Dreaming big — The journey of the Peace Fellowship project
At the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, we love to dream big. We envision a peaceful, nonviolent world where human rights and dignity are upheld for all. This ambitious vision was shared by one of our members, Keti, who dreamt of providing young people across Europe with the same support in peace and human rights education that she had received through the YPAN journey.
When Keti shared her dream with other YPAN members, the dream spread though a partnership led by the German organization Peace Up, and followed by YPAN France and YPAN Turkey, STAD Turkey, Sende Spain, Peace Ambassadors Poland, Center for Euroinitiatives Ukraine, and Local Peace Kosovo. This coalition brought to life the biggest project in YPAN’s history: the Peace Fellowship.
Training courses
The Peace Fellowship project began with a training course, “Transforming Conflicts — Building Communities,” held from March 26 to April 2, 2023, in Falkensee, Germany. This training focused intensely on conflict transformation. Participants explored peace, non-violence, and various forms of violence, while also delving into conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and human rights. They connected human rights education with non-violent conflict transformation and collaboratively developed a competency framework for peace education. Through community and conflict mapping exercises, they gained insights into local impacts and shared their perspectives on violence and conflict. The training strengthened their skills in non-violent communication, active listening, and empathy, preparing them for future local initiatives.
The journey continued with the second training, “Peace Advocacy,” held from November 9–16, 2023, in Teremiski, Poland. This training aimed to empower young people in peacebuilding by equipping them with crucial advocacy skills. Participants delved into peace advocacy, peacebuilding, and human rights, learning from inspiring examples that could be adapted for local actions. Revisiting the competency framework for peace education, they engaged in mapping exercises and planned at least one local activity in each partner country. The training also included the development of joint advocacy campaigns within the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, enhancing their ability to stand against human rights violations and advocate for peace both online and offline.
E-Learning — expanding horizons
Throughout the project, Fellows had access to a series of online modules on the YPAN Academy platform. These modules covered a wide range of topics, including basic human rights and peacebuilding concepts, tools for peacebuilding, values of peace education, grassroots peacebuilding, mapping local realities, project management, monitoring and evaluation for youth initiatives, fundraising, Erasmus+, facilitation tips, and self-care for activists. The e-learning component provided both theoretical and practical tasks that Fellows could complete individually or in small groups, with opportunities for discussion in forums, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of peacebuilding principles.
Human rights mapping — Identifying local issues
YPAN Fellows, with support from each partner, conducted a human rights mapping exercise to identify pressing issues in their local communities. The results, presented during the second training in Poland, helped develop action plans for local initiatives. These issues included the devaluation of young people’s contributions in Ukraine, refugee pushbacks and LGBTQ+ discrimination in Poland, migrant workers’ rights and human trafficking in Spain, minority rights violations and ethnic tensions in Kosovo, discrimination against marginalized groups in France, xenophobia and restricted freedom of expression in Germany, and normalization of violence and discrimination of minorities in Türkiye.
Local Activities — Implementing change
To prepare for local actions, Fellows participated in three workshops in each country, totaling 21 workshops. These workshops deepened their understanding of issues relevant to their communities, providing an opportunity to learn about existing tools and best practices. The workshops facilitated networking and cooperation among Fellows, experts, and stakeholders, creating a supportive environment for impactful local actions.
The local actions within the Peace Fellowship were designed to apply the skills and knowledge gained during the project to the Fellows’ specific community contexts. Participants established local networks to support their peacebuilding efforts, with each partner organization providing local support to ensure a broader impact. Fellows developed action plans for awareness-raising activities, advocacy campaigns, and educational initiatives, working closely with community members and local stakeholders to foster a culture of peace.
The Toolkit — A resource for peace education
One of the most significant outcomes of the Peace Fellowship project is the creation of the first toolkit within YPAN. The Toolkit of Peace Fellowship is a comprehensive resource designed to help train young people and youth workers in human rights and peacebuilding. It offers detailed guidance to promote educational practices that foster peace and is adaptable for both formal and non-formal educational settings. By piloting the toolkit in each partner country and translating parts into Albanian, French, German, Serbian, Spanish, Polish, Turkish, and Ukrainian, we aim to raise the standards for Culture of Peace and Human Rights protection initiatives. This toolkit is also designed for continuous development, ensuring a lasting impact on youth work and education. And you can find it here.
The Competence Framework — building skills for peace
Another significant contribution is the Competence Framework for Peacebuilders, part of the toolkit. This framework outlines the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for effective peacebuilding. Contributions from Peace Fellows helped define the framework, ensuring it meets the needs of those involved in peace education. Inspired by the expertise of the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, which has been active in peace education since 2012, the framework provides a solid foundation for developing competent peacebuilders.
As we finalize this project, we look back on an incredible journey. We are grateful to Keti for starting this dream and to all our partners, Fellows, participants, and the Erasmus+ National Agency of Germany for supporting this vision. The Peace Fellowship project has achieved remarkable milestones: 33 peace fellows, 2 training courses, 8 online learning modules, 21 local workshops involving over 120 people, 8 local actions with more than 160 participants, 7 dissemination events attended by over 140 participants, and a widely used competency framework and toolkit for youth workers, activists and educators.
Finally, our journey doesn’t end here. We continue to dream big, empowering more people to become peacebuilders and advocates for human rights. Together, we can create a peaceful, nonviolent world where human rights and dignity are respected for all.
PEACE FELLOWSHIP is a project financed by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme and implemented by Peace Up! in cooperation with the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network.
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