HeForShe Champion One Young World Launches 'Ambassadors for Peace' Programme to address rising Global Conflicts

Under the scope of their HeForShe commitment, One Young World has pledged to empower and develop young leaders to build a fair, sustainable future for all. In line with this goal, at the start of 2024, One Young World consulted with a selection of outstanding peacebuilders from around the world to address escalating global conflicts. They identified a lack of productive conversation and effective action addressing the crises, and advised One Young World to create the ‘Ambassadors for Peace’ programme, launched in March.

The programme began with a series of interactive, action-focused events designed to connect and empower One Young World Ambassadors to understand and address the deeply-rooted causes and severe consequences of conflicts around the world. The programme is co-designed and hosted by Daniel Zapata Castro, a Colombian activist with experience in community-led peacebuilding, and has already explored situations in countries including Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The series started with an in-depth exploration of the devastating crisis in Palestine. At this event, attendees were educated and inspired by two expert peacebuilders from the One Young World Community. Abeer Abu Ghaith shared her personal experiences growing up in the West Bank, and the need for economic prospects for Palestinians, not just aid, since “work gives hope for the future”. That is why Abeer launched the Jobs for Palestine campaign to empower Palestinians to build a prosperous and sustainable long-term future. She was followed by Nadav Weiman, former Israeli soldier and Senior Deputy of Breaking the Silence. Nadav built on Abeer’s powerful keynote to emphasise the need for everyone to continue to share the truth, share critical voices of the violence, and campaign passionately for peace. 

After the two keynote speeches, attending Ambassadors split into productive, closed-door roundtable discussions where they explored potential avenues for action as individuals and as a community. The group then reconvened to share their personal experiences, key learnings from the sessions, and actions for the Community to take forward. 

Since that first event, sessions have delved into other conflicts around the world, exploring the unique aspects and the common lessons that can be taken. They have been led by incredible young leaders such as Hager Eissa, a Gender Equality and Human Rights activist. Hager recently spoke at the Austrian Presidential office alongside the Director of the Sub-Saharan and the African Union, and the Diplomatic Advisor to the Federal President of Austria, on Sudan's crisis and suggestions on how Austria can help the current dire humanitarian crisis in Darfur and the war in the rest of Sudan. 

Participants also heard from two outstanding exceptional Ukrainian women, Ulyana and Mariia. Ulyana co-founded Enkidu, a Swiss non-profit that allows institutional donors and charities to review and analyse humanitarian needs in situations such as in Ukraine, and select the exact procurement orders they want to fund, pay directly to suppliers and track logistics, all in one place. Mariia meanwhile is a student living in Kharkiv. Despite the constant and devastating disruption from the invasion, she is committed to shaping global discourse and fostering youth involvement in diplomatic affairs, exemplifying leadership and dedication in international relations.

The guidance from expert young leaders, the conversations they sparked, and the new platform for programme participants have given the One Young World Community a launchpad to share and collaborate on solutions to the varied challenges arising from the world’s escalating conflicts. The event series is only a start of the programme, as One Young World continues to consult with peacebuilders to find new ways to inspire and equip the world’s most impactful global community of young leaders to mobilise humanitarian aid and advocate effectively for peace.