In December, the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security marks its tenth anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, the Youth, Peace and Security Network hosted a luncheon seminar where Najmo Dahir, a member of the East African Youth Peace Network, delivered a powerful address. This blog post is based on that speech.
The relevance of the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda grows stronger with each passing year, and Finland is exceptionally well placed to act as a global frontrunner in this work.
We are living in a time when the shadow of war reaches into young people’s everyday lives even in places where weapons are silent. A time when conflict is no longer just a news headline, but part of family histories, cross-border movement, and uncertainty about the future.
In this reality, UN Security Council Resolution 2250 is not merely a ceremonial theme. It is a framework for how we, in Finland and globally, can support a generation that has grown up surrounded by crises yet refuses to accept them.
As the saying goes: “We are not living in an era of individual crises; we are living in an age of crises.”
Security in Everyday Life
Peace and security are not created solely through strategies or international summits. They are built through everyday experiences: whether a young person feels they belong, feel safe, and are treated fairly.
In Finland, discussions about security often focus on geopolitics and preparedness. These are important issues, but in YPS work it is equally essential to understand security through the lenses of wellbeing and equality.
Young people’s experiences of insecurity include, among others,
increasing loneliness and mental health challenges,
experiences of discrimination or exclusion,
polarised public discourse, hate speech, and rising societal division,
economic uncertainty,
the spillover effects of conflicts into families and communities and
digital insecurity.
Peace is built when young people feel safe not only physically, but socially and psychologically. That is why building security is the responsibility of
the social and health sector,
the education and culture sector,
municipalities,
youth workers and civil society organisations,
and young people themselves.
The Role of Young People
UN Security Council Resolution 2250 reminds us of a crucial truth: young people are not just a target group but full-fledged actors. In Finland’s YPS work, this means shifting from an approach where young people wait for their turn to one where they are recognised as strategic partners.
Young people have first-hand knowledge of what security feels like in everyday settings: in schools, workplaces, online spaces, communities, and in their sense of belonging to society.
They are often the first to notice polarisation, discrimination, and hate speech. However, they are also the ones capable of rebuilding trust and a sense of community.
When young people are involved in co-creation from the very beginning, the solutions that emerge are both sustainable and genuinely effective. This is why youth agency must be reflected in YPS funding, structures, and cross-sectoral coordination.
Finland’s second National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.) took important steps in recognising youth diversity and amplifying the voices of different youth networks. Consultations included young people from varied backgrounds, with diverse needs and lived experiences. This work builds a bridge between domestic concerns and global security challenges.
Events Beyond Our Borders
Let us now shift our gaze beyond Finland’s borders to crisis and conflict zones. Places that may seem abstract to some but are deeply personal to many young people.
When young people flee these areas, they do not carry only bags. They carry experiences of war, the loss of loved ones, and future plans that were cut short far too early.
For many young people, these conflicts are not distant news stories. They affect their families, communities, and emotional ties. And when worry travels with you, it shapes everyday wellbeing here in Finland as well.
In consultations (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.) preceding the new action plan, young people described how this dual reality – living in Finland while remaining emotionally connected to crises elsewhere – shapes their understanding of security. They expressed a vision of peace that is felt in everyday life:
Basic services reach everyone,
guidance is clear and understandable,
young people are listened to,
there is a place to breathe and
fear does not have to be carried alone.
These are not merely indicators of successful integration. They demonstrate how changes in Finland’s external security environment are deeply intertwined with everyday security at home.
This is precisely where YPS work operates: at the intersection where global and local peace are built simultaneously.
Why the Work of Government Matters
Finland has a long tradition of peacebuilding. It is one we can be proud of, but one that must evolve with the times. This year, that evolution is taking place through YPS policy – through the work of public administration and through the voices of young people.
Each of you has the opportunity to show that Resolution 2250 and Finland’s action plan are not just documents, but promises for the future.
A promise that Finland will continue to lead in peacebuilding.
A promise that young people are not sidelined, but engaged as partners.
Your work matters not only to us as young people, not only to Finland, but to all the communities whose daily lives are shaped by peace and security policies. Including those whose voices are not always heard, but whose hopes are just as significant.