Over the next four weeks, 180 young Libyans will take part in series of peace workshops organised by UNICEF and the Institute of Economics and Peace think-tank and funded by the Italian government, the UN mission in Libya announced on Monday.
"I am looking forward to the workshops, to learning skills that will allow me to translate my thoughts into action; to develop initiatives which will help my community and promote a culture of peace in my country,” UNSMIL quoted a participant from Benghazi, Warda Mohammed al-Bijou, as saying.
The workshops will encourage Libyan youth to look to the future rather than dwelling on the conflicts of the past, UNSMIL stated.
Participants will be asked to devise and advance innovative community development projects that reflect these ideas and foster local ownership and leadership - which have been shown to be critical factors in building peace, the UN mission said.
“The participation of young people is crucial for the development and stability of Libya,” said Mostafa al-Baroni, mayor of Zintan and a prominent supporter of the workshops.
“These workshops will be a strong step in spreading peace and coexistence in Libya through increasing the ability and awareness of youth to address the needs of their communities,” al-Baroni stated.
UNICEF special representative to Libya Abdel-Rahman Ghandour said that Libya's young people are key to building peace and stability in the turmoil-wracked country and the workshops will play a pivotal role in this process.
“This generation of young women and men in Libya stand at the border between political instability and conflict and the future of prosperity, peace and humanity” said Ghandour.
“The launch of these workshops is an important step to support young Libyans by giving them the tools, skills and potentially the funding they need to create change in their communities.” he added.
Workshop participants will return to their home cities, where they will be encouraged to start to raise awareness in their communities of the concept of 'positive peace' that goes beyond an absence of war.
A joint UNICEF-IEP panel will also select the most innovative projects to be funded and implemented at a local level in Libya, according to UNSMIL.
