October 19, 2022 – In 2022, WPDI continued to expand its footprint in Chiapas, Mexico, with a training program in Conflict Resolution and Social Entrepreneurship for 277 young women and men from 7 different municipalities in the state who will be subsequently working with WPDI to foster lasting peace and sustainable development in the region. Endorsed by local authorities, the program was implemented by 10 WPDI youth leaders, trained by WPDI in order to pass on specific skills to other young people and lead local initiatives. In the coming months and years, these two groups of youths, the youth leaders and the 277 new graduates, will work together under the supervision of WPDI to further sustainable development initiatives and peace in Chiapas.
The training program took place as part of our flagship program, the Youth Peacemaker Network (YPN) which essentially aims to tap the immense power of youth for social innovation in conflict- and violence-affected communities. The YPN is based on our belief that young people can have a role in the present, not just in the future: young people are bastions of hope, who can be mobilized to overcome even the most pressing challenges within their communities. In this perspective, WPDI has developed programs around the world to help young women and men become active community builders, able to pass on the skills and knowledge they have acquired during their time with us to the next generation of peacebuilders.
This is to say that learning and education are intrinsic to the strategy of the YPN, ensuring that the energy of youth can be applied effectively to the challenges that they seek to address. To this effect, WPDI has designed comprehensive and intensive training programs with both theoretical and practical dimensions to ensure that trainees have a good command of their skills and put them to use in real situations. For instance, the 277 recent graduates were taken through 180 hours of courses, including 90 hours in Conflict Resolution Education and 90 hours in Social Entrepreneurship and Business.
Olga, a participant in the program, underlined its meaning for her: “For me, it means a lot to continue replicating these types of workshops for the training of young people in my community, belonging to a shelter of 5 communities near Yajalon, the training for the development of new skills is, for me, mainly to decrease the violence that is being experienced in the different municipalities and communities and also to know what to do in a conflict situation. One impact that I would have with young people is to know the different types of violence that apparently are not seen but can always happen. Being able to contribute to my community fills me with joy. Yes, it fills me with life and hope to be able to contribute to the peace that we need so much here in Chiapas.”
Dany, one of the Youth Peacemakers who conducted the training session for the local youths, highlighted how the workshops are life changing for the local youths: “Each young person expressed that they were pleased with the workshops, since they are topics they did not know and that they had a different concept. They thanked us for building a space where they could express their feelings and emotions, which in the classroom they usually cannot do. Each one committed to change things in their personal lives that do not help to build peace and to apply the new tools learned during the process.”
At WPDI, we are very excited by the energy and enthusiasm of this new cohort of peacemakers who emerged from our training program. Having witnessed firsthand their commitment and will for change, we know that they are ready to make change happen in their communities. We are very impatient to learn about their future projects and tell the wider WPDI community about them!
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