Thinking about conflict through youth work: a European gathering in Barcelona led by NOVACT

From 9 to 12 December 2025, Barcelona hosted a workshop of the European WeBreeze project that brought together professionals from youth work, research and peacebuilding from different countries to collectively reflect on how to understand and transform the conflicts that shape young people’s lives.

Over four intense days of collective work, participants from Georgia, Spain, Italy, Ukraine and Germany came together in Barcelona to rethink conflict in the field of youth work. The workshop focused on understanding conflict not as something to be avoided, but as a structural reality that needs to be understood, addressed and transformed through just, inclusive and youth-led approaches.

From critical analysis to applied practice

The programme combined spaces for critical analysis with applied practice. Throughout the sessions, participants explored emerging conflicts, structural causes and dominant narratives, as well as the impact of conflict on young people’s lives and their needs. The role of nonviolence, mediation, peacebuilding and transformative approaches in complex contexts was also examined.

Through diverse working groups, case studies and conflict transformation labs, participants co-created tools and strategies grounded in real experiences from their respective contexts.

Towards shared frameworks for action

The workshop concluded with a collective reflection space focused on co-creating frameworks for action and identifying concrete steps to strengthen sustained, youth-led initiatives across the different participating contexts.

At the intersection of youth participation and peacebuilding, this training initiative consolidated a space for shared learning, honest dialogue and critical thinking, reinforcing a collective commitment to conflict-sensitive youth work oriented towards social transformation.