In the shadows of governance: Exploring youth participation in local peacebuilding initiatives
Paper Details
In the shadows of governance: Exploring youth participation in local peacebuilding initiatives
Abstract
This study explored the lived experiences of youth engaged in local peacebuilding initiatives, focusing on their motivations, challenges, coping strategies, and aspirations within their communities. Guided by participatory and youth development frameworks, the research used a qualitative phenomenological design to capture authentic narratives from youth leaders and members across barangays. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed thematically, revealing nine major themes that reflected both empowering and constraining factors influencing youth peace engagement. Findings showed that youth view peacebuilding as a meaningful pathway to promote unity, reduce conflicts, and encourage prosocial behavior through activities such as sports, dialogue, community service, and advocacy campaigns. Despite these positive contributions, participants identified significant barriers, including limited resources, inadequate institutional support, participation fatigue, difficulty engaging marginalized youth, and generational gaps that affect sustained involvement. Nevertheless, youth demonstrated resilience by emphasizing inclusive participation, respectful dialogue, leadership development, and collaboration with stakeholders such as SK officials, LGUs, NGOs, schools, and the PNP. The findings support Social Development Theory, Positive Youth Development, Conflict Transformation, and Ecological Systems Theory, which emphasize the importance of social support and community environments. Overall, the study highlights the critical role of empowered youth in strengthening sustainable peace, justice, and inclusive community development.
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Copyright © 2026 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.