International Alert

International Alert We are an international peacebuilding NGO, supporting peace by tackling the root causes of conflict.

This may look like another feel-good post about young people. Look closer. It's evidence of palpable, positive shifts yo...
14/08/2026

This may look like another feel-good post about young people. Look closer.

It's evidence of palpable, positive shifts young people are driving for lasting stability across five conflict contexts.

Meet Kibet, Gohar, Olivier, Hawa and young leaders from Nigeria's Youth in Climate Leadership platform. Each is showing up with ideas, courage, local knowledge, and the readiness to act.

And each is already transforming their community – from a shared farm on a former conflict hotspot in Kenya, to new jobs steering young people away from armed group recruitment in Mali.

These efforts are not just side projects to "real" peacebuilding. They are peacebuilding.

What they're proving is that a future worth building together starts with trusting young people as partners and backing their leadership today, not someday.

⬇️ Meet all five in our post and see what that backing makes possible.

In the coming weeks, we'll share more of these stories – starting with Gohar from Armenia, who built the country's first guide to nonviolent communication, now helping her peers turn conflict into dialogue. Link in the comments.

💭 If you've worked with young people in conflict-affected communities, what's one lesson that's stuck with you? Share your thoughts below.
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With support from Irish Aid, Austrian Development Agency, European External Action Service - EEAS and in partnership with Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops-Catholic Justice & Peace Department, Public Journalism Club (PJC) Հանրային լրագրության ակումբ (ՀԼԱ), Pole Institute and Jireh Doo Foundation

Partners in practice, not just principle. Young people bear conflict's harshest costs while also holding immense capacit...
12/08/2026

Partners in practice, not just principle. Young people bear conflict's harshest costs while also holding immense capacity to change it.

Over a decade since the adoption of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, progress with meaningful engagement and real power-sharing has been slow, even as that potential keeps going untapped.

We spoke with Kadiatou Keita, Alert’s Sahel Hub Director, and Emmy Auma, International Alert Horn of Africa Hub Director, about why "for" young people still happens far more often in peacebuilding than "with" and "by" young people.

Through our experience in conflict-affected regions, we've seen that leaving young people out isn't just a problem on its own. It's a symptom of a deeper tendency toward fragmented responses, when what these contexts need is genuine participation and integrated solutions.

⬇️ Read Kadiatou and Emmy’s interview about the main barriers holding youth engagement back, the cost of inaction, and where real, positive change could realistically start.

💭 Where have you seen youth engagement move from symbolic to meaningful? What made the difference? Let us know in the comments below.
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Meet Lawrence and Kibet. Division and violence used to mark their lives. Now, they are working side by side to sow seeds...
10/08/2026

Meet Lawrence and Kibet. Division and violence used to mark their lives. Now, they are working side by side to sow seeds for a peaceful future at a shared tomato farm.

In Kenya's Kerio Valley, communities from two counties – West Pokot and Elgeyo Marakwet – clashed for land, livestock, and identity for generations. Cattle raiding and revenge attacks were part of daily life. But new pressures created by climate change made competition for shrinking resources even more violent.

🙌 Today, some of the same young men who used to be in conflict are farming side by side on KACHE, a joint venture built on a former "no-go zone."

One rule made it possible: everyone leaves prejudice behind and instead rolls up their sleeves to work together for a shared future.

Establishing this farm took patient but persistent efforts to rebuild trust between people who'd spent years fighting each other.

That trust is now paying off. KACHE's harvests put food on the table, let communities move freely across the border, and are drawing interest from investors beyond the region.

Our latest story from International Alert Horn of Africa how the 'Powering Peace through Climate Action' project sparked KACHE and other community-led ventures that are now building security, economic opportunity, and lasting peace.

⬇️ Read the full story - link in the comments.
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With support from Irish Aid and in partnership with the Catholic Justice and Peace Department (CJPD)

How do you help people heal from a trauma as deep and brutal as the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda? To this there...
03/08/2026

How do you help people heal from a trauma as deep and brutal as the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda?

To this there is no simple answer, but Jane Abatoni Gatete, Member and Former Executive Director of our partner organisation, ARCT Ruhuka Rwanda Association of Trauma Counsellors, has important lessons to share.

In a new episode of BBC World Service's The Conversation, Jane discusses insights from her 25 years of working with genocide survivors as British forensic psychologist Dr Gwen Adshead reflects on her own learnings.

Despite working in different contexts, both experts shared common insights on supporting recovery, highlighting how approaches to trauma and mental health have evolved, and the important role of group therapy and social reconnection in healing.

International Alert Rwanda has worked with Jane Abatoni Gatete and her colleagues for many years, as part of the mental health and psychosocial support that has been a vital component of post-genocide healing and reconciliation.

👇 Listen to the full programme - link in the comments.
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Did you know 🇳🇪 Niger has one of the youngest populations in the world? Yet many young people – and women – struggle to ...
31/07/2026

Did you know 🇳🇪 Niger has one of the youngest populations in the world? Yet many young people – and women – struggle to find work or earn a living and are left out of decisions that affect their lives.

In Niger and the Sahel, economic insecurity, unemployment and exclusion together make people more vulnerable and worsen tensions between groups. To help change this, our Sahel team have just launched a new project called Goy Da Djame ("Peace and Work").

🙌 This new initiative, funded by the Open Society Foundations, will support local businesses and income-generating activities, provide training on technical and vocational skills, and help strengthen community networks.

This will give young people and women, whose economic options are often limited, better access to jobs, safer livelihoods, and more opportunities to actively contribute to the development and stability of their communities.

Economic participation, social inclusion, and trust between communities and government authorities are closely connected with peace – this is why the project works across these three pillars in parallel to achieve sustainable impact.

👏We are proud to work with Niger's leading peacebuilding authority, the Haute Autorité à la Consolidation de la Paix. We are also partnering with the Ministries of Youth, Technical and Vocational Education, and Population, Social Action and National Solidarity to help scale local impact to the national level.

A special thank you to Niger’s Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Le Ministère de la jeunesse des sports et de la culture for hosting our launch event in Niamey last week.

Supporting young people’s economic security and helping women reach their potential are key in building lasting peace in Niger.

➡️ Stay tuned for more project updates and get in touch with our Sahel team at International Alert Mali to discover more about this work.

Peace is so much more than formal negotiations or processes. Nowhere is it clearer than in 🇳🇵 Nepal, where 25 years of o...
23/07/2026

Peace is so much more than formal negotiations or processes. Nowhere is it clearer than in 🇳🇵 Nepal, where 25 years of our work with communities and partners led to some remarkable achievements:

🔸Advanced women's participation in peacebuilding and pushed for specific protections for women and girls during and after conflict

🔸Successfully advocated for gender issues to be included in Nepal's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

🔸Supported major legal reforms that brought justice to civil war victims

🔸Strengthened journalists' safety and independence, promoting inclusive, accountable media reporting

Enabling real, lasting change took daily commitment from people willing to show up for peace, stability, and a better present and future.

As we mark the end of our Nepal programme, we’ve asked our former Asia Director Rabina Shrestha to share the most valuable lessons from this journey shaped by courage and partnership.

Rabina’s key takeaway: lasting peace depends on trust, accountability, inclusion and the meaningful participation of marginalised communities.

⬇️ Read the blog to explore her detailed reflections from 25 years of International Alert Nepal and what they tell us about the necessary next steps for peaceful, inclusive futures for all - link in the comments.
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21/07/2026

Across Lebanon, millions of people are relying on humanitarian and development aid to get through the current crisis - how and to whom that aid is delivered matters.

Providing it in a way that's inclusive, equitable, builds trust, and does no harm is vital. But what does this mean in practice, and how does it change across different programme areas?

For years, our team at International Alert Lebanon has supported international and local organisations delivering everything from medical assistance to food supplies - so that their essential work makes a genuine difference.

We've distilled that experience into a practical tipsheet on conflict-sensitive aid delivery.

In this video, Mohammad Shaaban breaks it down into 9 essential steps: from reading local tensions before you even arrive, to catching the red flags that signal something's gone wrong.

💭 Which step do you think is hardest to put into practice? Let us know in the comments.

👇 Working in Lebanon and want free access to the full tipsheet? Send us a DM or leave a request via the form below.
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16/07/2026

"Change we all aspire to see."

In Lebanon, the ongoing war continues to test what's already fragile: trust between communities and their ability to work together for a shared future.

With nearly 3 million people in need of support, over 1 million people displaced, and no end in sight to the fear of military strikes, these pressures are making it harder for anyone working towards peace or recovery to do so effectively.

This is why peacebuilding matters more than ever right now – as the foundation for everything else. But no single organisation can do this alone. Real, lasting change depends on partnerships that bring together everyone with a stake in peace.

Listen to our International Alert Lebanon Country Director Layal Assaad share an important message about who needs to be involved in these partnerships to truly make a difference.

Get in touch with our team to discuss how we can work together for a stronger, more united Lebanon - link in the comments ⬇️
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Zainab (pictured), from Tunga in northwest 🇳🇬 Nigeria, knows exactly what happens when your family depends entirely on f...
09/07/2026

Zainab (pictured), from Tunga in northwest 🇳🇬 Nigeria, knows exactly what happens when your family depends entirely on farming in a place where climate change and conflict start colliding.

When rainfall stops following its seasonal patterns, fertile land grows scarcer and old tensions turn into new conflicts, the consequences for agricultural communities are vast and far-reaching. Less food on the table, young people leaving in search of better opportunities elsewhere, and fewer resources to go around.

But it’s women who are hit hardest – despite rarely having a say in decisions that directly affect their households.

👏 Zainab is changing that. Through our Powering Peace through Climate Action project, she's gained new skills in agriculture and conflict resolution and is now helping her community adapt in ways that are fairer, more inclusive, and more peaceful.

Read her story and see what's possible when climate action puts inclusion first - link in the comments👇

With support from Irish Aid

Climate change and conflict create interconnected challenges for livelihoods, economies, security, and cooperation. Our ...
07/07/2026

Climate change and conflict create interconnected challenges for livelihoods, economies, security, and cooperation. Our new report shows how fragmented responses in the Kenya–Ethiopia borderlands can become an obstacle to community resilience – and what integrated approaches can achieve.

Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts and unpredictable rainfall in the Turkana-South Omo corridor are worsening competition over water and land. Violent conflicts between communities have become more frequent as existing dispute resolution systems struggle under increased pressure.

Both 🇰🇪 Kenya and 🇪🇹 Ethiopia have established frameworks for climate adaptation, peacebuilding, gender inclusion and cross-border cooperation. But these efforts remain divided, limiting the impact of responses.

➡️ The real obstacle is treating each issue separately, without addressing their connections.

Our new report ‘Converging crises, fragmented responses’ makes the case for integrated approaches to tackle shared environmental, social and economic challenges.

This means:

▪️Strengthening local institutions like councils of elders and peace committees
▪️Improving cross-border cooperation between Kenya and Ethiopia
▪️Transforming decision-making to meaningfully include women and young people
▪️Aligning efforts across governments, civil society and development partners

Read the report to discover our key insights and recommendations - link in the comments👇

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With support from Austrian Development Agency

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