On 22 October 2026, DEEP EnGender took part in the Capstone Conference of the Professional Development Certificate in Peace and Development Studies, held at the Bahçeşehir University (BAU) Beşiktaş Main Campus in Istanbul, Türkiye. The programme is run by the Otto & Fran Walter Rotary Peace Center at Bahçeşehir University, in cooperation with CIFAL Istanbul and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Representing DEEP EnGender, Anna Christi Suwardi, ==[position]==, presented the Youth-Inclusive Learning Academy (YILA), our initiative exploring how inclusive learning can strengthen young people’s participation in peacebuilding and social change.
YILA begins with a simple question: who actually gets the chance to learn about peace? Many young people in Southeast Asia care deeply about conflict, the environment and their communities, yet opportunities for international learning rarely reach them. Distance, cost and language often stand in the way, and for some, so do their own experiences of conflict. For this reason, YILA was designed as an online programme for young people aged 16 to 25, with a particular focus on those who face such barriers.
To make that learning meaningful, the programme follows a simple framework: Learn, Practise, Connect. Rather than treating peace as a subject to be memorised, it combines peace education with storytelling, empathetic communication and exchange across borders. In this way, young people do not only learn ideas about peace; they also practise the skills that peacebuilding requires and build relationships with peers who see the world differently.
In its first cohort, YILA brought together 30 young people from seven Southeast Asian countries for nine weekly learning sessions. Over those weeks, participants strengthened their critical thinking, storytelling and public speaking. Ten of them were selected to share their own experiences in the River of Life storytelling showcase, turning personal journeys into stories others could learn from. Afterwards, the YILA Changemakers alumni network was established, so that the connections formed in the programme could continue beyond it.
Perhaps the most important lesson, however, concerned disagreement. Peacebuilding is often imagined as the search for agreement, yet communities rarely agree on questions such as development, environmental protection, livelihoods and Indigenous rights. Through interactive exercises on exactly these questions, participants explored perspectives unlike their own and practised engaging with them constructively. In other words, YILA treats disagreement not as a failure of dialogue but as the place where empathy and inclusive peacebuilding are learned.
The conference also marked an important milestone for Anna. In September 2026, she completed the year-long Professional Development Certificate in Peace and Development Studies (September 2025 to September 2026), issued by the Otto & Fran Walter Rotary Peace Center at Bahçeşehir University in cooperation with CIFAL Istanbul and UNITAR. During the Capstone Conference on 22 October 2026, she then received a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of completing the programme. For DEEP EnGender, this reflects a commitment we take seriously: investing in the people who carry our work, so that our programmes are led with growing skill and care.
Beyond presenting, the conference was also a valuable opportunity to learn. The second cohort of Peace Fellows presented a wide range of projects, and each offered a different way of contributing to peace. Taken together, they showed how much peacebuilding depends on creative thinking, collaboration and collective action. Moreover, the participation of Rotaract members reflected young people’s growing interest in peace initiatives, and the potential for even stronger youth engagement in the years ahead.
We thank the Otto & Fran Walter Rotary Peace Center at Bahçeşehir University, CIFAL Istanbul and UNITAR for the programme and the conference, the Peace Fellows for their inspiring work, and above all the young people of YILA, whose stories and courage give this initiative its meaning.
