(Day 1) High-Level Global Conference on Youth…

The High-Level Global Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace Process will be held virtually on 19-21 January 2022, co-hosted by the State of Qatar, Governments of Finland and Colombia, and co-organized with civil society and UN partners.

1) Plenary session 4: Emerging Guidance from Implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda at Country-level. 

This session will present conference output 1.2, ''Implementing the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda at Country-level: A Guide for Public Officials". Young people are an integral factor in sustaining peace. The guide provides insights, examples and suggestions to support government actions and shifts in public policy to make this possible. In this session, we will also learn from experiences of YPS implementation in Canada, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jordan, Mexico and Nigeria, followed by a Q&A, and Ministerial remarks.

Moderators: - Ms. Mena Ayazi, Search for Common Ground & U.S. Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security - Leonardo Párraga, CIVICUS Youth, BogotArt, & United Network of Young Peacebuilders

Speakers: - H.E. Mr. Sunday Dare, Federal Minister of Youth and Sports Development at Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development of Nigeria - H.E. Mr. Yved Bunkulu Zola, Minister of Youth and National Cohesion, Democratic Republic of Congo - Ms. Marie-Rose Tshite, National Technical Secretary R2250/RDC, Democratic Republic of Congo - Mr. Guillermo Rafael Santiago Rodríguez, Director General of the Mexican Institute of Youth - Ms. Katrina Leclerc, Canadian Coalition on YPS - Ms. Reham Ahmed Al-Qudah, Jordan Youth Peace and Security 2250 National Coalition - Mr. Mridul Upadhyay, Youth for Peace International & United Network of Young Peacebuilders, India - Ms. Celina Del Felice, Youth, Peace, and Security Expert and Lead Editor, "Implementing the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda at Country-level: A Guide for Public Officials" - conference output 1.2

2) Opening Ceremony of the High-Level Global Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes

Moderator: Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth

Opening Remarks: - H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar (host) - H.E. Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General

Moderated Panel Discussion: - H.E. Pekka Haavisto, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland - H.E. María Juliana Ruiz, First Lady of Colombia - Ms. Anna Maneno, young peacebuilder from South Sudan - Mr. Mohammad Yahya Qanie, young peacebuilder from Afghanistan

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The virtual Global Conference aims: (1) to secure national commitments to advance country-level operationalization of the YPS agenda, and (2) to strengthen political will and commitment towards including youth into peace processes. Interactive and action-oriented discussions will be convened across five themes between High-Level Government representatives, young women and young men peacebuilders, and representatives of intergovernmental organisations, CSOs, academia, and donors.

Expected outputs include a high-level joint statement and guidelines in support of the country-level operationalization of the YPS agenda, and a five-year strategy on strengthening youth-inclusive peace processes.