Nii Martey M. Botchway
Accra, Jan 29, GNA – The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) has organized a Learning Design, and Development (LDD), Workshop on Youth in Peacebuilding.
The two-day event which seeks to strengthen youth leadership skills and promote their active participation in peacebuilding efforts, brought together experts to finalise a training manual designed to equip these leaders with essential skills in peace and security.
The training manual which covers areas such as leadership and ethics, advocacy and activism, peacebuilding principles, project management, communication for leadership, negotiation and mediation, emerging security threats, and resource management, is expected to empower young Africans to become effective peacebuilders.
Giving an overview of the workshop, Joana Osei-Tutu, the acting Deputy Director of Women, Youth, Peace and Security Institute (WYPSI), at the KAIPTC, said the LDD workshop was a crucial step in creating a curriculum that effectively tackles the challenges of young people.
She said, the training manual which will provide program models for key areas such as leadership and ethics, advocacy and activism, peacebuilding principles, project management, and resource management, highlights the importance of the manual’s development within the broader YPS Programme.
“The development of the training manual reflects a commitment to enhancing youth leadership capacities,” she said.
Ms. Osei-Tutu said she was optimistic that the workshop would provide expertise and resources that would meet the needs and aspirations of young African leaders.
Ms. Fatuma Muhumed, a Programme Specialist at the UNFPA’s West and Central Africa Regional Office responsible for Youth, Peace, and Security, underscored the importance of the manual, stating that it recognised the existing capacity gaps among young people.
She expressed hope that based on the works of the KAIPTC and its partners in East and West Africa, in scaling up capacity-building efforts, the workshop would provide valuable insights for the development of a manual that empowers young people to become active promoters of peace and security in Africa.
Organized with support from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the workshop brought together participants and representatives from various organisations, including the UNFPA Africa Regional Office, the Commonwealth Students Council, the All-Africa Students Union, the International Peace Support Training Centre (ISPSTC) of Kenya, the National Youth Authority (NYA), and civil society groups working on youth, peace, and security across Africa.
GNA