This edited volume is published as one of the projects of Seeds for Mindanao’s Advocacy on Youth Leadership (SMAYL), a 2021 YSEALI Seeds for the Future grantee.  The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Seeds for the Future Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and is funded through a grant from the U.S. Mission to ASEAN. It provides funding for the region’s most promising young leaders to carry out projects that improve their communities, countries, and the region across the program themes of Civic Engagement, Education, Economic Growth, and Sustainable Development.

SMAYL is built around the global recognition of youth's integral role in peacebuilding, as manifested in the passage of United Nation's Resolution 2250 (in 2015) and 2535 (in 2020). But while young peacebuilders have captured the spotlight among peacebuilding practitioners, funders, and scholars internationally, there is prevalent unsustainability among youth peacebuilding initiatives, thus the need to develop a locally grown support system for young peacebuilders. Such a 'local turn' in peacebuilding empowers the locals and is also linked to peacebuilding sustainability.

Contributions from young peacebuilders, scholars, activists, and youth-supporting individuals are particularly encouraged. Our hope is to increase the voices of youth and youth-supporting communities in peacebuilding.

Themes: general themes that contributors can address in their chapters include, but are not limited to, the following:

Youth in peace and conflict
Youth framings in conflict (as victims, transgressors, or peace agents)
Youth and the peacebuilding space
Structures and youth peacebuilding
Drivers (or destroyers) of youth peacebuilding agency
Youth energy and the elder’s wisdom
Intergenerationality in youth peacebuilding
Opportunities for young peacebuilders
Youth peacebuilding and the digital space
Youth, peacebuilding, and multi-stakeholders’ partnership
Planning and managing youth peacebuilding initiatives
Youth, peacebuilding, and interpersonal relationships

Formatting requirements
• Abstracts: max. 350 words – plus up to 5 key words (send by 30 July 2021)
• Full book chapter length: between 3,500-5,000 words
• May include one photo

Provisional timeline
• Abstract submission deadline (max. 350 words): 30 July 2021
• Notification of successful applicants: 5 August 2021
• Deadline for full chapter submission: 30 September 2021
• Feedback on chapter: 15 October 2021
• Final revised chapter due: 16 November 2021

Please submit your 350 words abstract no later than 30 July 2021 through this form.