CENTRAL EQUATORIA – With elections slated for 2024, a peace process riddled with delays and the need to write an inclusive permanent constitution, South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, is at a critical moment in its history.

To galvanize public participation in the country’s long-awaited democratic transition, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan is kicking off a series of awareness-raising campaigns under the theme, ‘Peace Begins with Me.’

The first one naturally focused on youth. Some 500 students at the University of Juba, drawn from 30 different academic disciplines, and their professors came together to discuss key issues related to peace and security.

“Peace and war are opposites. A durable peace gives citizens the chance to develop their full potential and affect meaningful social transformation. All of us have an individual responsibility to help usher lasting peace in our families, neighbourhoods, and communities,” said Adams Chollong Ohire, the University’s Dean.

“Sitting here and talking constructively about shaping a brighter, more prosperous South Sudan with young people is vital because they are the future,” he added, appreciating this initiative by the UN Peacekeeping mission.

Reuben Inaju, the Head of the mission’s Community Outreach Unit agreed.

“When we speak of peace beginning with the individual, we are looking at our collective responsibility to create a harmonious social fabric. To energize collective action, everybody must do their part. If you internalize peace, you will be able to spread that feeling around you,” he explained.