About us

Somali Y-peer Education Network is a ground-breaking and comprehensive youth to youth initiative modelled after Youth Peer International; the network was established in September 2013 and consequently registered with the Ministry of Interior& National Security, Youth Parliament and Partner Minister of youth & Sports of FGS. The network has elected officials to spearhead the network nationally. Y-Peer Somalia Network is a community-based, non-profit making and nonpolitical youth network and also an active member of Global Youth Peer Education Network. This partnership paves the way for experience sharing and enriching the activities of our organisation. Somali Y-Peer Network strives to promote a healthy lifestyle through peer to peer approach and to empower young people to make responsible decisions. The strategy of empowering youth themselves to take charge of their own destiny has multiple benefits. First, the youth get to own the process and any interventions are seen as their own. That in itself means youth are motivated to drive the process forward recruiting peers for participation in any project design, implementation and review. Secondly, youth pay a heavy price for cultural and social dynamics and enlistment in unjustifiable causes like terrorism, FGM and piracy. By making them change agents, they are able to reflect on these issues and question their merits and demerits. That way, it becomes easier to collectively and individually change attitudes and take a stand against the long held beliefs that keep the society in shackles. Third and as a result, it augurs for a future generation which holds universal values of mutual respect, democratic decision-making, respect for womenfolk, rule of law and engaging in productive rather than destructive pursuits. Youth make a formidable force as the largest population grouping addressing social, cultural, economic and political injustices and imbalances.

The network’s goals is aimed at developing young people’s knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and skills and at enabling those to be responsible for and to protect their own health and environment to sustain their livelihoods as well as the natural resources.