Youth, peace and security in conflict settings: Empowerment through education

The irony of writing this blog post in April 2026 as an intern at the United Nations System Staff College’s (UNSSC) Peace and Security Hub while overlooking the mountains of Broummana in Lebanon – the resting place of the late academic Edward Said – and accompanied by the unrelenting roar of jets ripping through the sound barrier and bombs falling onto my city of Beirut just a few kilometres away will never be lost to me. Conflict does not pause for youth aspirations.

I joined UNSSC with a mission to be part of the youth working to advance the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda. For young people in the Middle East, this mission comes with significant obstacles: on the one hand, our “geographic luck”, and on the other, living in a world that is quickly devolving into job precarity, rising cost of living and spreading conflicts. In Lebanon, youth are grappling with the challenges of disenfranchisement, perpetual insecurity and recurring crisis. These conditions deeply affect young people, leaving them feeling powerless and hopeless, and limiting their opportunity to participate in YPS initiatives, which – despite being led by a broad network of inter-governmental organizations – remain underfunded and unstructured. 

How can we overcome these challenges and avoid passing down stories of war and crisis to future generations? While state-building efforts matter, they do not address a key part of the solution: youth empowerment. Regardless of the agenda being advanced, education remains one of the strongest tools we have to empower youth. Underpinning the YPS agenda, education links access to information with civic engagement.

Nearly one third of the Lebanese population is between the ages of 15 and 29, yet youth representation in parliament is minimal. In the 2022 Lebanese parliamentary elections, only two of the 128 members of parliament were youth, while most were over 50 years old. These results are symptoms of the persistent barriers to meaningful youth participation and civic engagement in a country where crisis has become the norm.

I am reminded of a quote by Kofi Annan: “You are never too young to lead, and you should never doubt your capacity to triumph where others have not”.

A pathway to youth agency

Why is education so important to the YPS agenda in conflict settings? Because it equips young people with the knowledge and skills to shape and prevent conflict rather than remain passive actors within it. It also has a compounding effect: anyone who gains knowledge has the potential to share it. Education becomes a multiplier for youth agency.

My own experience reflects this dynamic and, in a sense, embodies the YPS agenda itself. While interning at UNSSC, I was also pursuing a master’s degree at the American University of Beirut. Motivated by frustration at the state of youth in my society, I made a conscious decision to expand my educational toolkit so I could properly and effectively pass on my knowledge and make a difference for young people in my context.

At UNSSC, I was able to fill thematic and technical gaps, while benefiting from the expertise in training and education of my colleagues, who empowered me amid a war in Lebanon. At the same time, I actively contributed to training programmes for UN staff focusing on youth civic engagement and political participation. One example was a tailored programme designed for the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) office in Sub-Saharan Africa with the explicit aim of equipping UN personnel with a youth lens that would help them see young people not just as beneficiaries, but as partners throughout all phases of programming When these thematic areas are properly conveyed, they help return a sense of agency to young people.

Working at UNSSC also deepened my understanding of the United Nations beyond its structures and processes. I came to see how education and training serve as tools for safeguarding human dignity and advancing critical agendas, such as YPS and Women, Peace and Security (WPS), especially in conflict-ridden regions. Just as importantly, this experience highlighted the value of collective action. I realize that, alone, I cannot achieve as much as I would with a community. However, for collective action to manifest, it is crucial that UN actors learn more about and act upon YPS. By learning how to engage meaningfully with and provide safe spaces for young people, they can help create opportunities and build momentum for youth action and inclusion.

Today, I carry forward the knowledge and tools I gained to deliver empowering education to youth wherever I can reach them. In doing so, I am reminded of and inspired by Edward Said’s legacy – how his academic work amplified voices from the Global South and ‘awakened’ the Global North.

A moment for empowerment and courage

During my time at UNSSC, I have met people who have inspired me not just to continue down this path of empowerment and support but have also reflected the true face of the UN, one rooted in peace, motivation, and courage. I will continue to play my part in advancing YPS in Lebanon by being a conduit for awareness and action by working to restore youth agency through my own programmes designed and implemented by youth. 

I carry these lessons forward with a mind that understands the problem, a heart that wishes to tackle said problem, and a hand that is extended to all those I can reach, guided by the same belief in the power of knowledge and voice that thinkers like Said embodied. I urge us to continue powering on as we fight for a future where youth would not have to live under the threat of war, displacement and disenfranchisement. I urge us to teach our youth.