Youth for Peace International (YfPI), co-founded by Saumya Aggarwal, is a youth-driven organization committed to fostering peace through empowerment and sustainable community development. Its core efforts are focused on capacity building, grassroots action, and advocacy. YfPI conducts training sessions in conflict resolution and peace education primarily targeted at youth, including children and educators. At the community level, YfPI provides rehabilitation support to Rohingya refugees and runs a national mental health support helpline to provide emotional and wellbeing support. The organization also engages in creative online campaigns and policy advocacy, implementing the Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agenda by forming a nationwide network of young peacebuilders in India.

Despite India’s extensive youth population, and their being among the most affected by multiple and often interlinked forms of violence that plague the country and communities, bearing enormous and long-lasting human, social and economic costs, government support for youth-centric affairs, especially peacebuilding and social harmony, is limited. This is evidenced by the allocation of resources in the National budget and lack of focus on ‘peace’ or ‘harmony’ in the National Youth Policy. YfPI fills this gap by empowering young people to address the effects of violence and drive conflict resolution.

Youth for Peace International (YfPI), co-founded by Saumya Aggarwal, is a youth-driven organization committed to fostering peace through empowerment and sustainable community development. Its core efforts are focused on capacity building, grassroots action, and advocacy. YfPI conducts training sessions in conflict resolution and peace education primarily targeted at youth, including children and educators. At the community level, YfPI provides rehabilitation support to Rohingya refugees and runs a national mental health support helpline to provide emotional and wellbeing support. The organization also engages in creative online campaigns and policy advocacy, implementing the Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agenda by forming a nationwide network of young peacebuilders in India.

Despite India’s extensive youth population, and their being among the most affected by multiple and often interlinked forms of violence that plague the country and communities, bearing enormous and long-lasting human, social and economic costs, government support for youth-centric affairs, especially peacebuilding and social harmony, is limited. This is evidenced by the allocation of resources in the National budget and lack of focus on ‘peace’ or ‘harmony’ in the National Youth Policy. YfPI fills this gap by empowering young people to address the effects of violence and drive conflict resolution.

With support from the Peacemakers Network’s 2024 Small Grant, YfPI set out to expand the accessibility of peace education across India, with a targeted focus on Manipur. The ongoing conflict in Manipur is fueled by ethnic tensions and insurgency, driven by historic grievances and competition for resources. Despite attempts at fostering peace through dialogues and ceasefire agreements, sporadic violence and ethnic clashes continue to obstruct the peacebuilding process. The communities in Manipur aspire to enhance their internal capacities to manage conflicts and engage in collaborative efforts rooted in shared values of peace, harmony, and mutual understanding.

To address these challenges, YfPI team developed 10 e-learning modules on Peace Education and Conflict Transformation. These modules, available in Hindi and English, reached over 400 people, including those from minority and indigenous communities in remote and conflict-affected areas. The modules provide tools to manage communication in conflict, hate speech, and analyze and transform conflict. YfPI shared modules through their networks, partnering with youth-led organizations. YfPI and its partners conducted a Digital Peace Campaign to spread the digital modules further, engaging communities in Bangalore, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Bihar and Delhi. The campaign included quizzes, instagram reels and two instagram live sessions, involving over 600 live viewers and reaching over 13,000 young people. It aimed to boost awareness of peace education and highlight the work and challenges of young peacebuilders across India and the wider region.

In Manipur, YfPI conducted a series of in-person peacebuilding training sessions. These programs empowered 81 young peacebuilders, community leaders, and women to manage conflicts at personal, interpersonal, and community levels. Trainings centered on self-awareness, prejudice reduction, non-violent communication, conflict transformation and negotiation. Despite challenges like floods and rising conflicts, YfPI organized three workshops in different locations in Manipur.

The first workshop, in collaboration with Development of Human Potential (DHP), involved 22 young peacebuilders. The second, with the Institute of Rural Education in Wangjing, Thoubal District, engaged 28 women leaders already active in local mediation and dialogue. The third was with Realm of Nature Based Action, involving 31 participants.

The grant’s final activity was a two-day Community-Based Dialogue involving different faith actors and 20 youth on ‘Building Relationships Beyond the Divides.’ Despite the escalating conflict, this session brought together individuals from various ethnicities, including Meiteis and Kukis and various other tribes, to build relationships and find common ground. A total of 39 youth, including IDPs, LGBTQI+, and community leaders, participated, enhancing their skills in dialogue, negotiation, and mediation amidst challenging circumstances.

To raise awareness about indigenous efforts for peace in Manipur and to spotlight both their challenges and achievements, YfPI documented 10 videos showcasing the experiences and practices of indigenous communities, focusing particularly on youth and women. These videos, along with others sharing lessons, challenges, and recommendations from young peacebuilders, traditional peacemakers, and community leaders, were produced to enhance understanding and recognition of local peacebuilding efforts.

Through this targeted and localized approach, YfPI strengthened the capacity of 120 traditional, indigenous, and grassroots peacemakers through in-person trainings. They also engaged over 400 young peacebuilders through e-learning modules and reached more than 13,000 youth via their digital campaign on peace education and awareness. Additionally, YfPI built a growing network of peace actors in Manipur and developed 10 educational modules that can be further disseminated and amplified for greater impact.

The support from the Network through the small grant showcases the significant impact such funding can have by enabling work with local actors directly on the ground and testing new, tailored approaches. However, for this work to be sustainable and have lasting effects, longer-term funding for locally led initiatives is essential.

Negotiation Skill Development Workshop. Manipur University Campus, Canchipur, Imphal, Maipur. August 2024.