Insights from five years of the JISRA programme
Young people are often at the centre of programmes on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), peacebuilding and social cohesion. They are invited to dialogues, included in trainings and encouraged to take part in community initiatives. Yet across many contexts, their ability to participate meaningfully remains limited. Not because of a lack of willingness, but because of the conditions that shape their lives. Young people’s opportunities to engage in religious and social life are closely tied to their rights, including access to education, economic opportunities, freedom of expression and participation in decision-making. Drawing on five years of experience from the JISRA programme, this article explores how these rights shape the way FoRB is experienced in practice and what this means for how programmes are designed.
What the JISRA programme shows
Across multiple countries, the JISRA programme found that young people’s engagement in FoRB is not primarily determined by whether they are invited to participate, but by whether they are able to exercise their rights in everyday life.
Where young people face structural barriers – such as limited access to education, unemployment, exclusion from decision-making or restrictive social and religious norms – their participation often remains constrained. They may be present in programmes, but lack the space, confidence or legitimacy to influence discussions around religion, identity and social norms.
At the same time, experience shows that when these barriers are addressed, young people can move beyond participation towards leadership. They contribute to dialogue, mobilise peers, engage in advocacy and, in some contexts, influence broader governance processes.
This highlights a central insight: youth engagement becomes meaningful only when young people are able to exercise the rights that underpin their voice, agency and influence.
Key insights
- Youth rights determine whether participation leads to influence
Inviting young people into programmes does not automatically lead to meaningful participation. In many contexts, youth may be present in dialogue sessions or consultations, while still lacking the ability to shape what is discussed or decided.
This gap is not caused by a single barrier, but by a combination of factors that reinforce each other. Limited access to education, freedom of expression and decision-making spaces directly restrict young people’s ability to participate. At the same time, social and religious norms may discourage them from speaking up, or lead to their views being dismissed as inexperienced or inappropriate. In many settings, authority is closely tied to age, which means that even when young people are included, they are not always recognised as legitimate contributors. As a result, participation can remain symbolic: young people are present, but have little influence over outcomes. Their rights exist in principle, but are not fully realised in practice.
Addressing this requires more than creating youth spaces. It means working with the broader systems in which religious and social norms are shaped. Intergenerational dialogue and mentorship, for example, can help shift perceptions of youth, build trust and create pathways for young people to contribute within existing structures. For FoRB programming, the key lesson is that participation becomes meaningful only when young people are able not just to attend, but to speak, be heard and influence the spaces where beliefs, norms and decisions are shaped. - Economic realities shape whether youth can engage consistently
Young people’s ability to participate in FoRB-related processes is closely linked to their economic situation. Limited access to employment or livelihoods can restrict their independence, mobility and availability. When participation competes with basic livelihood needs, it can become an additional burden rather than an opportunity. Economic dependence can also limit young people’s freedom to express their views or challenge existing norms.
Programmes that integrate economic empowerment, skills development or livelihood support are therefore more likely to enable sustained and meaningful youth engagement – and reduce the risk that participation remains short-term or superficial. - Digital spaces are central to how youth experience and shape FoRB
For many young people, discussions about religion, identity and social issues increasingly take place online. These platforms are not separate from community life, but a central arena where beliefs are expressed, debated and contested.
Digital spaces can enable mobilisation, peer engagement and advocacy. At the same time, they can amplify polarisation, misinformation and exclusion. FoRB programming that engages youth therefore needs to recognise that religious identity and dialogue are increasingly shaped in both offline and online environments – and support young people in navigating these spaces constructively. - Exclusion increases risks, not just missed opportunities
When young people are excluded from participation, decision-making and access to rights, the consequences extend beyond limited engagement. In some contexts, exclusion can increase vulnerability to manipulation, polarisation or involvement in violent extremism. The absence of voice, recognition and opportunity does not only limit participation, it can also shape how young people relate to society and authority.
Conversely, when youth are able to exercise their rights and are recognised as legitimate actors, they can contribute to social cohesion, dialogue and more inclusive governance. This highlights that investing in youth rights is not only about inclusion, but also about prevention and long-term stability.
What this means for FoRB programming
For organisations working on FoRB, the implications are clear: youth engagement becomes meaningful only when young people are able to exercise their rights in practice.
Programmes are more likely to contribute to meaningful and sustained youth engagement when they:
- Recognise that youth participation is shaped by access to rights such as education, economic opportunity and freedom of expression
- Address structural barriers that limit young people’s ability to influence religious and social life
- Create pathways for youth to move from participation to leadership within existing structures
- Take into account how digital and offline spaces together shape youth identity and dialogue
- Invest in long-term conditions that enable youth agency, rather than short-term engagement
Taken together, these insights point to a broader lesson: youth engagement is not simply about inclusion. It is about creating the conditions in which young people can exercise their rights and actively shape how FoRB is lived and experienced in their communities.
Want to explore these insights in more detail?
The JISRA learning paper on youth rights and Freedom of Religion or Belief brings together reflections and lessons from five years of programme experience across multiple countries.
