Funded by UNDP (2008, 2012), the Catholic Relief Services (2016), and the Danish Civil Society Fund (2020), the project maximises the elections cycle in Ghana to galvanise youth action for conflict transformation and peacebuilding in some of the country’s hottest conflict flashpoints. The focus is on young women and men aged 15 to 24 who hail from and reside in the target locations – Alavanyo and Nkonya in the Volta region, and the municipalities of Bawku, Bolgatanga, Tamale, and West Gonja in the northern regions of Ghana.

The project adopts a two-part approach to deepening youth-led strategies for peacebuilding and community cohesion. Selected through a participatory community-led approach that ensures trust and acceptance, participating youth attend Young Peace Ambassadors’ Camps where they receive peacebuilding and community mobilisation training. They also develop tailored peacebuilding action plans that become the basis for the second part of their peacebuilding efforts after the Camp meeting.

In all project locations, YOTA supports teams of Young Peace Ambassadors to undertake various peacebuilding activities, including outreach to traditional leaders, drama and creative work at community gatherings, radio discussions, among others. To date, more than 500 youth have directly benefitted from the project, altogether reaching more than 100,000 other youth with the peace message across the locations.

The Young Peace Ambassadors have also served as agents for early warning signals that have contributed towards a downward trend in election-related violence in the target locations.