LocationsWhen young people shape the decisions that affect them
The next generation of climate peacebuilders
August 11, 2026
Participants at the Twin Transitions Ideation Bootcamp in Cairo, Egypt where young people had the chance to participate in conversations on climate, peace and security and to share their ideas grounded in the challenges they see around them.
Photo: UNDP Egypt
At the UNDP-led Twin Transition Ideation Bootcamp in Cairo, Egypt, Nour Bahgat arrived with an idea and left with a solution. Together with her fellow participant Mohammed Al-Hedewy, the 22-year-old developed RESILIA, an AI-enabled concept for safely harvesting floodwater that can help alleviate the water stress her country faces.
Their work speaks to an urgent global reality. Nearly 700 million young people live in fragile and conflict-affected settings, where the impacts of climate change overlap with existing socio-economic and political vulnerabilities.
For them, it means disrupted education and work, fewer pathways to a secure future, and greater exposure to violence. Yet they are not waiting on the sidelines. With ingenuity, innovation and cooperation, they are shaping practical responses to the interconnected challenges of climate, peace and security.
At a bootcamp in Cairo, Nour and Mohamed present their pitch on "RESILIA", an AI-powered tool to safely harvest floodwater.
Photo: UNDP Egypt
The road from vulnerability to resilience
Climate shocks do not arrive in a vacuum. In communities already living with conflict and instability, floods and droughts can erode harvests, disrupt incomes and place greater strain on land, water and basic services. These losses also weaken the local economies and the social bonds that help communities withstand pressure.
Young people often feel these effects first. When work is scarce and their voices are absent from local decision-making, uncertainty can leave them vulnerable to exploitation by violent extremist groups and criminal networks, who prey on their desperation by offering financial incentives, illicit employment or a false sense of security. What begins as an ecological crisis quickly turns into a human security threat.
In South Sudan, protracted conflict and instability have forced many young men and women to join armed groups. When Mary Aliet Majook, a 32-year-old ex-combatant in Tonj South region, gave up arms she found herself stranded and desperate, torn between going back to the violent past she had left behind, or joining armed groups engaged in theft just to survive. In her life, she recalls, she was "bored and miserable".
A community reintegration programme supported by UNDP and the Government of Korea offered a different path. Through entrepreneurship training and a start-up kit, Mary was reintegrated into her community and joined the Pioch-bai cooperative group. Along with other women, she received training in climate-resilient agriculture, enabling her to grow vegetables despite the region's volatile cycles of intermittent flooding and drought.
Climate adaptation in such contexts supports peacebuilding by creating dignified livelihoods and giving people hope for the future.
In South Sudan, Mary Aliet Majook, an ex-combatant, has realized new opportunities after taking part in the KOICA-UNDP Peacebuilding and Preventing Violent Extremism programme.
Photo: UNDP
A place at the table
Whether climate pressure leads to cooperation or conflict can depend on who gets heard. Young people will live longest with the consequences of climate change, making it vital that their voices and perspectives are a part of the spaces where communities decide how to respond.
In Tanzania, the Dumisha Amani II (Promoting Peace and Security for Sustainable Development) initiative is creating opportunities for youth participation in climate adaptation, community life and peacebuilding. More than 400 trained youth peace champions–60 percent of them women and girls–are promoting dialogue within their communities to help resolve local disputes.
In Tanzania more than 400 trained youth peace champions–60 percent of them women and girls–are promoting dialogue within their communities creating opportunities for youth participation in climate adaptation, community life and peacebuilding.
Photo: UNDP Tanzania
The programme complements these efforts with ICT-equipped youth centres, climate-smart livelihoods in agriculture and fishing and vocational training in trades such as electrical installation, plumbing and carpentry. Together, these initiatives equip them with the skills, resources and economic independence to adapt as climate pressures affect traditional livelihoods, at the same time as strengthening their ability to participate in local decision-making, which helps to build more peaceful and resilient communities.
Learning ICT skills empowers young people to seek alternative livelihoods.
Photo: UNDP Tanzania
When truth matters most
During a crisis, information can either steady a community or make fear travel faster. False claims and hate speech create divides, while climate misinformation and disinformation cloud people’s understanding of risks and weaken the trust needed for communities to respond together.
For 23-year-old Lebanese storyteller Joyce Horkos, the connection is personal. Living through conflict and the climate crisis, she saw how quickly unverified news could unsettle families and shape conversations. Through a UNDP-supported programme funded by the German government, Joyce joined 50 students to train in fact-checking, hate-speech awareness, climate storytelling and mobile journalism.
The training changed how she saw climate change: not as a distant issue, but as part of daily life,linked to water shortages, changing weather conditions and the socio-economic pressures facing communities. She joined emergency fact-checking efforts during a period of escalation and won an award for climate storytelling.
Her work demonstrates how young people are using accurate, empathetic reporting to reduce fear and build harmony.
In Tanzania women receive training in climate-smart agriculture. The programme also provides ICT-equipped youth centres and vocational training in trades such as electrical installation, plumbing and carpentry.
Photo: UNDP Tanzania
Architects of the future
Back in Cairo, the Twin Transition Ideation Bootcamp gave Nour Bahgat, Mohammed Al-Hedewy and 33 other young Egyptians a chance to participate in conversations on climate, peace and security. Alongside coaching in entrepreneurship, human-centred design and Artificial intelligence, participants developed ideas grounded in the challenges they see around them.
Climate action and peacebuilding are stronger when young people can shape the decisions that affect them and their communities. Their knowledge of local issues, combined with their drive to learn, lead and collaborate, opens new possibilities for resilience and peace.
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