“If war is a choice, peace can be too” — A Side Event on Young Leaders’ Contribution to Peace and Security

Organized by Rondine with the Permanent Missions of Italy, Costa Rica and Monaco to the United Nations with the support of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)

In the fifth iteration of the series, Rondine and its student community reaffirm their commitment to a world free of armed conflict and violent extremism through peace education, workshop trainings on youth leadership for peace, and by promoting the values outlined through the “Leaders for Peace” global campaign in line with the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and UNSC Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security.

Together with the Permanent Missions of Italy, Costa Rica, and Monaco to the UN, with the support of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Rondine’s students reiterate their call to action to the international community to join efforts to promote youth-led initiatives in the areas of peace education and peacebuilding in line with the recent Policy Brief of the UN Secretary General on Meaningful Youth Engagement, which has recognized youth as “positive and constructive social agents who play an essential role in building sustainable peace.

In 2023, Rondine signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) to develop collaborations on their mutual interests in peace education and intercultural and interreligious dialogue. UNAOC’s activities are fashioned around the five pillars of Education, Youth, Migration, Media, and Women as peace mediators in identity-based settings. Through its youth programming, UNAOC recognizes and empowers young pe ople as essential partners in fostering mutual understanding and building sustainable peace.

The event will also set the stage for the launch of the campaign’s main output, the “Global Leaders School” project, which is slated to start in 2024. Moreover, it will serve as an occasion to announce the extension of the campaign until 2030, aiming to transform “Leaders for Peace” into a permanent instrument of peace advocacy for young people from all over the world, with a view to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 2030, and more specifically the advancement of SDG16 on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.