For Ahmed Abdulghani, a 25-year-old youth leader in Benghazi, Libya, peace activism can be dangerous.
“Discussing these issues [peacebuilding, civil war] in Libya can be life-threatening, due to the possible presence of extremist groups,” Ahmed says. “Many young people working in this field have been killed, and this has left a lasting trauma.
“Although the situation has improved, the fear from those years is still there, and it continues to hold back youth from taking action. There are many restrictions on what we, as youth, can say or do, stemming from the trauma of the past.”
Ahmed and his peers were all children during the overthrow of former President Muammar Al-Qaddafi in 2011 and the outbreak of civil war in 2011.
“I'm 25 now. The revolution began when I was 11, and the civil war started when I was 15 and continued for five more years in Benghazi.”
I travelled 3-4 hours daily to medical school, often using dirt roads because the main routes were too dangerous due to the fighting. I went through a phase of depression where I had no goals and just wanted to get through school.” Ahmed said youth just spent those years “just trying to survive” – a legacy that is still impacting the level of youth-led action in Libya today.
But Ahmed was lucky. His involvement in civic work, together with a chance decision to participate in a regional competition on youth-led initiatives by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), together with civic work, began to change his mindset.
UNODC’s “Participate4Impact” regional competition aims at enabling youth, youth associations, civil society organizations and academic centres in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine and Sudan to strengthen youth resilience by providing social and economic alternatives to drugs, violence, crime and corruption.
“I met many youth who were there because of their genuine efforts and ideas, not just to win,” Ahmed said about his experience after winning the Participate4Impact competition. “Their ideas were truly aimed at making a difference in their communities, which inspired me.”
After the competition, Ahmed joined in UNODC’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Youth Network. The network, launched in April 2024, consists of 37 young people from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine and Sudanand aims to help them become active agents of change against drugs, violence and crime.
“Through this Network [and thanks to winning the competition], I received support to implement an initiative in Benghazi and to make an impact at the grassroots level,” Ahmed says. With UNODC’s support, Ahmed led a workshop which “used creative expression like music, art and theatre for prevention.
“Many youth expressed a desire to participate in similar activities and some registered for music and art activities at the venue.”
Ahmed insists that there is great value in participating in the arts for young people like him. “By empowering youth to channel their energy into productive outlets, we are fostering resilience and helping them build protective factors against drugs and crime.”
He also sees a lot of possibilities for the MENA Youth Network. “As youth involved in this initiative, we are committed to working with UNODC to build our capacity and take meaningful action. This effort is built on mutual trust—we trust that UNODC will provide the support and skills we need, and UNODC trusts us that we will use these resources to create real impact.”
In the future, Ahmed wants the Youth Network to focus less on the “visible” actions and more on the “behind-the-scenes” work with which he says youth in Libya struggle, like email communication, networking and paperwork. “Office skills are critical, but opportunities to develop them are limited.”
He wants to see more capacity building for youth in how to drive change at the UN. “It's also important for youth to understand how to navigate UN channels to drive change and use resources effectively. Capacity building in areas like anti-corruption, cybersecurity, and countering the different forms of illicit trafficking is key,” he concludes.
The activities mentioned in the interview were implemented under the “Youth 4 Impact” regional programme to empower and build resilience of youth against crime, violence, and drugs. The programme is active in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine and Sudan and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Development and Economic Cooperation (BMZ).
