Guest at the Society & Defence Podcast: The Role of Young People in Peace & Security

This text is translated to English and was originally published here.

More than half of the world's population today is under the age of 30 and today's young generation is the largest ever. In countries affected by conflict and armed violence, a majority of the population is young and young people are one of the groups in society most affected by armed conflict - who are driven into exile or deprived of opportunities for education and security. In security policy contexts, young people have often been highlighted as a problem that must be solved. Many are attracted to pro-violence environments and join extremist and pro-violence organizations, while young people have for a long time been a transformative movement through grassroots popular movements and through protests and demonstrations around the world.

A clear recognition of the often forgotten age group of young adults, 18–29 years, was when the UN Security Council in 2015 adopted Resolution 2250 on youth, peace and security. The resolution is the first of its kind and emphasizes the importance of young people's participation and inclusion in building peace and security - a group that is usually excluded from political decision-making. This year, the resolution celebrates five years and together with the closely related resolution 1325, women, peace and security, which this year celebrates 20 years, the door to more inclusive peace processes has been opened.

Sweden is at the forefront of young people, peace and security. Despite this, youth movements and organizations, both in Sweden and internationally, believe that the implementation of Resolution 2250 is not enough and that more work is required. No national action plans to implement the agenda have yet been developed, but several countries, including Finland, are currently working on an action plan to include young people's perspectives on peace and security, linked to young people's participation in public debate and decision - making.

Conflict, crime and violence, as well as social and economic exclusion can affect young Swedes in a variety of ways, just as much as armed conflicts can affect young people in conflict-affected areas. In the Swedish debate, young people's participation and inclusion in society is often highlighted in connection with discussions about how Sweden can fight extremism and reduce the risk of young people being attracted to violent environments, however, the connection to young people's positive role as a peacemaker in a peacetime context is rarely mentioned. Sweden.

What can the implementation of youth, peace and security agenda mean for international peace and security? What has the work of including young people in peace and state-building processes looked like in countries such as Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo? Which young people will be included, and how can Swedish politicians and decision-makers work with the agenda, and in what contexts?

These and many more issues will be discussed in this section of the People and Defense podcast. Participating are Emelie Weski, vice president of LSU-Sweden's youth organizations, Julius Kramer who works with young people, peace and security at the Folke Bernadotte Academy, and Aria Nakhaei who is the founder and head of operations for the defense and security policy network Säkerhetsforum Väst.

The podcast is created by Hanna Waerland-Fager and edited by Amandah Andersson.

The jingle is produced by Die Hard Productions.

You listen to the podcast here, or where podcasts are available.