YPS-global programme 2021-2023

O1.A1- Strengthening of youth capacities: Completed between March 2022 and February 2023. Young members of a total of 65 organizations in Buenaventura (38) and Santander de Quilichao (27) strengthened their capacities, competencies and skills to exercise their right to participate through advocacy and political dialogue with institutional and community actors. In addition, a five-booklet contextually adapted Toolkit was developed to assist the organizations beyond the scope of the project. To better understand the capacity gaps, an initial stakeholder mapping and capacity assessment was conducted, during which it for instance emerged that there were differences in young womens participation in decision-making. In Buenaventura only 24% women lead projects, while 89% women in Santander de Quilichao are in leadership positions. To ensure conflict sensitive programming, organizations also discussed possible risks and potential conflicts that may occur during the implementation of the project, such as pressure from armed groups to recruit young people, the lack of State presence and threats of direct violence towards young women and men. Challenges in terms of weather conditions and long distance travel for participants led to modifications in planning capacity-building sessions, such as including transportation subsidies and conducting workshops on weekends. Participation in the sessions was a prerequisite for the call for proposals to subgrants. The YPS agenda was new to both territories and contextualized in order to best apply to the realities faced by young women and men in the two municipalities. Apart from capacity-strengthening sessions on organizational management, topics among others covered ethnic and racial memory, local peacebuilding, social innovation, and the negative impact illicit crops and trafficking have on youth. The sessions provided a safe space for dialogue and innovative methods, such as the use of music and storytelling, and created opportunities to discuss sensitive topics, such as GBV. O1.A2- Institutional strengthening: The institutional strengthening of 17 public servants of the Mayors Offices and 22 Local Youth Councelors in Buenaventura and Santander de Quilichao, was conducted between May 2022 and May 2023, with the aim to promote youth advocacy and participation in decision-making spaces. In addition, institutional Toolkits were developed to ensure best practice and sustainability beyond the scope of the project when public servants rotate. To strengthen implementation further, a document showing the alignment between the YPS agenda and the National Development Plan was produced. The relationship between grassroots organizations and the Youth Platform within the local institutions of Buenaventura and Santander de Quilichao vary. While the relationship is more direct and fluid in Santander de Quilichao, Buenaventura experienced challenges in terms of lacking trust, partly due to the lack of institutional knowledge of the legal framework in place to support actions and interventions from the youth organizations and young leaders. However, despite these challenges, representatives from the District Mayors Office in Buenaventura participated in the exchange fairs described below. O1.A3- Consolidation of the regional youth alliance: The activity included both the establishment of a platform for a regional multi-stakeholder alliance, and the creation of spaces for exchange. UNFPA was in charge of the technological, creative and content design of the platform through the selected company Barbuda, while UNFP was in charge of ensuring local and regional stakeholder involvement in the alliance, by selecting the local youth organization REDEJOCA to be responsible for the local level implementation of the platform. To ensure greatest impact, an initial assessment was done through interviews that identified expectations and aimed at overcoming existing barriers for youth involvement. The platform gathers an inter-municipal youth network on topics such as gender and youth participation in peacebuilding, while also providing space for the youth organizations who participated in the project to showcase their initiatives and share lessons learned. Two exchange fairs were held in Buenaventura and Santander de Quilichao respectively in November 2022 and a joint fair was held in June 2023. Apart from showcasing their work, the fairs created alliances that will last beyond the scope of this project. Approximately 100 people took part in the two local exchange fairs with representatives from the District and Municipal Mayors Offices. The second exchange fair gathered 122 participants from both Buenaventura and Santander de Quilichao in Cali, and provided a space to show, implement, strengthen and enhance youth initiatives and the YPS agenda. Apart from the participating youth organizations and representatives from the two Mayors Offices, external attendees included the Buenaventura ombudsmans office, the National Network Cómo Vamos, Fundación Paz y Reconciliación, Colombias Presidential Councelor for Youth, Generación V from the Truth Commission, private stakeholders and international cooperation agencies, such as UNICEF, ILO and regional and headquarters representatives from UNFPA and UNDP. A set of recommendations were provided during the second exchange fair (full report in Spanish shared with Sida) and initiatives taken to organise a regional YPS event in Colombia in November 2023 to establish a Youth, Peace and Security Agenda from a Latin American perspective. O1.A4- Implementation of youth social innovation initiatives: Organizations that had undergone the above mentioned capacity-building programmes (O1.A1) were invited to submit applications to a call for proposals. Two different modalities were used for grassroots social organizations that implement local initiatives (micro level) and youth platforms or organizations that are associated with more organizations working at a macro level, based on UNFPA and UNDPs different grant support modalities. Through the BrightIdea platform, ToRs were published, 26 initiatives selected, monitored and evaluated and support provided to applicants, thus ensuring a transparent selection process. Details on the 26 initiatives implemented between November 2022 and May 2023 (UNFPA) and February and July 2023 (UNDP) have been shared with Sida. Initiatives contributed to local peacebuilding and intergenerational dialogue and included activities in support of conflict prevention, protection and transformation, addressing gender violence, local peacebuilding, meaningful youth participation in decision-making, risk management, poverty reduction and climate change mitigation. O2.A1- Differential risk assessment: A differential risk analysis was carried out on risks associated with young peoples leadership roles in peacebuilding, coexistence and non-violence in their territories. Once the analysis was in place, relevant risk mitigating measures were collected through two reports for each municipality. With a lack of state presence in the two municipalities, communities have had to develop community self-protection mechanisms to cope with local challenges. The assessment was conducted as a desk-review which then was discussed during sessions with youth organizations and Local Youth Councelors. The differential Risk Mitigation Study was presented by REDEJOCA during the exchange fair and launch of the Multi-stakeholder Alliance with the objective to empower communities by informing them on self-protection mechanisms and attention routes in situations that threaten their well-being. O2.A2- Young people, youth networks and organizations strengthen their knowledge of the promotion, prevention, risk management and enforceability of human rights, specifically for the prevention of rights violations, gender-based violence (GBV) and promotion of creative conflict resolution: This activity was implemented through strengthening sessions for young people, youth networks and organizations. In addition, the UNDP Human Rights Office team and an expert in prevention and protection from the Colombian Ministry of the Interior led a workshop on the prevention and protection pillars of the YPS Agenda during the exchange fair in Cali. From the community strengthening plan, to the implementation of training packages for grant winning organizations, these sessions aimed at strengthening participants knowledge on risk identification and prevention, the YPS Agenda, a gendered-based approach, prevention of gender-based violence, social innovation and human rights. O2.A3- Governmental and non-governmental actors are trained in risk management, promotion and protection of human rights, with emphasis on the rights of adolescent girls and young women, and the prevention of GBV: This was conducted through working sessions and through a communications and visibility strategy during the projects implementation. Regional Intergenerational Meeting to advance the implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean The meeting took place in Bogotá on 27th 28th November 2023 together with the Government of Colombia and was attended by around 80 participants including 60 young peacebuilders from Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela. National and regional representatives of UN Agencies and Programmes also attended. The YPS Agenda was conceived as a valuable instrument to guarantee rights, with an emphasis on the prevention and protection of young people. It assists in recognizing young people as agents of change, capable of leading transformation and generating solutions regarding decent work, mental health, transformative education, a healthy environment, the fight against gender-based violence, human rights and the inclusion of intercultural approaches and meaningful participation. Several actions were set for 2024, including several subregional meetings and the construction of a regional and subregional roadmap with a regional practice manual and platform for the dissemination of the Agenda at the regional level.

The project aims to advance the implementation of Peace agreements with Youth, Peace and Security. The specific outcome is to contribute to the inclusion and meaningful engagement of youth in the construction and consolidation of sustainable peace in Colombia. To this end, fifty youth organizations/networks/collectives in the municipalities of Santander de Quilichao and Buenaventura are positioned as positive agents at territorial level and meaningfully engaged in the promotion of peace and development. Territorial mechanisms will be strengthened to promote inclusive participation, with a dedicated gender focus, of youth leadership and organizations through local decision-making spaces.The aim is that fifty youth organizations will be equipped to enforce their rights, transform conflicts and manage risks in contexts of peacebuilding and development. With the YPS-programming handbook, this will be achieved through seven actions covering assessment of actors, capacities, needs and priorities relating to participation and risk to protection/prevention; training and capacity building for a more inclusive and innovative local participation of youth; and transformational actions led by young people that contribute to peace, development and coexistence in their territories.