November 18, 2025
A decade after youth claimed their seat at the peace table, hope is still rising.
Ten years ago, 21,000 young people from 109 countries kick-started a global movement calling for their recognition as key leaders in preventing violence. From that movement, 250 young people met in Jordan with a message the world needed to hear: We’re not the problem. We’re the solution.
They were tired of inheriting wars started by others. Tired of being told they were too young, too inexperienced, too idealistic. Tired of waiting for permission to build peace in their own communities.
So they stopped waiting.
With the help of Search for Common Ground’s advocacy, their voices sparked a global movement that reached the UN Security Council. In December 2015, the Council unanimously passed and adopted Resolution 2250—the first time in history that the world recognized young people as not just victims to protect or threats to manage, but as essential partners in building intergenerational trust and holding hope for lasting peace.
That recognition changed everything. The girl organizing peace clubs in Benin suddenly had global backing. The young mediator in Kenya had legitimacy. The youth writing reconciliation letters in Colombia had proof their work mattered.
This is what holding hope looks like: young people refusing to accept a broken world and actively building something better.
Today, Search works with over 2 million young peacebuilders across the globe. When violence erupted in the DRC, youth activists created safety hotlines. In Kenya, 240 youth organizations joined forces to transform how young people are perceived and, with the government, co-develop a national strategy to reshape their country’s future. In Colombia, young people wrote thousands of letters bringing former fighters home.
Through it all, Search helps them turn hope into intergenerational trust and collective action—training, connecting, and supporting youth who prove that peace grows when we hold it together. They’re not waiting for the next generation. They’re leading now.
Your gift keeps their hope alive. With your support, we can:
- Train young peacebuilders to mediate conflicts in their communities
- Amplify youth voices in spaces where they’ve been shut out
- Connect young leaders across borders to learn and organize together
Hold Hope for Young Changemakers
Hope and trust are the bridge between generations. It belongs to all of us. Young people are carrying it forward—and with your support, they don’t have to carry it alone.
