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Stellenbosch hosts first Nobel Symposium on peace outside of Europe 

Stellenbosch recently became the first place outside of Norway to host a Nobel Symposium on peace. This is according to Dr Heidi October, co-convener of the IYTT and head of the Frederick van Zyl Slabbert Institute (FVZS) for Student Leadership. October forms part of the scientific organising committee for the conference which took place from 25 to 29 August.

The sixth iteration of the International Youth Think Tank (IYTT), hosted by the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study and the Nobel Symposium, aimed to “allow African youth to share insights into what they perceive to be the challenges and unique opportunities for democracy on our continent”, according to Dr Heidi October, co-convener of IYTT and head of the Frederick van Zyl Slabbert Institute for Student Leadership. October forms part of the scientific organising committee for the conference. PHOTO: Aurelia Mouton

“There had never been […] any Nobel Symposium [on] peace outside [of] Norway before, so I immediately liked the idea and decided to join forces with Urban Strandberg [of the International Youth Think Tank (IYTT)], STIAS, and Stellenbosch University,” said Professor Olav Njølstad, historian and director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute. 

The sixth iteration of the International Youth Think Tank (IYTT) conference was hosted at the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study (STIAS) from 25 to 29 August. 

“The Nobel Peace Institute in Oslo welcomed this conference to also be a Nobel symposium, which we are so honoured about because we are a very small organisation […]”, said professor Urban Strandberg, managing director and co-founder of International Youth Think Tank (IYTT), and professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. PHOTO: Aurelia Mouton

African youth on democracy

IYTT follows an open call to students and academics within the 18 to 28 age bracket, whereafter 24 participants from multiple disciplines are selected. The participants are expected to work in groups to draft policies relating to democratisation, democracy renewal, and peacekeeping, according to the official conference programme.

“The idea is to develop policy on democracy, but specifically from the viewpoint of young people,” said Jan-Hendrik Pretorius, a PhD candidate in economic history at Stellenbosch University (SU), and a participant in IYTT.

This sixth iteration of IYTT aims to “allow African youth to share insights into what they perceive to be the challenges and unique opportunities for democracy on our continent”, according to October.

“The majority of […] non-European applicants have [come] from Africa. So when we decided to run our sixth youth conference on [a] continent [other] than Europe it was, without a question, Africa,” said professor Urban Strandberg, managing director and co-founder of IYTT, and professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

“The majority of […] non-European applicants [to the International Youth Think Tank] have [come] from Africa. So when we decided to run our sixth youth conference on another continent than Europe, it was, without a question, Africa,” said Professor Urban Strandberg, managing director and co-founder of the International Youth Think Tank, and professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. PHOTO: Aurelia Mouton

The conference was funded by the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation, and organised by IYTT, and SU, in cooperation with The Norwegian Nobel Institute. 

The conference programme included the annual FVSZ Institute honorary lecture. This year’s Nobel Peace Laureate, Tawakkol Karman who is from Yemen, spoke at the lecture as well as during the conference.