Event Details

The 5th Annual Continental Dialogue on Youth Peace and Security (YPS) and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) will be held in Bujumbura, Burundi from 10 to 12 August 2026, under the esteemed leadership of H.E. Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of the Republic of Burundi, in his role as the AU Champion for Youth, Peace and Security (YPS).

This year’s dialogue, will be held under the theme, “Water, Peace, and Inclusive Leadership in Africa: Institutionalization of the Strategic Role of Youth and Women in Conflict Prevention, Crisis Management, and Sustainable Peace Consolidation through Responsible Resource Governance.”

It will seek to explore the intergenerational synergies between the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda’s, while assessing the progress of implementation for both.

The Dialogue further aligns with the AU Assembly theme for 2026: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063,” by moving beyond participation toward institutionalization, embedding youth and women as strategic actors in water governance as an entry point for conflict prevention and sustainable peacebuilding. Additionally, this year’s Dialogue will also feature a series of four (4) side events, that will seek to further explore different topics related to the theme of the dialogue. These will include:

Session 1: AU Silence the Guns Unit: Youth Creative Consortium (YCC) 2.0.

Session 2: APRM and Pan-African Youth Union: Institutionalizing Youth and Women’s Leadership in Peace, Security and Governance.

Session 3: UNDP: Reframing Water Security within Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture: Youth and Women as Drivers of Inclusive Resilience.

Session 4: UNWOMEN, OSE-WPS and FEMWISE-AFRICA: Young Women’s Leadership in Peace Negotiations and Access to Justice within Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture.