Within the framework of its Year of Youth, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) announced the accreditation of 100 new young ambassadors for peace from 68 countries, on Tuesday (March 5, 2024), at Kampala University, in Kampala, Uganda, during the launch of the activities of the third cohort of its Leadership Training Programme for Peace and Security (LTIPS) for 2023, bringing the number of ICESCO Young Peace Ambassadors to 180 in total.

Young people will be qualified and mobilized to contribute to building peace, consolidating the values of coexistence and tolerance, and maintaining social cohesion in their countries through training sessions and workshops, facilitated by thinkers, specialized experts, and inspiring leaders from around the world.

During the accreditation ceremony of ICESCO’s Young Peace Ambassadors, which was attended by Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo, Ugandan Minister of State for Higher Education, and Dr. Abbas Agaba, Secretary-General of the African-Arab Youth Council, Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, ICESCO Director-General, stressed that these young people will become peace ambassadors to serve as leaders of positive change in their societies amid the widespread conflicts and wars, indicating that the Organization aspires to reach 500 young peace ambassadors by 2025.

In his speech, Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo congratulated the young men and women on their appointment as ICESCO Peace Ambassadors, commending their key role in consolidating coexistence in the countries of the Islamic world and beyond.

For her part, Ms. Ramata Almamy Mbaye, Head of the Social and Human Sciences Sector at ICESCO, stressed that the Organization believes in the necessity of building inclusive societies, indicating that LTIPS has achieved great success since its launch in 2021, including its current edition, being held under the theme ‘Planting the seeds of peace by mobilizing women and young leaders’, which witnesses a wide participation of over two thousand candidates, from whom one hundred young men and women were selected.

Afterwards, Dr. AlMalik and Dr. Muyingo decorated the new ICESCO Peace Ambassadors.

It is noteworthy that ICESCO’s LTIPS aims to build the capacities of young people and develop their leadership skills, through 10 training modules, based on ICESCO 360° Peace Approach, focusing on the various dimensions of building and strengthening peace, and providing the opportunity for young people to exchange with inspiring leaders from different generations and countries, in addition to special workshops for the Youth Peace Incubator.