Nation-wide Consultation and Restitution on the AU Continental Framework on Youth Peace and Security. 

This activity seeks to engage Youth-Led organizations who were part of the National Symposium on Localizing the AU Continental Framework on Youth Peace and Security in Cameroon to facilitate community consultation to improve on the knowledge of young people on the role of youth in peace building and securing buy-in for and advice from youth about ways to develop and implement a National Action Plan for the Youth Peace and Security Agenda in Cameroon 

The main goal of this activity is to ensure that the development of a NAP should be an outcome of community to national level youth-led conversation and engagement between and among young people as well as different stakeholders. For a period of 2 weeks, this activity will provide a seed grant to selected participants to collaborate with their peers to organise a one-day consultation across the 10 regions of Cameroon. The beneficiaries of these seed funds are expected to mobilise at least 20 participants;15 youth and 5 stakeholder (either from government, locally elected representative, religious or traditional authority).

This activity was born out of the recommendation of 60 young people from the 10 regions of Cameroon who participated in the National Symposium from October 28 to 30^th 2021 in Yaoundé. With funding support from the Canadian High Commission in Cameroon, Local Youth Corner Cameroon is collaborating with other Youth-led CSOs, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education, Plan International Cameroon, UNFPA Cameroon and the African Union Peace and Security Department to support this consultation with over 200 young people from Cameroon’s 10 regions.

Main Objective 

• Trigger community youth-led consultations across the ten regions of Cameroon improve on the knowledge of young people on the role of youth in peace building and securing buy-in for and advice from youth about ways to develop and implement a National Action Plan for the Youth Peace and Security Agenda in Cameroon 

Specific Objectives 

• Capture youth and stakeholder perspectives on developing a National Action Plan on YPS in Cameroon
• Showcase youth-led initiative within community to development stakeholders .
• Raise awareness of young people and community leaders on the role of young people in peace and security.  

Talking points and objectives of the sessions include the following on the AU CFYPS

1. Participation: How to advocate and promote active and meaningful participation of youths in the region at all levels of decision-making, policy formulation, implementation and monitoring of peace and security decisions/agreements; support cross-sectoral cooperation as a holistic approach to youth issues and for the elimination of structural barriers to youth participation, and support the development and implementation of national action plans to encourage young people’s meaningful participation in peace and security through existing national and regional structures.
2. Prevention: How to promote and strengthen youth capacity in the region on prevention via peace education, support to the establishment and implementation of peace architectures; facilitate entry points for competent youth to undertake violence prevention activities including youth-led or support to dialogue and mediation processes; Reinforce the potential of youth by canvassing support for the establishment of investments and funds that enable inclusion of youth into different projects to ensure access to education, vocational training as well as employment opportunities, with a view to reducing youth unemployment and their attendant vulnerabilities to exploitation, manipulation, radicalization and recruitment by extremist, criminal and armed groups.
3. Protection: How to advocate and promote compliance to international humanitarian and human rights law to guarantee the protection of young people during armed conflicts and facilitate safe movement and resettlement of displaced persons, to mitigate the risk of forced recruitment as well as sexual and gender-based violence.
4. Partnerships and Coordination: How to facilitate the effective coordination and communication between youth and relevant stakeholders on planning and evaluation of interventions to promote peace and security; promote increased, coordinated and sustained political, financial and technical support to reinforce youth-led initiatives on peace and security.
5. Disengagement and Rehabilitation: How to promote programs aimed at effective repatriation, resettlement, disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation of youth disengaged from armed or extremist groups. Promote training for young people to support construction and stabilization activities of areas affected by war, including ensuring that the specific needs of young women and men are met; promote young people’s capacities to act as relief and recovery agents in conflict and post-conflict situations.