Marking the International Youth Day 2017, SERAC-Bangladesh ignited the ‘Peace Adda’ a new opinion sharing platform for youths in Bangladesh. The event was held on Saturday at the Biswa Sahitya Kendra in the capital, was joined by a number of international and UN entities including UN-HABITAT, International Youth Federation, International Peace Youth Group, and International Youth Alliance for Peace.
This year the International Youth Day theme quotes Youth Building Peace, which essentially clarified the idea of young people in conflict, violence, and similar situations. Focusing on that, a number of youth representatives from various youth groups, educational institutions, and professional sectors joined the discussion.
They raised issues including how young people are struggling to prevent war, conflict, violence, intolerance, and extremism in Bangladesh and globally. The conversation explored the essence and relevance of UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), and UN Security Council Resolution 2250 (which recognized youth as peace builders). The youths at the meeting interacted in generating solutions to extremism and violence by ensuring meaningful youth participation.
The event moderated by SERAC-Bangladesh program officer SN Shamiul Haque included the UN-HABITAT Youth Advisor for Asia-Pacific S M Shaikat as the lead speaker. Other speakers included Country Representative of International Youth Federation Jisan Mahmud and Jahangirnagar Campus Coordinator of UN-SDSN Mahabub Sharker.
