National workshop to build the capacity of young people to participate in the promotion of peace in Mali

The Sahel has one of the youngest populations in the world. This demographic advantage offers enormous opportunities for innovation, economic growth and development. And with the resurgence of multidimensional crises, these young people can be the driving force behind initiatives to bring stability to the region. At the heart of the Sahel, Mali has been experiencing profound instability and insecurity since March 2012, as evidenced by the massive displacement of populations, the destruction of State symbols, the sine die stoppage of all economic activity in areas affected by armed conflict, intra- and inter-community conflicts, and so on. In this turbulent nebula, young people are the most exposed in economic, social and security terms.

In this context, the State of Mali, which is committed to securing its territory and restoring peace and national reconciliation, needs all of its active forces, including young people. This category, which makes up the vast majority of the population, represents a real force for proposing solutions to Mali's major challenges, particularly in terms of promoting peace and democratic governance in these multidimensional crisis situations.

The appropriation of peace by young people is a guarantee of its sustainability, because young people are the main actors in peace. Mali is therefore part of an integrated vision of international organisations (UN, African Union) concerning the place and role of young people in the peace process, based on a rich normative framework such as Resolution 2250 of the United Nations Security Council on youth, peace and security, the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which expressly recognises youth as an important partner in strengthening solidarity and cohesion between ‘our peoples’, and Article 17 of the African Youth Charter, which emphasises the role of youth in promoting peace and security in Africa. With this in mind, the AU Peace and Security Department initiated and implemented the Africa Youth for Peace Programme in 2018, with the main aim of involving African youth in peace and security issues.

Despite these numerous regional and international mechanisms on the participation of young people in peace efforts, it has to be said that this not insignificant category of actors is often relegated to the background in political, economic, social and security decision-making in order to ensure stability and lasting peace.

On 20 September 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted a new document called the Future Pact, which devotes an essential place to young people through its Axes II, III and IV, and which reinforces Resolution 2250, in order to draw humanity's attention to the key roles of young people in the fundamental issues affecting humanity.

In view of the above, since 2022 FES PSCC has initiated the Youth Committed to Stability in the Sahel Programme to give young people a greater role and a better contribution to peace and stability in this region. With this in mind, the members of the programme resident in Mali, with the support of the FES PSCC office, have organised this workshop on the theme of ‘Peace and reconciliation in Mali : what responsibility do young people have in the process ?’ to involve Malian youth in the peace and reconciliation process in Mali and to enable them to play an active role in defining future strategies.

The workshop was led and facilitated by experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Youth and Sport and specialists such as Baba DOKONO, Executive Secretary of the Observatoire Citoyen sur la Gouvernance et la Sécurité du Mali, Hamed Salif CAMARA, Director General of the Centre national de la promotion du volontariat, Hawa BANE, Director of Research and Innovation at the Tuwindi Foundation, and Attaher MAÏGA, Deputy Director of the Centre d'Analyse et de Recherche de l'Espace Sahelo-Saharien. This activity was an opportunity to strengthen the capacities of young people, to analyse and identify the challenges to their optimal participation in peace and security initiatives ; and to propose courses of action or gateways for better involvement and integration of young people at all levels in peace processes in Mali.

The workshop began with training sessions to build the capacity of young people, followed by practical work. Several topics were addressed by specialists and experts to equip young people with the knowledge and expertise they need to play an effective role in promoting peace and social cohesion in Mali :

• An overview of the security crisis in the Sahel and Mali : its origins, issues and impact on young people.
• Appropriation of regional and international mechanisms, in particular the UN Pact for the Future on the place and role of young people in issues of peace and security ?
• Citizen watch mechanisms: how can young Malians take ownership of them to optimise their participation in decision-making?
• Access to new information and communication technologies : what opportunities are there for young people in Mali to play an active role in peace education ?
• Peace and reconciliation in Mali : what contribution can Malian youth make ?

The discussions, exchanges and sharing of experiences highlighted the impact of the crisis on young people in terms of training, employment and the existential threat to future generations. In view of these impacts, the involvement of young people as agents of resolution was highlighted.

Discussions also covered issues relating to : the low level of schooling among young people, the conflict in the centre of the country, the ECOWAS standby force, relations between the Alliance of Sahel States and ECOWAS, the role of young people in the process of signing local agreements with armed groups, and the role of Algeria and Mauritania in stabilising Mali. The participants agreed to form a pool of young actors for peace. They hope to consolidate the pool by strengthening their capacity in politics, conflict prevention and community mediation in order to become ambassadors for peace. They undertook to change perceptions about young people by making them a solution rather than a problem, with the support of the authorities and internal and external partners.

At the end of the group work, a number of concrete actions were proposed that young people are ready to carry out as a contribution to the promotion of sustainable peace, social cohesion and development in Mali.

• Create a synergy of actions by associations and other youth groups in favour of peace.
• To create a framework for exchanges between local authorities and all sections of society on the peace process.
• Contribute to the dissemination of the PNEV national value education programme and organise intra- and inter-community meetings in the north and centre regions.
• Create Research Action Groups for Peace in each locality (through youth structures : associations, village youth, etc.) to promote peace and social cohesion by researching conflict dynamics and resilience factors.
• Set up a digital academic observatory to enable young people to acquire skills that will enhance their employability.
• Create a synergy of action between associations and other youth groups to carry out joint projects in favour of sustainable development.
• Carrying out climate change resilience activities, such as raising awareness of the need to convert from brown jobs to green jobs.

To achieve this, the young people recommended, among other things :

• Support and facilitation by the authorities in the implementation of actions that young people want to take as part of the promotion of peace and social cohesion for sustainable development in Mali.
• Ask the authorities to take initiatives aimed at strengthening collaboration between the defence and security forces and young people.
• More forums for young people to discuss their responsibility in the peace and reconciliation process and their participation in sustainable development;
• Popularisation of national policies concerning young people and their involvement in the life of the nation.
• Publicising regional and international instruments on the involvement of young people in peace and stability processes, and implementing the provisions of these instruments.
• Support for initiatives by youth organisations to promote peace, social cohesion and integration in the Sahel countries.
• Integrate the culture of peace and living together into school curricula at all levels in Mali.
• Draw up an annual roadmap for youth organisations working to promote peace and stability, with a view to taking concrete, coordinated action to promote peace, social cohesion and sustainable development.
• Undertake actions to support young leaders in mediating in the resolution of local conflicts.
• Promote a return to traditional Malian values.
• Develop and encourage initiatives to create green or ecological businesses.