Youth, education and work in (post-)conflict areas

Conflicts disrupt people's lives and are detrimental to the life perspectives of those who never got a chance to construct a firm base for an independent life worthy of living. Yet, only regarding youth as victims who missed education and decent work opportunities does not do justice to the experience and resilience they developed in conflict situations. The research network on Youth, Education and Work unites researchers from various (post-)conflict areas such as Sudan, Uganda, Mozambique, Israel, India and Colombia. Research conducted on youth, education and work in (post-)conflict contexts, was brought together and discussed in network meetings. Although the type of research varies from policy research, to needs assessments, to (multiple) case studies and action research, the findings all reveal that youth who live in these (post-)conflict areas show agency, even within the limited possibilities they have. The capability approach complemented with concepts of social learning and power relations serves to analyse competencies, needs and initiatives of youth in the perspective of (re)building livelihoods for individuals and communities. The paper to be presented will identify and discuss different forms of ‘youth agency’ based on studies carried out in different research contexts. This will lead to further conceptualisation of 'youth agency' and subsequently to the proposal of appropriate interventions contributing to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4. Especially the second part of this goal which focuses on lifelong learning, calls for the design of sound strategies to accommodate meaningful learning processes for youth and adults in (post-)conflict areas meeting their specific needs.