Almost three years ago, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a groundbreaking resolution on Youth, Peace and Security (UNSCR 2250) which recognizes that “young people play an important and positive role in the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security”. This resolution breaks with the old narrative of seeing youth only as perpetrators or victims of conflict, and recognizes their role as leaders and their work for human security in communities.

This event will highlight the valuable role of youth in working for sustainable peace, and will hear the stories and experiences of youth from Libya, Tunisia, Mali and The Netherlands. These young leaders are all involved in various projects as partners of Human Security Collective, focusing on peace and security in their own communities. Apart from the young leaders’ stories and experiences, the event will also hear from the Dutch UN Youth Representatives, who will share their insights on youth, peace and security. In the last year, they have collected stories on security from young people both in the Netherlands as well as from other countries, and their key insights from this will be presented.

The 1st of March 2018 is the day that the Netherlands takes on its role as chair of the UN Security Council and it would, therefore, be an appropriate moment to hold this discussion in The Hague. The aim of the evening is to engage with youth in a debate on what security means to/for them and how the Netherlands and the international community can further provide a boost to the positive role of youth in pursuit of human security in their communities. Speakers will include both policymakers from the Netherlands as well as young leaders from Libya, Tunisia, Mali and the Netherlands.

The evening is co-organized by Human Security Collective and the Dutch UN Youth Representatives.