picture of Ajmal Ramyar speaking at the United Nations
Partner: United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY), with over 130 members
By Carole Frampton de Tscharner
“Nothing about us, without us”. This is the rallying cry of The United Network of Young Peacebuilders, creating peace in their own communities and around the world.
One such peacebuilder is Ajmal Ramyar, the young man who heads ‘Afghans for Progressive Thinking’. His organisation offers creative writing and storytelling programmes for young women and girls in Afghanistan, helping them to reclaim their own narrative in the face of brutal oppression.
UNOY was created to represent Ajmal, the young people he serves and other youth-led peace champions around the world. To amplify his voice when he says that “the deprivation of education is not just a violation of rights; it’s the theft of futures.” To give him a community and support him in challenging the notion that all young men are violent threats and that youth can only mean unrest. Many members operate informally, with no funding, working as volunteers in their own communities. In 2023, they collectively reached an astonishing 6 million people.
In 2015, after 25 years of advocating for meaningful youth inclusion in peacebuilding, UNOY and its allies finally got the United Nations to listen. They passed UNSC resolution 2250 recognising youth as key actors for peace, with a call to have them included in peace processes. But after the celebration came the reality check: to ensure the resolution they had fought so hard for would turn into true inclusion, support and impact, the small secretariat team had to reorganise.
They recognised that their focus on advocacy had affected their ability to serve their full membership. They started to address this with consultations that confirmed the need for the role of the secretariat to evolve, from being the voice of young peacebuilders, to becoming a living bridge between two worlds that don’t always understand each other — namely, the grassroots youth and the international decision-makers As a bridging organisation, they needed to enable a two-way flow of ideas and support.
It quickly became apparent that this redefined role required a stronger presence on the ground, and so volunteer regional representatives were appointed. First in West Africa and Asia, then progressively across six regions. These regional coordinators now play an essential role liaising between members and the Secretariat, supporting young peacebuilders, and maintaining the connection and visibility they once lacked.
The need and vision were so clear, that UNOY grew quickly, doubling its budget in 2019 and attracting new funders. This also showed trust in UNOY’s culture of accountability and learning, as its action is guided by annual membership feedback and priority assessments. By renewing its leadership regularly to remain youth-led, UNOY also offers an inspiring model of a self-regulating organisation.
It’s a model that enables people like Ajmal to feel supported in his brave stand for his sisters in Afghanistan — relaying their call to be included in building a peace that works for them, their communities, and their future.
PeaceNexus provided organisational development support to UNOY from 2016 to 2019.
I decided to share this story as it captures what it takes to support one individual’s courageous initiative so it is sustained through peer support but also turns into a broader systemic change. I hope it also inspires more funders to invest in organisational development processes, as a catalyst for impact.
