2024 UNAOC Young Peacebuilders Programme in South Caucasus and Central Asia (Fully Funded)

Application Deadline: July 31, 2024, 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time (New York).

Applications are open for the 2024 UNAOC Young Peacebuilders Programme in South Caucasus and Central Asia. This is a call to youth aged 18-25 from South Caucasus and Central Asia wanting to tackle violent extremism and violence by building inclusive societies with understanding and respect among cultures and religions.

Requirements

• Are you between 18 and 25 years old? ^*
• Are you a citizen of a South Caucasus and Central Asia** (SCCA) country, and/or do you currently live in this region?
• Are you interested in participating in an intercultural learning experience with other young people from SCCA region and improving your actions to promote peace?
• Are you part of a youth-led organization, network or initiative?
• Do you want to increase your ability to contribute to peace and social inclusion in your community, country, and region?
• Are you in the beginning stages of your involvement in this type of work and want to learn more?

* Be 18-25 years of age for the total duration of the project. To be considered eligible, applicants must be born between September 1999 and September 2006.
** Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Eligibility criteria (all requirements must be met in order to be considered eligible):

• Age: Be 18-25 years of age for the total duration of the project. To be considered eligible, applicants must be born between September 1999 and September 2006.
• Region: Be a citizen of AND live in one of the following SCCA region countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
• Organization: Be active (staff, volunteer, etc.) in a non-government and non-for-profit youth-led organization, network, initiative or movement (led by youth for the benefit of youth) and have the ability to consult with and reach a wider group of young people, audience or network, including at the grassroots and community level.
• Commitment: Demonstrate commitment to diversity and pluralism, nonviolence, and peaceful and inclusive societies.
• Language: Command of English is sufficient to participate in the online phase and in-person workshop. The applicant understands English very well; possesses intermediate to fluent levels of English, which allow her/him to participate in the conversation and provide input.
• Prior experience: The applicant has never taken part in a programme of UNAOC (Summer School, Youth Solidarity Fund, Intercultural Innovation Hub, PLURAL+, PeaceApp, Youth Event at the UNAOC Global Forum, Fellowship Program, Young Peacebuilders, #YouthWagingPeace, Sport and PVE youth fora, EDIN, #DigitalGamesforPeace, Sport for One Humanity).
• Passport: In order to be accepted in this programme, selected applicants must hold an international passport valid until at least December 2025. Failure to provide a copy in due time will result in cancellation of participation.
• The application is duly completed, submitted by the deadline and contains all supporting documentation, requested as part of the call. Half-complete applications or applications filled in other languages than English will not be reviewed and considered.

During the programme, 20 selected participants will:

• Learn about stereotypes and how to critically analyze them to reduce their prevalence;
• Understand different perspectives in identity-based conflict and gain tools to develop solutions at local, national, and regional levels and transform conflicts peacefully;
• Identify push and pull factors creating conditions conducive to violent extremism;
• Develop competencies to use different forms of media or expressive arts as a way to create alternative narratives, reduce polarization and promote social inclusion;
• Learn how to successfully design and run your project.

Costs covered by the organizers

All selected youth participants will be provided with:

• Round-trip travel (international or domestic flight, economy class) to the city of the face-to-face workshop and to the city of the symposium;
• Accommodation in the city of the face-to-face workshop and the symposium
• Meals and coffee breaks during the official duration of the workshop and the symposium
• Shuttles or reimbursement of transportation to/from the airport and hotel in the city of the face-to-face workshop and  in the city of the symposium.

Costs covered by the participants

For the workshop and symposium, youth participants will be responsible for their transportation to and from the airport in their country of residence (and embassy in case a visa is needed), as well as any personal and incidental expenses incurred outside of the official portions of the workshop, such as souvenirs, equipment, additional food, etc.

Programme components:

• Part 1: online phase (3-4 months). Participants access the course through an online collaborative platform provided by UNAOC. UNAOC and other trainers facilitate the modules, allowing participants to get to know each other before their first in-person meeting. They start getting exposed to tools and concepts, engage in discussion, and begin reflecting on their future peace actions. Time commitment: 4 to 5 hours per week to complete the modules (some work can be completed offline).
• Part 2: face-to-face workshop (+/- 7-8 days). All participants travel to complete the training and experience how peacebuilding is successfully implemented through a local field visit. They work on the development of their action plan.
• Part 3: applied learning (+/- 3 months). Implementation of a personal peace initiative: participants are guided by UNAOC’s professional trainers and stay connected with other participants while reporting on the implementation of their projects.
• Part 4: results sharing symposium (2-4 days). Participants are invited to travel and participate in a symposium where they share their experiences, lessons learned, achievements, and recommendations with a broader audience of practitioners, policymakers, media, and the general public. In addition, they engage with this audience on topics related to intercultural dialogue, peace, and security.

Timeline:

• May-July 2024: call for applications
• By end of August 2024: selected participants are notified
• September-December 2024: selected participants take part in introductory online modules (part 1)
• February-March 2025: participants travel to take part in the face-to-face workshop (part 2)
• March-June 2025: participants commit to conduct peace activities in the three to four months following the workshop (part 3)
• July 2025: Results-sharing symposium at a location to be determined

More Info: UNAOC Young Peacebuilders Programme