Young Peacebuilders 2026 – Collective Leadership Institute

Region	Global
Start	2026
Sector	Civil Society
CLI Project Manager	Dominic Stucker, Guillem Vallbona, Katrin Schulz

Project context

Since 2024, we have been supporting young leaders from around the globe in building peace from the inside out. Now the program is in its 3rd year!

The Young Peacebuilders Program comes at a time when violent conflicts are on the rise. The wars we are witnessing are reflective of violence erupting in many parts of societies. Be it domestic violence, increasing rifle sales, displacement, or discrimination at all levels: CLI strongly condemns all forms of violence. And so do our Young Peacebuilders! Therefore, we annually support young leaders under the age of 35 to work on peacebuilding projects in their communities. These can be in conflict zones such as Ukraine or eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, but also networks or organisations supporting human rights, restorative drug abuse prevention, LGBTQIA+ communities, and the like.

Key question

How can peace be built from the inside out — personally, locally, and globally?

Concept

The Young Peacebuilders 2026 journey:
✓ May: Young Peacebuilders Annual Gathering
✓ June: Outer peacebuilding workshop 2: The Art of Leading Collectively
✓ July: Bridging Session: Inner and Outer Peace
✓ August: Inner Peacebuilding Modules 1-3
✓ September: Outer peacebuilding workshop 2: The Art of Stakeholder Collaboration
✓ November: Outer peacebuilding workshop 3: The Art of Process Facilitation
✓ January: Reflection session and celebration moment

Processes and methodologies

The first outer peacebuilding workshop kicked off in a 3-day hybrid format. The Young Peacebuilders learned and applied the © Collective Leadership Compass methodology for navigating complex change. While participating online, they exchanged with Art of Leading Collectively open course participants in CLI’s workshop room in Potsdam, Germany. On the one hand, they could learn from project cases like regional dialogues with the business sector in Ukraine. On the other hand, they could present and get supportive suggestions on a case in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on fostering trust and collaboration in conflict-affected communities.

The Young Peacebuilders journey continued with an online bridging session that laid the foundation for the Inner Peacebuilding Modules to come. They focus on learning practices for addressing personal traumas and inner healing are conducted by our trusted partner, Depth Work.

More steps will come later in 2026.

Voices from stakeholders

“My experience was amazing. I am grateful to the organizers and the CLI team.” Mary, Young Peacebuilder from Nigeria

“In a world where resources are scarce and challenges often divide us, I am reminded that collective leadership begins with changing how we see ourselves, our role, the process, and the systems we are part of. I leave feeling more intentional and less willing to remain a bystander when meaningful collaboration is possible.” Haregewoin, Young Peacebuilder from Ethiopia

“This workshop [the Art of Leading Collectively] was a transformative experience that beautifully shifted my understanding of leadership from a position of top-down power to an adaptive, collective practice of organizing systemic energy, listening deeply across diverse perspectives, and creating safe spaces for genuine collaboration.” Owais, Young Peacebuilder from India