HAPEI Campus Peace Ambassador Program Expands Its Reach Across Nigerian Tertiary Institutions
· 4 min read
Empowering student leaders to lead, advocate, and transform their campuses through peacebuilding and positive social action.
The Humanitarian Advocacy Peace and Education Initiative (HAPEI) is expanding its commitment to youth-led peacebuilding through the HAPEI Campus Peace Ambassador Program (HCPAP), a student-focused initiative designed to equip young people with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to promote peace, inclusion, responsible leadership, gender equality, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and positive social change within their campuses and communities.
Built on the motto “Lead. Advocate. Transform.”, HCPAP recognizes that students have an important role to play in fostering peaceful coexistence, strengthening social cohesion, and contributing to more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable societies.
The program is building a growing network of student leaders across Nigerian tertiary institutions, creating opportunities for young people from diverse academic backgrounds and geographical locations to engage in peacebuilding, champion inclusive development, and take practical action on issues affecting their communities.
Building a Network of Campus Chapter Peacebuilders
HCPAP is extending its reach across tertiary institutions in different parts of Nigeria, including:
- Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State
- Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State
- University of Abuja (UniAbuja), Federal Capital Territory
- Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), Sokoto State
- Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies, Iragbiji, Osun State
- Abdulkadir Kure University, Minna, Niger State
- Other participating tertiary institutions across Nigeria
This growing network reflects HAPEI’s commitment to creating opportunities for students to engage in peacebuilding beyond the classroom. By connecting young leaders across campuses, HCPAP encourages peer learning, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas and experiences that can strengthen peacebuilding efforts within and beyond university communities.
The program also promotes awareness of the broader development frameworks that guide efforts toward a more peaceful and inclusive world. These include the Sustainable Development Goals, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 – The Africa We Want and UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security. Through these frameworks, ambassadors are encouraged to understand the connections between peace, gender equality, inclusive governance, sustainable development, and meaningful youth participation.
Beyond the Ambassador Title: Turning Learning into Action
At the heart of HCPAP is the belief that being a Campus Peace Ambassador involves more than holding a title. It means developing the capacity to lead responsibly, engage constructively with others, and contribute to practical solutions to social challenges.
Through training, mentorship, peer engagement, advocacy, and campus-based initiatives, the program supports ambassadors in developing skills in peacebuilding, dialogue, conflict prevention, mediation, conflict resolution, nonviolent communication, leadership, responsible digital citizenship, and civic engagement.
Ambassadors are encouraged to translate their learning into action by supporting peace dialogues, promoting inclusion, raising awareness of issues affecting young people, and contributing to initiatives that advance peaceful coexistence and the SDGs.
The campus chapter model provides a structure through which student leaders can collaborate with their peers, organize activities, and develop locally relevant responses to challenges within their institutions and surrounding communities. By encouraging students to move from learning to practical engagement, HCPAP seeks to nurture a generation of young peacebuilders who can contribute to constructive dialogue, responsible leadership, and positive social transformation.
Why Campus Peacebuilding Matters
Tertiary institutions bring together students with different backgrounds, beliefs, identities, and experiences. These differences create opportunities for learning, collaboration, and innovation, but they also make dialogue, mutual respect, inclusion, and constructive conflict management essential. The program recognizes that young people should not only be recipients of peace education but also active participants in shaping peaceful and inclusive environments. When students have the skills, support, and opportunities to take initiative, they can help strengthen a culture of dialogue, accountability, and positive social action.
This approach aligns with the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 2250, which recognizes the important role young people play in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and sustaining peace. It also reflects the ambitions of Agenda 2063 for a peaceful and secure Africa, where young people can contribute meaningfully to the continent’s development.
Campus-based peacebuilding therefore provides an important opportunity to connect global commitments with local action, enabling students to apply peacebuilding principles within their institutions and communities.
Growing Together Through Leadership and Collaboration
As the HAPEI Campus Peace Ambassador network continues to develop, collaboration among ambassadors, campus chapters, tertiary institutions, peacebuilding practitioners, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders will remain important to its growth.
Through shared learning, mentorship, and collective action, HCPAP seeks to build a community of student leaders who can support one another, exchange ideas, and contribute to peacebuilding initiatives across different campuses.
HAPEI welcomes opportunities to engage with tertiary institutions, student associations, government institutions, civil society organizations, development partners, and other stakeholders interested in strengthening youth leadership, peace education, gender equality, and campus-based community action. Such partnerships can help expand opportunities for student engagement, strengthen campus chapters, and support initiatives that respond to the needs and priorities of young people and their communities.
Be Part of the Movement
The expansion of HCPAP reflects HAPEI’s commitment to placing young people at the center of peacebuilding and sustainable development. By investing in student leadership and creating opportunities for practical engagement, the initiative seeks to nurture a generation of young people equipped to lead with purpose, advocate for peace, and contribute to meaningful change.
Lead. Advocate. Transform.
Through the HAPEI Campus Peace Ambassador Program, students can become part of a growing network committed to building peace, advancing inclusion, and transforming their campuses and communities, one initiative at a time.