ACCORD attended a dialogue with policymakers, youth practitioners, think tanks and do-tanks to chart a path for bridging the research, policy, and practice gap. The dialogue, which took place from 3 – 5 May 2023, in Nairobi, was organised by the Youth for Peace (Y4P) Africa Program of the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the African Union Commission. The dialogue was convened in collaboration with African Leadership Center, Social Science Research Council – African Peacebuilding Network; Open Society Foundation; and Save the Children.
The dialogue provided the platform for conversations between youth, peace and security (YPS) practitioners, policymakers and the research community. Youth practitioners shared the work that they were doing, and in discussion with researchers and policymakers, research topics were developed in preparation to produce new bodies of knowledge on YPS that reflect the continental agenda on YPS. The research organisations in attendance pledged to work with youth practitioners to produce a book that will document youth contributions to peacebuilding. The youth practitioners further expressed interest in writing articles for ACCORD’s Conflict and Resilience Monitor.
The dialogue was a means of sharing knowledge and exploring strategies to advance the continent’s YPS agenda through knowledge production, exchange and dissemination. The dialogue was aligned to ACCORD’s strategic efforts to enhance the role of youth to prevent, mitigate and resolve conflicts, as well as the strategic objective of contributing evidence-based analysis, policy support and knowledge to respond to complex conflicts.
