Work with Youth in Divided and Contested Societies

There is increasing recognition that protective and therapeutic approaches to youth in conflict and post-conflict societies have limitations, especially with older youth. Because youth are not only victims but also participants in conflict, they can be participants in building peace, and this book is a survey of the expertise emerging around the world of those who work with young people as participants in community development and as a peace constituency. Work with youth in conflict societies has been seen as a unique experience, because of the extraordinary and extenuating circumstances, but as the focus has changed from protection of youth to the participation of youth, a second aim of this volume is to draw connections between the skills needed under these circumstances and the practices of youthwork and human services in other contexts. The content includes program descriptions, profiles of youth workers, and essays about policy, practice, and theory.