As outlined in the ALLY policy briefs, there are many motivating factors for youth to become peacebuilders, but above all, the most common theme is a passion for engaging with their communities and a motivation to create a safer, more inclusive future. The policy briefs also outline the reasons so many youths today are susceptible to violent extremism, including religious misinterpretation, online hate speech, and trauma stemming from violent conflict, among many other issues. 

Fizza Saghir, Wajid Zahid, and Md. Tanzirul Alam is implementing the second phase of the SAP Paigham-e-Mohabbat (Message of Love) in 2022. Their SAP is creating space for dialogue among South Asia youth to enable them to become torchbearers of peace. During their first phase in 2021, they conducted a series of four regional dialogue sessions across India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan on peace and preventing violent extremism. In phase two, they are running a social media campaign (#Paighamemohabbat #Messageoflove) where they are sharing the messages of peace, harmony, and brotherhood across the three neighboring countries. At the heart of the campaign, they strongly believe that the power of the language of love is universal and connects all hearts in a single thread. They are also enabling youth participants to lead campaigns on themes like nonviolent communication, addressing online hate speech, celebrating similarities, and breaking stereotypes, while also engaging in cultural exchange. 

Highlights from their activities can be found on the Message of Love social media pages. Message of Love’s online advocacy stems from the realization that individuals across South Asia have common needs and aspirations for peace, brotherhood, and harmony to prevail in spite of different identities.

Bhoora Lal’s SAP Caravan of Peace: Starts with You (Karwaan-e-Aman: Shuruaat Tum Sey He), which he is implementing in collaboration with Aliya Harir, Iqra Amjad, Bhoora Lal, and Mahum Yaseen, is similarly raising awareness on challenges to addressing violent extremism while taking an honest and difficult look at what makes extremism so alluring to many youths. In phase one, the fellows strengthened the capacity of more than 70 youth to break stereotypical perceptions through activities like online training, diversity tours, and interfaith dialogues.

According to the ALLY Pakistan Policy Brief, “at the individual level, personal experience with violence and trauma motivates individuals to work towards a more peaceful society. Many youth peacebuilders wish to support others who have suffered similar experiences so that they are not repeated in their communities.”

The fellows recognize this need. They also recognized that traditional media has been commercialized and has a negative impact on how youth consume information, with significantly less or no representation of counter-narratives to the violent extremism they face in real life. The fellows identified simple but effective tools in the forms of blogging, vlogging, and social media to create a space to share actual and alternative narratives of communities while emphasizing the individual role in peacebuilding and UN security council resolution 2250 (2015) on youth, peace, and security.

ALLY Fellows Anthony Vinoth and Sujiraj Nadarasa are collaborating to implement Equal Rights to All Religions. As with the other two SAPs, they are gathering stories from those affected by violent extremism, but they are taking a unique approach. In early 2022, they prepared a policy document based on focus group discussions with five civil society leaders focused on the challenges stemming from ethnic and religious constitutional priorities. The second focus group discussion engaged five policymakers and members of parliament. The discussion focussed on the past experience of Sri Lanka due to the constitutional provisions which made a particular religion prioritized. Lastly, the fellows engaged three media members to learn from their perspectives. 

With the perspectives of civil society, parliamentarians, and the media, the fellows are conducting an online advocacy campaign and are continuing to engage directly with civil society and parliamentarians. From their perspective, past constitutional reforms were conducted without proper public consultations. As a result, civil society has to shoulder immense responsibility to safeguard rights, represent affected communities, and facilitate dialogue for sustainable solutions. They hope that with a greater understanding of these responsibilities, future reforms will facilitate a government and society that respects all religions equally. 

All three SAPs will continue until the end of July. Their social media pages, Paighamm-e-Mohabbat (Facebook / Instagram) and Caravan of Peace (Website / Facebook) are excellent resources for young peacebuilders who wish to learn about current issues, training, and other relevant news.