Introduction
What the Training Was About
From 10–12 September 2025, a Continental Youth Leadership Training on Transitional Justice, Reconciliation and Peacebuilding brought together young African leaders in Sandton, Johannesburg. The programme convened by the African Union’s Political Affairs, Peace and Security department (PAPS), with partners including the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) and the Network of Think-Tanks for Peace aimed to deepen youth engagement in transitional justice processes and to strengthen youth-led peace initiatives.
Why It Matters
This training signalled more than a workshop: it was a deliberate effort to embed youth at the centre of policy and practice around justice and reconciliation across the continent. The event combined technical sessions, cross-country exchanges, and lived-history study tours to convert learning into practical leadership capacity.
1. Foundations: Framing Transitional Justice for Youth
Core Concepts and Continental Policy
Participants engaged with the African Union’s Continental Transitional Justice framework and explored how continental policy translates into local action. Understanding the policy foundations enabled youth leaders to map pathways for advocacy and program design within their countries. For detailed information on transitional justice programs and youth initiatives, refer to the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR).
2. Learning from South Africa: History as a Teacher
Study Tours That Speak to the Past
A highlight of the programme was a study tour to Constitutional Hill, the Hector Pieterson Museum, and the Apartheid Museum. These sites offered visceral lessons on the harms of structural injustice and the long arc of reconciliation, equipping youth with historical perspective to inform modern transitional justice strategies.
Connecting Memory to Action
By contextualizing lived history, participants learned to design initiatives that respect collective memory while promoting restorative practices and social cohesion in post-conflict settings.
3. Building Networks: Pan-African Solidarity in Practice
Cross-Country Exchange of Experiences
Delegates from Liberia, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and other states shared country experiencessuccesses, setbacks, and hard lessons. These exchanges fostered mutual learning and seeded collaborative projects that extend beyond the three-day event.
From Contacts to Collective Projects
Youth leadership relies on durable networks; the training emphasised creating follow-up mechanisms, working groups, and digital platforms to keep the momentum alive across borders.
4. Combating Hate: Media, Misinformation and Digital Tools
Countering Harmful Narratives
A dedicated session on hate speech and disinformation explored how misleading narratives amplify division. Youth learned monitoring techniques, rapid response strategies, and community-oriented counter-messaging to protect vulnerable groups.
Harnessing Technology for Peace
Speakers demonstrated how media and digital tools when used ethically can amplify youth leadership, mobilize peace campaigns, and increase accountability. The training examined both the promise and the dangers of digital platforms in contemporary peacebuilding.
5. Gender and Inclusion: Centering Women and Marginalised Voices
Prioritising Intersectional Approaches
The programme emphasised that sustainable peace requires addressing gendered harms and structural exclusion. Workshops showcased methodologies to ensure women’s leadership and the inclusion of marginalised identities in transitional justice processes.
Tools for Inclusive Design
Participants developed action plans that embedded gender-sensitive indicators, inclusive outreach strategies, and mechanisms for safeguarding vulnerable participants in civic initiatives.
6. Leadership Skills: From Dialogue to Trust-Building
Facilitating Difficult Conversations
Practical sessions trained youth in dialogue facilitation, trust-building, and restorative practices. These tools help leaders manage contested spaces where histories and grievances must be navigated carefully.
Translating Trust into Policy Influence
Building trust at community level creates legitimacy that youth can leverage to influence local and national policy shifting young people from margins to the decision-making table.
7. Creative Peacebuilding: Arts, Memory and Storytelling
Using Culture as a Bridge
The training showcased cultural methods music, theatre, visual arts, and storytelling as powerful ways to process trauma and foster reconciliation. These creative practices often reach audiences that formal institutions cannot.
Designing Community-Led Healing Projects
Young leaders drafted proposals for community arts projects that combine commemoration with youth employment and civic engagement, demonstrating the multiplier effect of creative peacebuilding.
8. Monitoring, Evaluation and Adaptive Programming
Evidence-Based Approaches
Robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) allows youth initiatives to learn and adapt. The programme taught parsimonious M&E designs suitable for low-budget youth-led projects while maintaining credibility with donors and partners.
Data for Accountability
Participants explored how data qualitative and quantitative can persuade policymakers and strengthen advocacy, while ensuring ethical standards and participant safety.
9. From Local Action to Continental Policy Influence
Scaling Community Solutions
The training supported youth to translate local pilot projects into models that can influence regional or continental policy. This scaling pathway requires strategic partnerships and careful documentation of impact.
Engaging AU Mechanisms
Delegates were briefed on how to engage AU mechanisms and networks, including Wise Youth networks and technical units within PAPS, to amplify their initiatives at higher policy levels. This is where youth leadership moves from local projects to systemic change.
10. Commitments and Next Steps
Action Plans and Certification
Participants concluded the training with concrete action plans and received certificates recognising their commitment to lead transitional justice and peacebuilding efforts in their communities an important signal of legitimacy when approaching donors and partners.
Maintaining Momentum
The real test is sustainability: the programme emphasised follow-up, peer accountability structures, and the creation of continental youth coalitions to sustain momentum beyond the three days.
Conclusion: The Promise of youth leadership
youth leadership as a Strategic Imperative
The Continental Youth Leadership Training showed that Africa’s young people are ready and able to lead on justice, reconciliation and peace. When young leaders are equipped with history, technical skills, networks and platforms, they can turn painful memory into purposeful action.
Stay Connected and Take Action
To follow developments and access resources that support youth-led peace initiatives, visit our site regularly and explore related case studies on community action and governance: community conservation success stories. For partner resources and further reading on transitional justice and AU initiatives, see the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation.
Visit Our Site
Keep up with practical tools, funding calls and events for young leaders at voiceafricadaily.com check back often for updates and opportunities to join continental networks.
