Peace trailblazer: “Young women are not just participants in peacebuilding – we are its pulse”

Eleonora Tchania (26) is the co-founder and researcher of the youth peace network 16th Element and Projects Coordinator at the Center for Peace and Civic Development (CPCD) from Georgia. As a young peace activist, content creator, and researcher, she works to address the gap in youth-accessible, reliable information about conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Her research and publications primarily focus on youth, peace, and security perspectives and contexts.

1. What is the role of the young generation of women in peace and security today?

The young generation of women plays a transformative and increasingly indispensable role in peace and security, actively reshaping the very foundations of how peace is defined, pursued and sustained. We are the architects of alternative narratives that resist the normalization of violence, challenge gendered silencing, and reimagine peace as something that is both collective and deeply personal.

We are not waiting to be included. Despite limited access to decision-making spaces and chronic underfunding, we continue to operate from the margins with clarity of purpose and a strong sense of responsibility.

Our generation is pushing for a fundamental shift: to recognize peace as a strategic, worthy and urgent choice. For us, peacebuilding includes navigating disinformation, resisting gender-based violence, advocating for educational reform and creating digital spaces where our voices are not only heard but taken seriously.

In Georgia, where political and social polarization is intensifying and where youth are heavily exposed to radicalized messaging, our role becomes even more critical. We are countering disinformation, building communities of care and modelling leadership that is collaborative rather than hierarchical.

In essence, young women are not just participants in peacebuilding – we are its pulse. Our stories, strategies and solutions are essential to building the kind of peace that lasts because it is rooted in empathy, equity and collective resilience.

2. What are some of the biggest challenges Georgian women and girls face to participating in decision-making and peace processes?

In Georgia, women and girls – particularly young women – face a wide range of barriers to meaningful participation. These challenges are rooted in historical legacies of conflict, deeply entrenched gender norms and a lack of systemic support. In a country marked by four wars in just over three decades, and where the past continues to shape the present, conflict is not abstract – it lives in landscapes, family stories, school textbooks and silences. For many young women, especially those from displaced or marginalized communities, conflict is an ongoing, lived experience.

Against this backdrop, their exclusion from peace and security decision-making is not just a missed opportunity – it’s a structural injustice. Conflict narratives in Georgia often glorify war and frame women as passive victims rather than active agents. Formal peace processes rarely make space for women’s voices, and when they do, participation is often symbolic rather than influential. This exclusion is reinforced by the absence of peace education, limited civic engagement opportunities and a lack of youth-inclusive mechanisms within government or civil society.

3. How are women leaders being affected?

Nowadays, one of the most urgent challenges is digital and information insecurity. Young women activists and leaders are increasingly targeted by disinformation campaigns, smear tactics and technology-facilitated gender-based violence. These attacks are not just personal; they are political tools aimed at undermining women’s credibility and silencing dissenting voices.

With upcoming elections and rising polarization, alternative and youth-led voices are often pushed out of civic spaces. Disinformation, radicalized narratives and a general distrust in institutions make it even harder for young women to organize or advocate for change. Youth-led peace organizations – especially those led by women – struggle for basic resources, recognition and safe platforms to engage meaningfully.

Yet, young women continue to step into leadership roles – responding to crises, creating safe digital and physical spaces, and building intersectional networks of care. What they need is not capacity-building, but sustained trust, investment and the political will to dismantle the structures that keep them at the margins.

4. Can you share an example of a campaign or initiative you’ve contributed to that has made a tangible impact on peacebuilding processes?

One initiative that has contributed tangibly to local peacebuilding is The 16th Element, a youth-led platform developed under the Youth Initiatives for Peace project by the Institute for the Study of Nationalism and Conflicts. Named after Sustainable Development Goal 16 – which focuses on peace, justice and strong institutions – the initiative addresses a major gap in youth-accessible, reliable information about conflict transformation and peacebuilding in Georgia.

As part of this initiative, we conducted a nationwide survey on the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, with a particular focus on young women. The findings highlighted a serious lack of safe, inclusive and informative spaces for young people to meaningfully engage in peace and security discussions.

To meet this need, we created a digital platform that offers diverse content: personal narratives, community insights and thematic pieces on trauma, feminist security, disinformation and digital safety. Around 70 per cent of our readers and contributors are young women, reflecting a strong interest in alternative, decentralized spaces for peace engagement – especially outside traditional institutional structures.

Beyond digital work, the initiative organizes thematic meetings and dialogues with youth, particularly in Administrative Boundary Line regions, where conflict legacies remain deep. We also work on issues of alienation between Georgian, Abkhazian and Ossetian communities. The combination of grounded local engagement and flexible digital outreach allows The 16th Element to serve as a connector, convener and catalyst for youth-driven peacebuilding across Georgia.

5. What message do you have for other young women who want to promote peace and gender equality but don’t know where to start?

Peace isn’t something abstract or distant – it’s daily work. It shows up in how we handle conflict in our communities, how we respond to injustice and how we make space for others to be heard. We don’t need a formal title to start contributing.

One of the most valuable things young women can do is help reduce alienation in conflict-divided societies. Our lived experiences and ability to foster empathy can bridge the kinds of divides that politics often deepen. This doesn’t require us to be heroic. It requires us to be real, observant and collaborative. Change builds over time. Let’s start with what’s in front of us.

This story is published as part of "The Past, Present, and Future of Women, Peace, and Security" campaign, commemorating the 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325, to celebrate the power of peace. The campaign aims to foster a deeper dialogue on equality, justice and peace, honoring the legacies and amplifying the voices of 25 trailblazing women from across Europe and Central Asia whose significant contributions have transformed their communities, societies, and beyond. The content reflects the personal views and experiences of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the official position of UN Women, its partners, or the United Nations.