Young people are key to challenging exclusion and injustice and should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. At the Kofi Annan Foundation, we facilitate youth engagement, ensure that their voices are heard and support their efforts towards peace and development.
Young people have the energy, creativity and idealism to challenge entrenched patterns of exclusion and injustice and should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Even though young people are not a homogeneous group, they are uniquely placed to bring positive change in society. Social media and new technologies are embedded in young people’s lives, and that knowledge can be used to catalyze collective action.
Convinced of young people’s central role in addressing the most pressing challenges of today, the Kofi Annan Foundation facilitates their engagement, ensures that their voices are heard and supports their efforts towards peace
and development. Discover our projects to learn more about how we do it.
Projects
Youth + Peace
→Peace Beyond Borders
Transforming communities from targets of violence into agents of sustainable peace and resilience
→Bridges to Peace Uganda
Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism in Uganda
→Extremely Together
Empowering young people to build peace and prevent extremism
→Champions for Peace
Leading Change for Cohesive & Sustainable Futures
→Environment of Peace
Youth-Driven Research on Climate, the Environment and Peace
“Investing in youth is investing in the future.”
Ndugwa Hassan,
Extremely Together Leader
Contact us
Partner with us for an ongoing or future project.
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Publications + Media
First published in
Resilience Rising: Youth Research Informing Global Climate and Conflict Responses
The convergence of climate change, environmental degradation and conflict poses a significant threat to peace and stability worldwide, particularly in fragile and conflict affected countries. Young people in these areas are disproportionately affected, yet they are also uniquely positioned to drive transformative solutions. The report Resilience Rising: Youth Research Informing Global Climate and Conflict Responses […]
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Mary Robinson: “The current failure of leadership is not gender neutral”
Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders, delivered the Kofi Annan Peace Address during Geneva Peace Week 2024. Reflecting on Kofi Annan’s legacy and the current global leadership crisis in peace efforts, she called for greater respect for humanitarian law, and advocated for gender parity in leadership, emphasising the need for women’s inclusion in peacebuilding. Full Remarks from Mary Robinson […]
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Appel d’urgence pour la paix
À l’occasion de la Journée internationale de la paix et avant le Sommet pour l’avenir, la Fondation Kofi Annan et Interpeace lancent un appel d’urgence pour la paix. Cet article a été publié dans Le Temps le 20 septembre 2024, sous la plume de Corinne Momal-Vanian et Itonde Kakoma. Nous vivons en temps de guerre. […]
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Youth & Peace: Then & Now | Kofi Time with Hajer Sharief & Jeremy Gilley | Episode 7
In episode 7 of Kofi Time, podcast host Ahmad Fawzi welcomes two special guests, Hajer Sharief and Jeremy Gilley, to discuss the importance of youth inclusion in global challenges and peacebuilding. Sharing their experiences of meeting and working with Kofi Annan, Hajer and Jeremy highlight Kofi Annan’s ability to connect with young people, giving them […]
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Making Peace: Then & Now | Kofi Time with Christiane Amanpour | Episode 2
In this episode of Kofi Time, host Ahmad Fawzi interviews renowned journalist Christiane Amanpour. Together, they discuss a world in turmoil, and what would Kofi Annan – who did so much for peace – do today? Christiane shares her thoughts on the ‘Kofi Annan way’, the difficult job mediators and peacebuilders face, and the courage […]
First published in
Mary Robinson: “The current failure of leadership is not gender neutral”
Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders, delivered the Kofi Annan Peace Address during Geneva Peace Week 2024. Reflecting on Kofi Annan’s legacy and the current global leadership crisis in peace efforts, she called for greater respect for humanitarian law, and advocated for gender parity in leadership, emphasising the need for women’s inclusion in peacebuilding. Full Remarks from Mary Robinson […]
First published in
Appel d’urgence pour la paix
À l’occasion de la Journée internationale de la paix et avant le Sommet pour l’avenir, la Fondation Kofi Annan et Interpeace lancent un appel d’urgence pour la paix. Cet article a été publié dans Le Temps le 20 septembre 2024, sous la plume de Corinne Momal-Vanian et Itonde Kakoma. Nous vivons en temps de guerre. […]
First published in
Peace is possible: A call for action
This week, the United Nations reported that two million people, primarily women and children, have fled from Ukraine to neighbouring countries, in the fastest exodus on the European continent since the end of WWII. Thousands of men, women, children, and young soldiers – many still in their teens – have died or been injured. Cities […]
First published in
Resilience Rising: Youth Research Informing Global Climate and Conflict Responses
The convergence of climate change, environmental degradation and conflict poses a significant threat to peace and stability worldwide, particularly in fragile and conflict affected countries. Young people in these areas are disproportionately affected, yet they are also uniquely positioned to drive transformative solutions. The report Resilience Rising: Youth Research Informing Global Climate and Conflict Responses […]
First published in
Tackling Violent Extremism in Uganda: Lessons Learnt
Lessons Learnt from a Community Resilience Approach Violent extremism (VE) is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, bringing terror and instability to all sections of society. Today, there are fewer terrorist groups, but the nature and scale of attacks carried out by groups like the Allied Democratic Forces in Uganda are becoming […]
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Harnessing Music Education for Peacebuilding and Gender Equality in Colombia: A Guide
Building on the tools developed and lessons learned during our “Voices of Reconciliation and Equality” project in Colombia between 2022-2023, the Kofi Annan Foundation, Alianza para la Paz and Fundación Nacional Batuta have created a practical guide on how to use music to advance peace and gender equality among children and adolescents affected by violence. The guide, “Acordes por la Paz: […]
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A Memory of 9/11, by Alan Doss
When two planes hit the World Trade Center on 9/11, I was half a world away in Sierra Leone. I was working there for the UN peacekeeping mission set up to help end the brutal civil war in that country. Part of my job was to plan and mobilise aid for national recovery in […]
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Women’s Rights Held Hostage in Libya by The Geneva Observer
The Geneva Observer spoke to Extremely Together leader Hajer Sharief on the topic of women’s rights in Libya, where the country’s first female foreign minister Najla El-Mangoush is under pressure to leave after only seven weeks into the job. Hajer has been vocal in denouncing her country’s deeply ingrained culture of excluding women from politics, […]
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Hajer Sharief and Ilwad Elman proposed as Nobel Peace Prize contenders
Geneva – Two Extremely Together Young Leaders, Libyan Hajer Sharief, 26, and Somalian Ilwad Elman, 29, are included in the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Director, Henrik Urdal’s personal shortlist of possible contenders for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. President of the Kofi Annan Foundation Alan Doss states: “We are delighted to see the extraordinary […]
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Geneva Peace Talks
Every year, the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The United Nations General Assembly has declared this a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and people. The Geneva Peace Talks are a public event co-organized by the United Nations Office at […]
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Introducing Extremely Together's Jonah Obajeun of Nigeria
Jonah expresses his hope for a world where young people can live together peacefully and diversity is valued as a strength.
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Introducing Extremely Together's Arizza Nocum of the Philippines
Arizza on the role of education in countering violent extremism and understanding the root economic and social causes which lead to extremist ideologies.
“Any society that does not succeed in tapping into the energy and creativity of its youth will be left behind.”
Kofi Annan