KAIPTC staff trained to promote peace, security among youth

Twenty-One selected staff of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) have undergone a youth development training programme to help promote Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) Agenda. 

The programme, known as “Youth Starts With You”, was designed to help empower and mobilise young people in the country to participate in the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) Agenda to ensure peace and security on the continent.

The three-day programme was organised via the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Peace and Security Architecture and Operations in collaboration with GIZ, a German cooperation agency at the KAIPTC in Accra.

Context

The Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) Agenda, rooted in United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 2250, underscores the significance of involving young people in fostering peace, preventing conflict and ensuring sustainable development.

It aligns with those principles and seeks to create a platform for youth engagement, mentorship and expertise development with a particular focus on building the internal capacity at the KAIPTC, while extending impactful training opportunities to young actors across Africa.

Structured to encompass knowledge management, mentorship, virtual courses and targeted training for young YPS experts, the programme fostered a holistic approach to youth development within the realm of peace and security.

In an address at the programme which ended last Friday (September 27), the Deputy Commandant of KAIPTC, Air Commodore David Anetey Akrong, underscored the importance of the programme, stating that mentorship was an integral asset to the professional and personal development of individuals, particularly young people.

“It fosters an environment where knowledge is transferred, talents are nurtured and guidance is provided to those who are still finding their way in their careers and life,” he said.

He added that the programme was not just about imparting skills but creating a legacy of excellence, empowering others to unlock their potential and ensuring that values held dear at the KAIPTC continued to drive the world into the future.

He said the programme would provide tools, techniques, insights on how best to engage, inspire and mentor young staff, interns and trainees in a meaningful way. 

Air Cdre Akrong indicated that the new developments in the field of peace and security required that young professionals be guided by experienced hands to obtain the needed skills to help promote the peace agenda.

The deputy commandant said the young professionals of the centre represented the future of KAIPTC, hence needed to be trained to ensure their preparedness in promoting peace and security on the continent.

“By fostering a culture of mentorship within the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, we are reinforcing the very foundation of our institution. We are investing in a future where the values, expertise and institutional knowledge of the KAIPTC are embodied in everyone who walks through our doors," he stressed.

Partnership

For her part, the Head of Component of GIZ, Teresa Kraft, affirmed the German government’s support for the Women, Youth, Peace and Security Institute (WYPSI) at the KAIPTC, indicating that the programme was the right step in helping the youth embrace peace and security.

She said the security situation in the Sahel was deteriorating and concerns were rising over the possible spillover of insecurity towards the West African coastal states, adding that “the growing, energetic, impatient and at times visionary youth population of West Africa is an essential stakeholder for peace and conflict, for fragility and resilience”.