Two Days on Peace, Democracy, and Youth

On January 22 and 23, the Learning Planet Institute, with the support of UNESCO and the United Nations University, brought together leading international figures, researchers, practitioners, and young leaders—including our two Fellows, Olena Yurkovska and Mayada Adil—for two inspiring days of exchanges and co-creation on peace and democracy.

Below, Olena shares her impressions of the workshops in which she actively participated.

"Empowering Youth for Peaceful & Democratic Futures" was a research workshop at the intersection of three themes: peace, democracy, and artificial intelligence. It was an attempt to understand how new technologies can either strengthen democratic processes or threaten them, and what role the younger generation plays in this. Together with Global Youth Mobilization and YMCA, we discussed current trends in philanthropy, the challenges now emerging in global politics that affect these organisations, and how associations can enhance their work through AI.
The presence of figures such as Felipe Paullier (UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth), Stefania Giannini (UNESCO) added weight to the issues being raised. It truly felt like a space where real policy approaches are being shaped.

The following day, the central theme was the UN Youth Compass which is the UN's flagship initiative aimed at turning youth participation in decision-making from declaration into reality. The hybrid format brought together youth leaders, institutional representatives, civil society, and UN entities. The main question under discussion was how to bridge the gap between institutional mechanisms and the expectations of a new generation.

The panel "Building a Fairer and More Inclusive World" with Prof. Hilary Cremin (Cambridge), Heloise Heyer (PeaceNexus), and Ilgın Paslı-Brombach (Youth Peace Ambassadors Network) offered diverse perspectives. The interactive workshop "Peaceful Futures Lab" provided an opportunity to collectively model pathways toward a peaceful future.
These two days reminded me that peace and democracy are processes requiring active participation and that youth already have the tools to make an impact. The question is only how to use them.