In 2020, amidst a pivotal moment in Afghanistan’s history and fragile peace process, Yahya Qanie initiated and co-founded the National Youth Consensus for Peace (NYCP)—a first-of-its-kind youth-led coalition uniting over 244 organizations across all 34 provinces. Launched at a time when peace negotiations systematically excluded youth—who made up more than 70% of the Afghan population—NYCP emerged as a national mechanism to represent their voice, agency, and vision, and to advocate for inclusive and sustainable peace.
NYCP transcended ethnic, sectarian, and geographic divides, pioneering a hybrid model of civic mobilization and policy advocacy. Its aim was not mere visibility, but influence—shaping the structure, substance, and legitimacy of peace efforts, and positioning youth not just as peace advocates, but as critical thinkers in post-conflict governance and reconciliation agendas.
Under Mr. Qanie’s leadership, NYCP distinguished itself by its scale, independence, and data-driven approach. Merging 27 provincial resolutions, the coalition issued Afghanistan’s first unified National Youth Resolution on International Youth Day 2020 and advanced efforts to establish formal mechanisms for youth inclusion in national policy spaces. It conducted direct policy advocacy and systematic consultations with the High Council for National Reconciliation, the Ministry of Peace, and diplomatic missions from the United Nations, European Union, NATO, the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, and the Nordic countries—Netherlands, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
Through targeted campaigns, public statements, and mass consultations, NYCP became a civic force for accountability, inclusion, and generational ownership of peace—challenging tokenism and advocating for youth to be recognized as co-authors of Afghanistan’s future. Its message was clear: no peace is sustainable or legitimate without the participation of the generation that will inherit it.
Though NYCP suspended its activities after the collapse of the Afghan government in 2021, it left behind a blueprint for youth-led civic mobilization and policy engagement. It demonstrated that when young people are strategically organized, data-informed, and purpose-driven, they can challenge exclusion and create new possibilities. Yahya Qanie’s leadership reaffirmed that peace is not only a matter of high-level diplomacy—it is a generational mandate.
