South Sudan
 | Revised: Search for Common Ground’s Global StrategyYoung people can play a crucial role in conflict resolution. Building on the EU’s support to the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda, this practical and concise guide clearly sets out how young people can make a difference to peace mediation processes. It also provides inspiration to the European Parliament’s Young Political Leaders programme, a beacon of the European Parliament’s deep commitment to the YPS agenda. |
| Common Ground Approach: SummaryYoung people can play a crucial role in conflict resolution. Building on the EU’s support to the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda, this practical and concise guide clearly sets out how young people can make a difference to peace mediation processes. It also provides inspiration to the European Parliament’s Young Political Leaders programme, a beacon of the European Parliament’s deep commitment to the YPS agenda. |
 | YOUTH INCLUSIVE GUIDE TO PEACE MEDIATIONYoung people can play a crucial role in conflict resolution. Building on the EU’s support to the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda, this practical and concise guide clearly sets out how young people can make a difference to peace mediation processes. It also provides inspiration to the European Parliament’s Young Political Leaders programme, a beacon of the European Parliament’s deep commitment to the YPS agenda. |
 | YOUTH TALK: YOUTH VOICES FOR CHANGEMali, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic have recently signed peace agreements. However, the negotiations were mainly limited to adult elites. Although they make up the demographic majority, young people in these three countries lack the means to express themselves and participate in the decisions that affect their lives. Yet they have incredible power to build peace, bridge divides and develop solutions. |
 | Youth Talk – Youth Voices for ChangeMali, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic have recently signed peace agreements. However, the negotiations were mainly limited to adult elites. Although they make up the demographic majority, young people in these three countries lack the means to express themselves and participate in the decisions that affect […] |
| Final Evaluation – Youth Talk – July 2022Search implemented “Youth Talk – Empowering Young People through Media” in Central African Republic, Mali, and South Sudan between 2019 and 2022, with support from the Bezos Family Foundation. The project aimed to empower youth in the three conflict-affected countries and give them opportunities to raise issues, address topics of interests, etc. through producing radio programs. It had three interconnected objectives: 1) To amplify the voice and agency of young people around each country’s critical social and political issues related to building lasting peace; 2) To strengthen mutual understanding and collaboration between youth and older adults; and to 3) To capture and share learning and tools with donors, policy makers, and practitioners. The project successfully empowered hard to reach youth by providing them with a range of transferable skills that they have been able to use both within and beyond the project. It leveraged the power of media to amplify their voices: 90% of surveyed community members found that the radio programs produced by the young journalists as part of the project bring an added value on critical social and political issues, a significant improvement from the baseline. “”Youth Talk”” also strengthened mutual understanding and collaboration between youth and older adults, including decision-makers, and had a positive impact on the wider communities’ perceptions of the validity of young journalists’ and youth’ perspectives. In terms of sustainability, in addition to attitudinal and behavioral change brought about by the program among both youth participants and adults, the final evaluation identified several initiatives beyond the scope of the project, started by youth journalists in Mali and by |
| Youth As Mediators: A GuideThis Guide for “Youth As Mediators” was commissioned by Search for Common Ground (Search) in the framework of the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) 21-month funded project “Strengthening Young Women’s Participation in Local and National Peace Processes in South Sudan.” Being prepared for mediation is extremely important at all three levels of the “We Are Here” framework. If a mediator is not adequately prepared, there is a risk that the violent conflict could escalate or continue with no agreement being reached. In particular, it is important to understand the different actors in a given conflict, the issues which are at stake (both obvious and hidden) and key dynamics. This will help a mediator to be prepared for issues that come up during a dialogue process. Key skills important for mediation covered in this guide include: problem-solving, impartiality, active listening, patience, teamwork and effective communication. |