Youth Imagining Peace in Post-Accord Colombia: Meanings of Everyday Peace and Territorial Peace in Jóvenes y Territorios Imaginados project

Colombia endured civil war for over half a century. In 2016, the government and the guerrilla forces Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia signed a peace treaty emphasising the development of the rural regions, which established the foundations for the concept of Territorial Peace. However, the violence persists as the other armed forces and gangs maintain control over the areas where the government is inefficient in providing security. Large parts of the implementation process fall behind the schedule, increasing inequalities. The young individuals are suffering the most, and at the same time, they have limited opportunities to join the institutional peacebuilding efforts. This thesis aims to investigate a local youth peacebuilding project in the context where direct and structural violence is limiting the young individuals’ opportunities to practice everyday peace. The research is framed by the theories of everyday peace, territorial peace, and youth's role in peacebuilding. The data consists of an expert interview and videos produced by the youth during the peace project. The method used to analyse the data is qualitative content analysis. The results indicate that the project focusing on territorial peace contributes to post-liberal peace research as a case study, and in more detail, to the everyday peace theory. The answers indicated that where territorial peace has features of consciousness and dependence on spatiality, everyday peace is more abstract and subconscious. Furthermore, the peacebuilding efforts should provide the youth spaces where they become heard and where they can creatively express their selves