Young people in Nigeria remain at the center of both the drivers and solutions to conflict, insecurity, and social fragmentation. Recognising this reality, Nigeria adopted its National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) (2021-2024) to localise the commitments of UN Security Council Resolution 2250 and related YPS resolutions. However, gaps persist between policy commitments and meaningful youth participation in peace and security decision-making processes. Across Nigeria, young people continue to implement community-based peacebuilding, social cohesion, civic engagement, and violence prevention initiatives. Yet, their contributions are often under-recognised and insufficiently integrated into national and sub-national policy conversations
Building Blocks for Peace Foundation (BBFORPEACE) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), convened the 1st National Conference on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) on 26 May 2026 at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Abuja.
The conference brought together 215 participants including representatives of government institutions, development partners, security agencies, United Nations agencies, civil society organisations, youth-led organisations, academia, media practitioners, and youth advocates from across Nigeria. The event provided a platform to assess progress on the Youth, Peace and Security agenda in Nigeria, identify implementation challenges, and explore opportunities for strengthening youth participation in peacebuilding.
The conference was held under the theme: “Bridging Policy and Practice: Multi-stakeholder Engagement in Youth, Peace and Security Frameworks Implementation.”
