Youth, peace, and non-formal education in conflict-affected societies: applied learnings from Ethiopia and Myanmar

• In Event: Peace education and youth- and gender-inclusive peace

Proposal

The number of armed conflicts globally is at its highest since the end of the Cold War. Over two billion people—around a quarter of the world’s population—currently live in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, where young people face deep social divisions, exclusion, trauma and fragmentation within their communities, all fuelling polarisation and feelings of uncertainty. At the same time, young people also have tremendous potential to be agents of change and play an important role in building lasting peace. Harnessing their potential for peace requires learning spaces that go beyond traditional models of education
Non-Formal Education (NFE) has emerged globally as one such space. It provides a vital although under-studied pathway for advancing peace, rebuilding trust, and supporting young people to lead transformative social change. Its inherent flexibility enables responsive, participatory, and often affective forms of learning that many young people identify as missing in formal systems (Rogers 2005; Cooke, Hodgkinson, and Manning 2023). From large international agencies to grassroots CSOs, actors across the globe are implementing NFE projects that seek to empower youth around issues such as gender inequality, climate justice, civic engagement, and peacebuilding. Despite their growing scope, NFE initiatives are sometimes evaluated in isolation, with limited academic attention being provided to their educational significance or potential as peacebuilding tools.
This submission draws on the multi-country project Non-Formal Education for Youth-Led Change, led by the University of Leeds and the British Council, and funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. It responds to the CIES 2026 theme—Re-examining Education and Peace in a Divided World—and its core objectives by sharing empirical data, examining education’s peacebuilding potential, and showcasing effective pedagogical practices.
The research brings together insights from NFE programmes running in contexts of active conflict. This includes the British Council’s Youth Connect programme in Ethiopia and a range of NFE initiatives in Myanmar, as well as findings from international knowledge exchange workshops. Through interviews and focus groups, the research examined how NFE can contribute to peacebuilding by enhancing youth agency, catalysing civic engagement, and promoting social cohesion. In Ethiopia, youth volunteers engaged in a national programme supported by the Ministry of Peace to contribute to community initiatives ranging from environmental protection to home construction for vulnerable groups. In Myanmar, characterised by violent repression and civil conflict, youth engaged in local NFE programmes have tackled gender-based violence, promoted women’s empowerment, and supported interfaith dialogue. Across both settings, participants reported increased self-efficacy, collective identity, and a sense of civic purpose.
The research
The research draws on theories of transrational learning (May Group 2025), which foreground the role of affective, embodied, and emotional forms of knowledge in social transformation. In doing so, it demonstrates how participatory and experiential learning, which is a key feature of NFE, transforms not just how young people see their societies—but also how they see themselves as active agents of change and peacebuilders in their communities. NFE’s unique pedagogical affordances—its flexibility, responsiveness, and capacity for relational learning—can foster inclusive spaces for reflection, solidarity, and political imagination. Participants described NFE as offering “a different kind of education,” one that allowed them to listen, care, and act.
The research identifies conditions under which NFE becomes a meaningful peacebuilding tool. These include:
• Youth participation in co-design and implementation;
• Deep contextual embeddedness and community buy-in;
• Gender-sensitive, inclusive programme structures;
• Opportunities for continuity and follow-up support;
• Strong local networks and peer mentorship;
• Safeguarding and protection protocols;
• Long-term planning and alignment with policy ecosystems.
In Ethiopia, participants trained through ENVY-SP—an Ethiopian Ministry of Peace initiative supported by the British Council and civil society partners—were deployed across woredas to engage in sanitation, education, and peacebuilding work. As well as tangible contributions to these communities, through building irrigation systems, supporting elders, constructing bridges, and reciting poems to mobilise local support, young people reported the programme’s contribution to peacebuilding, through their changed perspectives of cultural diversity and calls for harmony between groups across the country
In Myanmar, the British Council supported the Myanmar Youth Empowerment Network (MYEN) in delivering civic education, vocational training, and peacebuilding NFE to youth otherwise excluded from formal systems. Participants facilitated anti-violence campaigns, led women’s rights projects, and engaged religious leaders to foster intergroup dialogue. The study, conducted across 14 states and regions, was one of the few systematic reviews of NFE provision post-coup.
Despite the promise of NFE – and some clear successes within NFE programming - the research also reveals persistent structural challenges that limit the potential of programming. These include gender norms limiting young women’s active participation and the logic of development programming which prioritises short project cycles donor-driven priorities that interrupt momentum and disconnect programming from local needs. Crucially, the research demonstrated the potential for mistrust in communities living in active conflict which impact young people both during and after engaging in NFE programming, particularly when there is a clash with local norms and practices. Young people described a lack of an enabling environment in which they could act as changemakers and peacebuilders after the programmes had finished. To create these enabling environments, the research recommends:
• Engaging communities and traditional authorities from the outset;
• Using funding cycles to build on prior programme learnings;
• Embedding youth-led design and ongoing monitoring;
• Creating structured, semi-regular follow-up spaces;
• Promoting intergenerational support and mentorship;
• Aligning NFE programmes with national priorities where possible, while retaining grassroots responsiveness.
In both countries, then, NFE created pathways for experiential and affective learning, enabling youth to rethink their roles and reimagine the futures of their communities. The evidence suggests that when supported by enabling environments, NFE can help young people shift from marginalisation to leadership—from witnessing violence to building peace. Yet creating these enabling environments is not straightforward. Programmes must work both within and beyond educational spaces to shape the structural and social conditions necessary for youth-led change.

Authors

• Olga Mitrovic, British Council

• Katie Hodgkinson, University of Leeds

• Matthew Sheader, British Council