The 2nd Edition of the Youth4Peace-FES Social Media Influencers Engagement Initiative launched at the 5th Continental Dialogue on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in Africa

The Dialogue was held from 10 to 12 August 2026 in Burundi under the theme “Water, Peace and Inclusive Leadership in Africa: Institutionalising the strategic role of youth and women in conflict prevention, crisis management and sustainable peacebuilding through responsible resource governance”. The Intergenerational Dialogue gathered around 1,200 delegates  and featured 4 thematic breakout sessions, spotlighting youth-led initiatives aligned with the YPS Agenda. The Youth Creative Consortium (YCC) 2.0 conference, one of the official side events organized by the AU Silencing the Guns Unit under the patronage of Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, positioned African youth as transformative partners in continental stability. The major milestone of the side event was the drafting and adoption of the Bujumbura Declaration.

Key resolutions in the declaration included: moving young people and women from being viewed merely as passive beneficiaries or perpetrators of insecurity to being recognized as decision-makers, strategic leaders, and essential partners, calling on governments and development partners for concrete financial and institutional backing for youth-centric, locally owned peace projects, expanding permanent frameworks that allow continuous conversation between young innovators, civil society, national governments, and regional economic blocs. The second side session, a high-level collaborative session co-hosted by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the Pan-African Youth Union (PAYU, reflected on the two decades since the adoption of the African Youth Charter. 

Delegates evaluated lingering implementation gaps at national levels and mapped out strategies to modernize the Charter to address contemporary challenges like digital governance and climate security. The UNDP and UNOAU side event that focused on “Reframing Water Security within Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture: Youth and Women as Drivers of Inclusive Resilience” concluded with a strong recommendation to explicitly factor water-related risks into the African Union's early-warning and conflict prevention mechanisms. UN Women, the Office of the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security (OSE-WPS), and the Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (FemWise-Africa) also cohosted a landmark multigenerational forum themed “From Promise to Practice: Multigenerational Voices on Peace Negotiations and Access to Justice for all Women and Girls”. 

The session sought to broke down systemic roadblocks hindering young women from occupying formal seats at peace tables. Key strategic directions that came out of the side event were pushing for strict quotas that require peace negotiation delegations and mediation teams deployed by the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to include young women, member states strengthen local accountability networks to safeguard the judicial and land rights of young women, particularly in areas experiencing resource conflict and demanding direct, institutional capacity-building resources for youth-led, women's rights organizations operating at the grassroots level.

The young social media influencers were engaged in these three days of dialogue amplifying youth voices and ensuring that youth-led peace initiatives complement and endure within the continental peace architecture by creating and sharing engaging digital content (posts, stories, reels, tweets, etc.) aligned with the dialogue main theme and with the thematic side events sessions and AU branding.The youth4Peace Social Media Influencers Engagement was created in the year 2026 through the African Union Commission (AUC), through its Political Affairs, Peace and Security Department (PAPS) and the Youth4Peace Africa Program, in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) AU Cooperation Office to leverage the power of digital platforms to amplify youth voices, enhance regional visibility, and promote positive narratives on peace, leadership, and inclusion across the African continent. It aims to create a community of digital advocates who contribute to shaping constructive online discourse and inspire tangible action towards a peaceful and united Africa.

Visit the below links to see some of the works of  the social media influencers YSMI2026-1,YSMI2026-2,YSMI2026-3,YSMI2026-4,YSMI2026-5,YSMI2026-6 , YSMI2026-7 , YSMI2026-8, YSMI2026-9 ; YSMI2026-10 ; YSMI2026-11, YSMI2026-12 ; YSMI2026-13; YSMI2026-14