appeals to modern youth and what are the conditions needed to support its evolution? Barik Mhadeen Researcher, Human Security, The West Asia North Africa Institute (WANA), Amman Intissar Kherigi Programmes Director, Jasmine Foundation, Tunis Razan Amoush Research Fellow, Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS), Birmingham 1100-1215 4. Discussion groups Participants break into smaller discussion groups. 1215-1245 5. Feedback from discussion groups 1245-1415 Lunch 1415-1545 6. Citizenship and diversity: religion for the youth generation While the Arab world is predominantly Muslim, it is made up of people of many different faiths and none. Peaceful co-existence with those of other faiths is under pressure, as is the role played by religion. For generations, Islam, for example, served as a galvanising force, connecting the people of an otherwise fragmented and unstable region. For many youth today, Islam remains a highly influential force, both as a religion and as a way of life. However, being a young Muslim now means having to respond to the rise of political Islam, pressure from secularisation movements, manipulation of religious content by extremist groups and associated stereotyping as well as addressing how to co-exist with other diverse ethnic and religious groups. This session will examine how these tensions play out in the lives of youth and how existing pressures might be reconciled to restore religion s role as grounding and uniting force; one that promotes peace and produces young peacemakers.
1545-1615 Tea/coffee Nayla Tabbara Director, Institute of Citizenship and Diversity Management, Adyan Foundation, Beirut Neven Bondokji Senior Researcher, The West Asia North Africa Institute (WANA), Amman Rafiullah Kakar Peace, Conflict and Youth Development Expert, London 1615-1745 7. What can be learned from worldwide initiatives? Young people have been at the fore of violent extremism, either as the target of radicalisation efforts or as the public face of violent groups such as Dayesh. How to prevent young people becoming radicalised is high on government agendas worldwide? So what lessons can be learnt from recent initiatives? The Austrian Chairmanship of the OSCE 2017 initiated a series of regional workshop with young experts on the topic. The panel will discuss findings and recommendations. Alastair King-Smith Head, International Counter-Extremism, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London Reflections from OSCE workshops Moritz Ehrmann Task Force of the Austrian Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Chairmanship, Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Vienna in conversation with: Göktuğ Somnez Researcher, Centre For Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM), Ankara and Fadwa Ahmadi The World Youth Alliance, Tunis 1900 Reception and dinner Wednesday 18 October 0700-0900 Breakfast and checkout 0900-1030 8. Building a culture of peace to promote peaceful change It is impossible to separate the role of youth as peacemakers from the broader effort to promote a culture of peace, equity and social inclusion. Key to that is redefining and rebuilding a sense of Arab civic identity. Current civic identity has many opposing spheres of influence. This session will explore the types of interventions that might support rebuilding that sense of identity, including active support of positive role models, education reform and how to build practical skills for living in and contributing to a cohesive and context-informed society, such as critical thinking, tolerance and constructive debate. What is the role of government to support this and promote peaceful change? How does government need to change, both at local and national levels to make this possible? And what is the role of other actors, including civil society organisations and enterprise?
Elie Samia Assistant Vice President, Outreach and Civic Engagement, Lebanese American University (LAU), Beirut Hande Yalnizoglu DPhil Candidate in History, University of Oxford Sabine Barton Programme Coordinator, Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), London and 1030-1100 Tea/coffee Khadije Nasser Senior Regional Project Manager, Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), Amman 1100-1200 9. Discussion groups: promoting peaceful change 1200-1215 10. Evaluation survey Completion of online evaluation survey 1215-1330 11. Concluding session 1330 Lunch 1430 Participants depart This session will identify core principles and practical approaches that can support young people in their role as peacemakers and peacebuilders and promote peace in the region. The session will include reflections from the Wilton Park Youth Ambassadors. Kate Thomson Policy Lead, Extremism, Youth and Education, Department for International Development (DFID), East Kilbride This is an invitation only conference. This is a preview programme and as such may be subject to change. Enquiries about participation to: Lisa Elvy, Project Manager T: +44 (0)1903 817777 F: +44 (0)1903 879231 E: lisa.elvy@wiltonpark.org.uk Enquiries about the programme to: Alison Hilliard, Programme Director T: +44 (0)1903 817706 E: alison.hilliard@wiltonpark.org.uk Olivia Murphy, Assistant Programme Director T: +44 (0)1903 817706 E: olivia.murphy@wiltonpark.org.uk