PASAY CITY, September 13, 2018 – The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) today presented the roadmap for the crafting of the National Action Plan for Youth, Peace, and Security (NAPYPS) during the first day of the National Youth Peace Table Summit being held in this city.

In  his message, Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza expressed pride in the peace initiatives of the 80 young participants, saying these will be integrated in the promotion and institutionalization of peace.

“We are hoping that this group of yours will become a nucleus of what could be a very capacitated group that could eventually already establish your own peace tables in your communities. Your work now is just really to share the skills, the capacity, and invite the support that you need,” Dureza said.

“That is the reason we provide whatever support that is needed in your big work ahead,” he added.

The upcoming NAPYPS is in response to United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250 which recognizes the youth’s efforts in peacebuilding and provides a set of guidelines upon which policies and programs will be developed by member states, the UN, and civil society.

The NAPYPS will be based on the OPAPP Youth Peace Table’s (YPT) series of nationwide consultations with different youth organizations. It will support the Filipino youth’s positive contribution to the peace process and conflict-resolution initiatives.

Since 2017, OPAPP has been partnering with young leaders from various regions involved in peacebuilding to gather their recommendations and insights in the drafting of the youth peace agenda.

The partnership is also aimed at deepening the youth leaders’ appreciation of peace education and sowing the seeds for a new roster of peace leaders.

The three-day National Youth Peace Table Summit runs from September 13 to 15 and is anchored on the 2018 National Peace Consciousness Month’s theme “Mithing Kapayapaan, Sama-samang Isakatuparan – Peace Na Tayo!”

OPAPP Conflict Prevention and Management Director Ferdinand Jovita said the event is “not just a commemoration” but a challenge to the youth on how they will apply the youth programs in their lives.

“A document is just a manifestation of what we have, but the real thing is how these formulated pillars will be lived by the youth of the Philippines,” he said.

OPAPP’s YPT is a partnership with the United Nations Development Program, together with the National Youth Commission, Teach Peace Build Peace Movement (TBPBM), Miriam College’s Center for Peace Education, Generation Peace, and Peace Tech.

###