The Youth Exchange in Mombasa was a cross-continental learning partnership that brought together six consortium partner organisations – Prospect Initiative, Agency for Peace Building (AP), Lamu Youth Alliance (LYA), Center for Youth Dialogue (CYD), Fundació Catalunya Voluntària (FCV), and Peace Up – along with 24 young peacebuilders from across Europe and East Africa. The exchange took place in Mombasa, Nyali, from 13th to 19th July 2026, and brought participants together to share knowledge and exchange good practices in relation to their peace work. These participants were selected from youth-led and youth-focused organisations engaged in peace work in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Spain, Italy, and Germany.
The Exchange offered participants an opportunity to share knowledge, methods, experiences, and good peacebuilding practices from their unique contexts, with the aim of examining how these contribute to the different pillars of the Youth Peace and Security (YPS) agenda, how they can be improved, and their replicability in other contexts.
In addition to the good practice exchange, participants engaged in a number of activities across the four-day exchange. These included team-building activities that were foundational in building trust and a collaborative spirit, followed by a poster session and gallery walk where they creatively presented their organisations’ peace work, with a focus on impact and success stories in their communities.
Additionally, they took part in facilitated, participant-centred thematic discussions on relevant peace topics, such as technology for peace and youth civic action in peacebuilding. Participants further had the opportunity to visit a youth-led organisation in Nyali known as Swahilipot Hub where they were inspired by its approach to nurturing youth talent through technology, arts, and entrepreneurship.
The group also had the opportunity to experience the Mombasa coastal culture in a unique and fun way through enjoying various coastal foods, a tour of Mombasa town, and a boat ride with sunset watching. The exchange culminated in the cultural exchange night, where participants expressed their diverse cultures to each other in ways they found most meaningful, for example through traditional games, cultural attire, dances, and songs. “The most memorable thing that will stay with me after this exchange will be the people I met. I met amazing people from different countries and continents and I’m very excited to stay in touch with them and keep exchanging knowledge on youth, peace and security,” said Antonio Rubanenko, Elysium+, Italy.
The Youth Exchange in Mombasa marked the beginning of a cross-continental learning partnership among participants from these different organisations who have committed to continued knowledge and good practice exchange, and co-designing and co-implementing projects aimed at strengthening youth, peace and security in their home countries. The youth exchange is situated within a two-year Erasmus+ funded project known as the “Amani Pamoja” project. “Amani Pamoja” loosely translates to “Peace Together.
Stay-tuned for more information about upcoming activities of the Amani Pamoja.
