External consultant/s needed: The Danish Youth Council’s work on Youth, Peace, and Security
At a time where Denmark holds a seat at the United Nations Security Council and will soon be serving as President of the Council of the European Union, in a changing geopolitical reality, and with the largest generation of youth in history, out of which half lives in countries affected by violent conflicts, the Danish Youth Council – DUF wishes to better understand how our work with meaningful youth participation locally, nationally and globally contributes to the realization of the UN securi
Background
In 2015, the Security Council adopted the first resolution on YPS (2250).[1] Inspired by the agenda on Women, Peace and Security, and resulting from a youth-driven process, the resolution on YPS for the first time recognizes youth as key stakeholders in preventing and resolving conflict and building sustainable peace. The resolution calls among others for member states, the UN and civil society organizations to give youth a bigger voice in decision making locally, nationally and internationally, and to consider enabling youth participation in matters of peace and security. Concretely, action is urged around five pillars: participation, protection, prevention, partnerships and disengagement and reintegration. The first YPS resolution has been followed by another two resolutions as YPS has developed into a more comprehensive agenda, [2] with a growing acknowledgement of its significance not only for immediate conflict management but also in addressing root causes of violence.
DUF has a longstanding commitment to promoting meaningful youth participation locally, nationally and globally, and is increasingly involved in peace and security settings, particularly in Eastern Europe. DUF was born in the aftermath of the second world war and is still largely based on the thoughts on democracy captured in What is democracy? by our first chair, Hal Koch. The international engagement on meaningful youth engagement dates back 30 years, and follows the path laid out nationally. Across contexts, DUF empowers youth and youth organizations to foster a democratic culture through enabling meaningful participation in society. In some cases, youth and youth organizations empowered are stakeholders in a conflict setting, whereas in other cases their role is to contribute to building sustainable peace through youth engagement. You can read more about DUFs engagements worldwide here.
Objectives
The objective of this assignment is to place DUFs work within the YPS agenda to better be able to leverage methodologies, modalities, and experiences across countries and in multilateral fora, and to enable the improvement of DUFs contribution to the realization of the agenda going forward.
Scope of Work
The scope of this assignment is to:
- Analyse how DUF contributes to the realization on of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda.Develop 3-5 case studies to showcase the points of the analysis.
- Recommend how DUF and the Danish youth delegates to the UN can 1) further contribute to the realization of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda and 2) suggest how the agenda could be further developed, inspired by DUF’s work. For both parts of the recommendations there must be a specific focus on how the Danish Youth Delegates to the UN can contribute.
Methodology
The consultant/s will combine desk research with qualitative methods, including:
- Desk study of:
- Key documents on the Youth Peace and Security Agenda
- Key documents on selected DUF programmes and DUF methodology
- Key informant interviews
- On the Youth Peace and Security agenda (Folke Bernadotte Academy among others)
- Focus groups and/or key informant interviews (virtual) with youth volunteers (in Denmark and in partner countries) within selected programmes, especially in, but not limited to, Eastern Europe
Deliverables
- Inception Note: A document briefly outlining the focus and methodology for the assignment.
- Draft report: Literature review and analysis placing DUFs work and methodology within the YPS agenda, including 3-5 cases studies showcasing the points and recommendations.
- Draft publication: A brief document showcasing DUFs contribution to the YPS agenda targeted external stakeholders.
- Final report and publication.
- Presentation: Overview of key findings and recommendations for DUF and the Danish youth delegates to the UN.
Timeframe
Kick-off meeting at DUF: Mid-June
Inception note: Ultimo June
Data collection and analysis: August – September
Draft report: Early September
Draft publication: Early September
Final Report and publication: Medio September
Presentation: Ultimo September
Budget
The total budget for this consultancy is 100.000 DKK incl. VAT.
This budget covers consultant fees, travel expenses (if applicable), and administrative costs.
Consultant/s
The assignment is expected to be completed by one or two consultants, who alone/between them have proven experience with:
- Danish civil society, including small to medium sized voluntarily based organizations, and civil society in the Global South/majority world.
- Multilateral systems and agendas, preferably on peace and security.
- Managing different data collection methods including participatory methods
- Strong analytical and report writing skills
- Formulating complex messages in an easy-to-read and interesting language.
- Desirable skills include knowledge of youth-led development; democracy; and youth, peace and security.
Application process
To be considered for the assignment send an Expression of Interest (including approach to the assignment/methodology) of max. 3 pages, a financial proposal and updated CVs for all team members to Benjamin Kinimond Meier at bfm@duf.dk. An example of previous work on communicating simple key messages should also be attached. The deadline is 2nd of June.
