8th iDove Intercontinental Youth Forum
November 2025
From 26 to 28 November 2025, young peacebuilders from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East gathered for the 8th iDove Intercontinental Youth Forum. Over 70 participants came together to explore the most pressing issues shaping their communities: climate change, reintegration, digital narratives, interfaith dialogue, and the promise and risks of artificial intelligence.
Across three days of storytelling, exchange, and experimentation, iDovers demonstrated once again that youth are not simply beneficiaries of PVE programming. They are designers, innovators, and leaders charting the path forward.
Opening Day: Grounding, Connection, and a Shared Sense of Purpose
The Forum opened with shared reflections from participants across cultures and faiths, and senior partners from GIZ and the Peacemakers Network emphasized the growing importance of youth led, soft power approaches to building peace.
Keynote speaker Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi, Executive Director of the Peacemakers Network, offered a message that resonated throughout the Forum, reminding participants that their strength lies not only in the solutions they propose but in the relationships they build. “Youth continue to show up, raise their voice, and demonstrate why they need to be at the table to help solve these crises,” he reflected, encouraging iDovers to continue shaping the global conversation on peace and security.
An introduction to iDove’s journey since 2017 highlighted the network’s growth to more than 150 young changemakers across 49 countries. The Forum also welcomed 40 new members, each bringing fresh experiences, contexts, and visions for peace.
Day 2: Youth Expertise on Display: Interactive Thematic Sessions
The second day featured five dynamic workshops led entirely by youth practitioners. These sessions showcased the depth of expertise within the iDove network.
Reintegration through Inclusion
Facilitators Erni Kurniati and Hussien Abo explored reintegration through the lens of relationships and daily life. Erni drew on her personal journey and her work in Indonesia to show how family attention, communication, and values can determine whether someone moves toward or away from violent groups. Hussien shared insights from the Philippines on supporting former combatants as they transition into civil roles, emphasizing that the greatest challenge is not education but mindset. Together, their session highlighted that reintegration is most effective when rooted in family, community, and identity, rather than formal processes alone.
Crafting Counter Narratives
In an age where extremist messaging can spread in minutes, facilitators Elmahjoub Dasaa and Fadi Hachem unpacked the emotional and identity based gaps that extremists exploit. They emphasized that sustainable counter narratives must address belonging, meaning, and dignity. The session challenged attendees to design content that speaks to people’s hopes rather than only their fears.
Spotting the Signs: Community Early Warning
Led by Pamela Charidza, this workshop equipped participants with practical tools for identifying early warning signs of violence. Youth shared examples from their own communities and discussed ways to activate local response networks.
Psychosocial Support in Community Based PVE
Ambrose Munyao and Azalea Eka Imannia Intan Utomo introduced accessible, meaningful ways to embed psychosocial support into youth programming. Their activities helped participants map sources of hope and stability in their communities. Several participants noted that this approach “should be part of every peacebuilding project.”
AI for Climate Resilience and Peacebuilding
Facilitators Joseph and Zied Touzani led a session that showed how AI can strengthen peacebuilding and climate resilience when designed for real community needs. They began with Jambo Lab, a youth-led platform in eastern DRC that uses AI and SMS or USSD technology to send early-warning climate alerts and practical guidance to rural communities using basic mobile phones. The discussion then opened to how participants use AI in their own lives, revealing both everyday applications and visionary ideas. One participant proposed using AI to help prevent post-election violence and increase youth engagement in voting, illustrating how accessible tools can support early warning, civic participation and more inclusive peacebuilding.
A Conversation with the African Union and GIZ
A lively Coffee Chat with representatives of the African Union and GIZ offered iDovers a chance to speak directly with continental and international partners. Young people asked about sustainable funding models, intergenerational collaboration, the role of religion in peacebuilding, and rising polarization.
Day 3: Storytelling, Solidarity, and Vision
The final day focused on deepening personal and regional connections through a structured networking session. Instead of formal introductions, participants shared stories that revealed what inspires their work. One facilitator summarized the experience beautifully. “Two things became clear. First, peace emerges in small shared moments. Second, every community must find its own way, rooted in its values and relationships.”
The Closing Circle affirmed the network’s forward momentum. Members expressed excitement about new collaborations, a peer-based mentorship program, expanded regional engagement, and a forthcoming website that will elevate youth-led work across the globe.
Long time member Muhsin Kaduyu offered moving reflections, encouraging iDovers to engage actively, collaborate, and share their stories within the network.
About the iDove Programme
The iDove programme and capacity building support program on Interfaith Dialogue and prevention of Violent Extremism provides youth-driven, innovative, and context-specific responses to preventing violence. The program activities are implemented by selected seven local organizations associated with iDovers, who are youth peacebuilders from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The program contributes particularly to the advancements of the small-scale projects while supporting iDovers engagement more broadly. The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers supports the actions implemented by the iDover-associated organisations to enhance their organisational capacity building to ensure timely and effective youth-led responses to preventing violence.
Follow the iDove programme on social media