INTERCULTURAL

LEADERS

• Are you between 18 and 25 years old? ^*
• Are you a citizen of a LAC** country and/or do you currently live in this region?
• Are you interested in taking part in an intercultural learning experience with other young people from LAC and improve your actions to promote peace?
• Are you part of a youth-led organization, network or initiative?
• Do you want to increase your ability to contribute to peace and social inclusion in your community, country and region?
• Are you in the beginning stages of your involvement in this type of work and want to learn more?

If yes, The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) invites your applications for the 7th edition of its Young Peacebuilders programme in Latin America and the Caribbean (2024), aiming to tackle violent extremism by building inclusive societies with understanding and respect among cultural and religious communities.

The 7th edition of the Young Peacebuilders programme in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) 2024 is designed to strengthen the skills of young women and men from the region in tackling stereotypes, prejudice, and xenophobia while providing them with access to regional and global peacebuilding networks and raising the visibility of their innovative and effective peace work in the field. The long-term goal is the integration of young peacebuilders in governmental peace processes/policies.

In order to participate, applicants must commit to completing all phases of the programme, outlined below. Online involvement is part-time, while the workshop is a full-time, one-week experience. Participation in the results-sharing symposium is also mandatory.

During the programme, 20 selected participants will:

• Learn about stereotypes and how to critically analyze them to reduce their prevalence;
• Understand different perspectives in identity-based conflict and gain tools to develop solutions at local, national and regional levels and transform conflicts peacefully;
• Identify push and pull factors creating conditions conducive to violent extremism;
• Develop competencies to use different forms of media or expressive arts as a way to create alternative narratives, reduce polarization and promote social inclusion;
• Learn how to successfully design and run your project.

Programme components:

• Part 1: online phase (+/- 2 months). Participants access the course through an online collaborative platform provided by UNAOC. UNAOC and other trainers facilitate the modules of the curriculum, giving an opportunity to participants to get to know each other prior to their first in-person meeting. They also start getting exposed to tools and concepts, engage in discussion and start reflecting on their peace actions. Time commitment: 4 to 5 hours per week to complete the modules (some work can be completed offline).
• Part 2: face-to-face workshop (+/- 7-8 days). All participants travel to complete the training and experience how peacebuilding is successfully implemented through 1 or 2 local field visits. They also work on the development of their own action plan.
• Part 3: applied learning (+/- 3-4 months). Implementation of a personal peace initiative: participants are guided by UNAOC’s professional trainers and stay connected with other participants while reporting on the implementation of their projects.
• Part 4: results sharing symposium (2-4 days). Participants are invited to travel and participate in a symposium during which they share their experience, lessons learned, achievements and recommendations with a broader audience of practitioners, policymakers, media and the general public. They also engage with this audience on topics related to intercultural dialogue, peace and security.

Tentative timeline and logistics

• October-November 2023: call for applications
• By December 2023: selected participants are notified
• January-February 2024: selected participants take part in introductory online modules (part 1)
• March 2024: participants travel to take part in the face-to-face workshop (part 2)
• April-August 2024: participants commit to conduct peace activities in the three to four months following the workshop (part 3)
• August-September 2024: Results-sharing symposium at a location to be determined

Apply now for a chance to be selected for a fully-funded participation in the 7th edition of the UNAOC Young Peacebuilders programme in the LAC region!