On July 2-9, 2024, the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg is hosting the Youth Peace Camp, a transformative event that brings together 80 young participants from regions deeply affected by conflicts, including Cyprus (Greek speaking Cypriots and Turkish speaking Cypriots), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo* (with a focus on Albanian and Serbian communities), South Caucasus (in particular from border regions and ethnic minorities) and both banks of the river Nistru/Dniestr.

 As the flagship activity of the Council of Europe’s Youth sector, the camp contributes aims to engage young people and youth organisations from conflict affected regions in dialogue and peacebuilding activities based on human rights education and intercultural learning during and after the camp.

The camp enables mutual learning among participants and inter-personal dialogue with young people from “the other side” of the conflicts. The camp transcends discussions, offering an experiential learning process in which young people develop critical competences for peacebuilding.

 During 8 intensive yet interesting days, participants explore the Council of Europe’s work on promoting peace, including the European Court on Human Rights, the European Youth Foundation and the Youth Department. By the end of the camp, participants will develop initiatives as peer leaders and multipliers with other young people in the field of intercultural dialogue and conflict transformation.

 The objectives of the Youth Peace Camp 2024 are:

• To develop awareness and basic competences (knowledge, skills and attitude) of participants in human rights education, peacebuilding and intercultural learning to enable them to engage in dialogue and confidence-building initiatives with other young people affected by conflict;
• To support mutual learning from experiences of conflict and coping strategies;
• To foster relationship building as a foundation for peacebuilding and dialogue;
• To introduce and share existing youth work practices and experiences of young people working on dialogue and conflict transformation in their home communities;
• To motivate and support participants in their role as multipliers and peer leaders in peacebuilding activities with young people encouraging them to implement follow-up initiatives;
• To strengthen the role of the Council of Europe, in particular through its Youth for Democracy programme, in peacebuilding and intercultural dialogue with young people and to support the approaches of the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security and the Sustainable Development Goals.

 For more information, please visit the dedicated webpage.

*All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations' Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.