Second EU Youth, Peace and Security Conference

Celebrating 10 years of UNSCR 2250:
Towards a Team Europe Approach on Youth, Peace & Security

An initiative of the EU Youth, Peace & Security Coalition and Team Europe Partners

Background: Team Europe support to Youth, Peace & Security (YPS) since 2015

Today’s generation of youth – the largest in modern history – is increasingly affected by global affairs and plays a key role in shaping them. Young people often form the majority of the population in countries affected by armed conflict. Recognising the dual role of young people – as both stakeholders affected by and involved in peace and conflict – positions the EU to support the positive potential of youth and intergenerational partnerships towards sustainable peace and to prevent escalations of violence, including via Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and the range of other Team Europe tools.

Responding to the collective rallying cry of thousands of young peacebuilders and their partners around the world, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted its Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace & Security (YPS) on 9 December 2015. Since then, the EU and its Member States have increasingly responded to the huge potential and political imperative of the YPS agenda. The 2018 EU YPS Conference contributed to a new paradigm in relations between the EU and young peacebuilders. EU Member States committed to action on YPS in Council Conclusions in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2025 . In 2021, Finland became the first country to adopt a National Action Plan (NAP) on YPS and has supported peers via a Community of Practice on national action. YPS has also been integrated into other national and EU policies on youth and on peace or security, notably the EU’s first Youth Action Plan for external action in 2022. 

Throughout 2025, a global mobilisation marks the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250, celebrating all that has been achieved already via international, intergenerational, and state-society partnerships on YPS and, in particular, the energy, resilience, and expertise of young peacebuilders. The Anniversary is also a chance to drive implementation of the YPS agenda forward, in line with commitments in the Pact for the Future and the need for better coordinated and sustainable action for peace in Europe and around the world. Working with peer and youth partners, the EU and its Member States have a critical role to play in this.

A Second EU YPS Conference

Objectives

Recognising the efforts underway already in different EU capitals and the potential of joined-up action, an important next step will be to:

1. Develop a real joint-up Team Europe Approach to YPS: How can the EU and Member States support each other in developing and implementing youth-inclusive YPS National Action Plans, including cross-border actions? How can Team Europe align and collaborate on support to YPS policies and initiatives in partner countries, including accession candidates? How should Friends of the YPS agenda coordinate in Brussels?
2. Integrate practical expertise for the effective operationalisation of policy commitments: What partnership modalities with youth generate the best outcomes for peace and security? What does Team Europe need in order to effectively implement YPS in CSDP, mediation, conflict prevention, and other tools of the integrated approach to conflicts and crisis? How can we best ensure safe and meaningful engagement of youth and in what areas do young people expect more Team Europe action on peace and security?  

The Second EU YPS Conference and the surrounding YPS week will explore and respond to precisely these issues, bringing together EU and Member State institutions, as well as young peacebuilders and partners from the EU and wider world, in Brussels, 11-14 November, 2025.

Content

12-13 November - Conference: Towards a Team Europe Approach on Youth, Peace & Security 

• State of play ten years after the adoption of the UNSCR 2250: what have we learned, what success stories, and what prospects for YPS in a changing world
• Our ambitions for the future: Space to gather commitments/proposals for (collaborative) actions, adopted in a joint declaration

11-14 November: Brussels YPS Week

• Preparation, capacity exchange, network building, and debrief sessions for participants
• Political preparation & learning among Team Europe actors & partners to inform the joint declaration and effective action
• Side-events and side-meetings between young practitioners and policy makers on particular regions

Outcomes and deliverables

• A declaration of co-developed proposals for Team Europe coordination mechanisms & coordinated action on YPS domestically, in Brussels, and internationally, including commitments on NAPs
• Input for the implementation/development of key frameworks: EU Youth Action Plan, EU/MS Youth Strategies, Multiannual Financial Framework, EU Preparedness and Fragility Strategies, National Prevention Strategies, Africa-EU Joint Vision
• Increased capacity to operationalise key guidance, including mini–concept on YPS in Civilian CSDP adopted in 2024 by CIVCOM, the youth section of the EEAS Mediation Guidelines, EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict and related CSDP Checklist
• Improved understanding, connections, and collaboration among youth and allies
• Contribution to the 2nd Independent Progress Study on YPS, input to the Global Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes, and follow up on EU Youth Policy Dialogue (YPD) recommendations

Partnerships and Participation

Team Europe approach to organising, financing, and shaping proposals: 

The Conference and Week are a joint effort, with partners contributing as they are able, for example:

• Financial/in-kind support for event organisation (e.g. hosting part of the YPS Week at a National House or similar venue, contribution to catering, interpretation…);
• Supporting travel for young participants (e.g. where aligned with programme/project objectives around youth engagement in EU decision-making);
• Support mobilising other relevant EU/national actors (e.g. counterparts in other relevant teams/agencies, in Brussels representations, or in other Member State)
• Preparing best practices and (joint) proposals, plans, or commitments in policy or programming to share at the Conference and inspire action by peers
• (Co-)proposing side-events or dedicated discussion sessions for the Conference Day

Multi-stakeholder and inter-generational participation:

• Around 120 youth from Europe and the wider world of diverse backgrounds
• High and working level at EU and Member State level: EEAS, FPI, DGs INTPA, MENA, ENEST, EAC, REGIO; Member State representatives covering YPS issues domestically and internationally from Capitals and PermReps
• Representatives of partner countries (notably, the wider ‘Team Europe’ & strategic YPS partners) and multilateral bodies (UN, AU)
• Other EU YPS Coalition partners