13/08/2026
At the opening ceremony of the 5th Continental Dialogue on Youth, Peace and Security & Women, Peace and Security in Africa, held in Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi from the 10-12 August, 2026. The Secretary-General of the Pan African Youth Union, Bening Ahmed Wiisichong called for a new approach to peace and security and development across the continent.
Drawing on the words of Pan-Africanist thinker Frantz Fanon โEach generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it or betray itโ. The PYU Secretary-General challenged Africaโs generation of young people to embrace its historic responsibility to build a peaceful, progressive and prosperous continent.
The Secretary-General also highlighted the devastating conflicts in SUDAN, SOUTH SUDAN, LIBYA, EASTERN DRC, CABO DELGADO, to the SAHEL, including BURKINA FASO, MALI and NIGER; NORTHERN NIGERIA and SOMALIA, urging the urgent need to address the governance of Africaโs natural resources, youth unemployment, illicit financial outflows, development financing gaps and the legacies of neocolonialism.
He stressed that young people and women must not be viewed merely as victims of conflict, but as strategic actors in conflict prevention, mediation, crisis management and sustainable peacebuilding.
The Pan-African Youth Union therefore called for stronger institutional links between the African Peace and Security Architecture, National Youth Councils and equivalent national youth coordinating mechanisms, civil society organisations and regional youth platforms to harness the power of Africaโs largest demographic in advancing peace.
