Half the world's population is below the age of 30, and many young people today live in areas affected by conflict and violence. As they grow up amidst polarization, insecurity and protracted violence, peace feels like a distant concept. It is spoken about in far away parliaments and convention centers, disconnected from daily realities. Too often, decisions about peace and security are made without the young voices that will be affected.
This discrepancy gave rise to the United Nations' Hear Us. Act Now for a Peaceful World campaign, which works to change the dynamic. In an active outreach strategy, the campaign has recently onboarded around 100 Online Volunteers, the majority of them under the age of 35, from all over the world as peace mobilizers, facilitated by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV).
From Guinea to Nicaragua, from North Macedonia to Uzbekistan, and from Australia to Peru, these Online Volunteers who joined the campaign come from geographically diverse places. Some are students, others are professionals. They are connected by a shared belief that peace begins with dialogue.
As these Online Volunteers are the experts and influencers within their communities, they are able to lead peace and security dialogues that are tailored to the specific context in which they are set.
By equipping volunteers across regions, countries, and cultures, the UN is committing to hyper-local peacebuilding.
With the Hear Us. Act Now campaign directly feeding into the UN Secretary-General's forthcoming independent progress study on youth's positive contribution to peace in September 2026, this ensures that global commitments are informed by the experiences of young people from around the world.
From global campaign to local dialogues
Integral to the Hear Us. Act Now campaign are Peace Circles: inclusive, intergenerational dialogues that explore different dimensions of peace and security, from social cohesion and mental well-being to climate justice, gender equality and freedom from violence.
While Peace Circles are designed to be flexible and adapt to their communities, they all share a single, powerful purpose: highlighting youth voices, visions and solutions for a safer and fairer world.
Most importantly, Peace Circles bridge the gap between generations, facilitating open, inclusive and collaborative dialogue between youth, elders, and leaders.
By hosting Peace Circles for and with members of their own communities, the newly onboarded peace mobilizers ensure that conversations about peace reflect the specific challenges of these communities.
Taking this approach, the UN recognizes that peace is not a one-size-fits-all concept. Whether shaped by conflict, inequality, displacement or social fragmentation, peace can mean something different to everyone. There is a unique conversation to be held in every context, whether it is about ending gun violence in neighbourhoods, addressing the youth affordability crisis in cities, or securing climate justice for Indigenous communities.
Crucially, the hyper-local nature of Peace Circles led by the Online Volunteers allows sensitive and complex topics to be discussed in trusted online environments.
This is especially important in contexts where fear, stigma or social divisions may otherwise silence voices and prevent participation.
Real issues, lived experiences
Since the onboarding, peace mobilizers have immediately started convening dialogues with a total of more than 300 expected to take place worldwide. It demonstrates how quickly global initiatives can translate into local action.
In China, for example, a Peace Circle brought together students from multiple universities, factory workers, nurses, and teachers to focus on intergenerational tensions throughout society. Around the same time, Iraqi youth met with local leaders to emphasize the essential role education plays in achieving economic stability, while pointing out the gap between theoretical curricula and the practical skills demanded by society.
This contribution captures the grassroots essence of the Hear Us. Act Now campaign. Connecting at the local level, finding common ground for collaboration, and making the collective voice heard can lead to real change in everyday lives.
A strategy rooted in participation
By engaging the UNV community of Online Volunteers, the United Nations not only expands its reach but also redefines how peacebuilding happens.
In an increasingly digitalized world, Online Volunteering enables participation regardless of geography or resources, inevitably making peacebuilding more inclusive.
This strategy reflects a broader understanding that sustainable peace takes more than ceasefires. As peace mobilizers continue to host Peace Circles around the world, they echo a global call: peace must be shaped by those whose lives are affected by instability and exclusion. It must be youth and gender inclusive, to ensure that no voice is left unheard.
So far in 2026, nearly 21,000 Online Volunteers have supported UN initiatives worldwide. Through UNV's Online Volunteering service, volunteers help tackle today’s sustainable development challenges—from any device, anywhere in the world. For more information, please click here. To read stories of Online Volunteers and the impact of their work, please click here.
This story was originally published under the United Nations Peace & Security.