Building Blocks for Peace Foundation (BBFORPEACE), is an incorporated network of young people working on conflict prevention, peacebuilding, preventing/countering violent extremism, democratic governance and sustainable development in Nigeria. Our vision is to see a world where there is peace, harmony, justice and equity with young people adequately and meaningfully involved in the process.
We work towards the achievement of a peaceful society through innovative approaches such as advocacy, dialogue, research, education, trainings, workshops, radio programming, sport, community sensitization and so forth. In 2021, BBFORPEACE was named as the 2020/2021 Best Youth Peacebuilding Organisation in Nigeria by the West Africa Network of Peacebuilding-Nigeria.
With the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security in 2015, a group of youth led by Rafiu Adeniran Lawal, Oluwabukunmi Matesun and Bosco Okeke started mobilizing other vulnerable youth under the #Nigeria Youth4Peace Initiative in 2016. This initiative grew into a national movement of young people who were dissatisfied with the increasing participation of young people in violent extremism caused largely by the massive socioeconomic and political deprivation in their communities, and the subsequent exclusion of youth from the negotiating table and the decision making process and were committed to advocating for the meaningful and effective engagement of youth in the peacebuilding process in Nigeria. Through our #Nigeria Youth4Peace initiative, we have trained and empowered over ten thousand youth and children with support from several local and international partners on conflict prevention, peacebuilding, social entrepreneurship and citizenship education.
This movement later inspired the incorporation of a formal organization named ‘‘Building Blocks for Peace Foundation’’ in December 2017. Some of our ongoing projects are the ‘‘Peace Begins With Me Campaign’’, ''National Youth4Peace Initiative'' and Nigeria Youth4Peace Award, ''Naija Peace Talks'' amongst others.
