2022 Youth Empowerment Peace Class (YEPC)
The Youth Empowerment Peace Class is a training program provided by the IPYG and is designed and developed to provide the youth, who are implementers of peace, with opportunities to acquire knowledge and strengthen their capacity.
The 2nd Youth Empowerment Peace Class, held twice in 2022, was conducted to find solutions to problems faced by young people, such as banning drug abuse, parental literacy, gender equality, and strengthening capacity for employment.
As the program deals with everyday problems of the youth, participants were able to empathize with and comfort one another as the same generation. In addition, they encourage each other to utilize IPYG’s global network to work together to achieve peace.
The board members of Nepal’s youth organizations took the course to conduct educational services for young people in the community. They went on to hold an Eloquence Competition of Peace and a drawing event for nearby schools in order to effectively spread the values of peace that they learned through YEPC. Around 1,000 students from three schools participated to self-reflect on and express the importance of peace.
The youth of South Africa used social media to publicize YEPC. Youth from Malawi, Namibia, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe took the course together online and held small group meetings after each class. Despite living in different countries, they used messaging apps to share what they learned and started building a community for continual cooperation.
The IPYG is preparing so that the 3rd YEPC, held in 2023, will support the youth in becoming the leaders of peace in their local communities as well as the center of different peace initiatives. The course will be a youth-focused peace education program filled with presentations of HWPL leaders working in various fields including media, education, and religion.
In addition, IPYG’s YEPC contributes to providing “Quality Education,” one of the SDGs, to youth around the world as well as realizing UNESCO’s goal of “Lifelong Learning.”
The following statements are from YEPC participants. Hopefully, many young people will participate in the 3rd YEPC, which will begin in June 2023, to expand the impact of the course.
“It is a well operated program that strives to understand the reality of Kenya, as there are many children who cannot receive proper primary school education due to financial difficulties and this become a societal problem.“
– Hanningtone Meyo, Green Drivers Community, Kenya
“The most impressive education was Making Self-wellness Education. Youth drug problems are one of the most serious issues and it is a vital education especially for young people.”
– Abongo Simon Alison, Community Aid for Humanitarian Organization, South Sudan
“YEPC courses was a boost to my understanding life and all that around me and to be positive. I will surely share this knowledge within my community and of course my family and my friends.”
– Olivia Vosarewa Tawake, ARUKA Fiji, Fiji
“The most memorable thing was that there’s a way to express one’s feelings without hurting others through non-violent communication.”
– Miselina Mayavachela, United Nations Youth Association Mulungushi University Zambia, Zambia
