How Peace First Is Building A Global Community Of Young Social Change Makers - And How Brands Can Help

Peace First was founded by teenagers in 1992 at Harvard University upon a simple idea: if we are going to solve the world’s greatest problems, we must support young people with the skills and commitments to solve problems by connecting with others with compassion, standing up for ideals and others with courage, and creating collaborative change.

Since then Peace First has matured into a global NGO supporting youth-led projects and connecting thousands of young social change leaders from over 164 countries.

Through its digital platform — the world’s largest incubator for youth-led social change initiatives — Peace First offers young people ages 13-30 the skills and resources necessary to turn their ideas into action. We currently host over 27,000 young users on our digital platform and are supporting over 13,000 youth-led projects.

From Lagos to Rabat, from Kathmandu to Birmingham and from Boston to Oaxaca, the demand for digital tools, community support, funding and mentorship among young people is greater than ever. This is where Peace First comes in.

I caught up with Dr. Isaac Cudjoe, Co-CEO, Storytelling and Fundrasing and Xochilt Hernandez Leiva, Co-CEO Program and Technology at Peace First, to talk what the future should be - and what role brands can play in this space to collaborate with them.

Both Dr. Isaac Cudjoe and Xochilt Hernandez Leiva are products of marginalized communities. They’ve witnessed how resilient people can be, especially when trying to help their communities. They’ve seen firsthand what happens when young people play an active role in their communities, and they want to honor that in their work at Peace First.

“Young people are the most powerful, untapped resource to create systemic change and write new narratives of what is possible. We want that belief to become contagious across sectors. Our vision for the future values and amplifies different ways of learning, leading, and being. We are working for a future where we can all proudly disrupt the norms that leave people behind,” Dr. Cudjoe explained.

“We want a future where young people lead true partnerships across global divides, with access to resources, networks, and support to transform their ideas into scalable and sustainable solutions for our current and future global challenges,” Leiva added.

Their belief is that brands create communities just as much as they engage with communities and must use that community-building power for good. Beyond what they are selling, they need to consider what they are building and be accountable to the lives they impact. Young people affect how everyone consumes and engages with brands, and therefore brands should prioritize investing in young people in holistic ways.

Working with organizations like Peace First allows brands to join in on the ongoing work that is both accountable and already trusted by young people. Having them on board enhances its work and the impact it can make globally. Brands' support for organizations like Peace First can include, but not be limited to, financial support. The thought leadership is welcomed and the most significant impact comes from well-rounded collaboration.

We talked about the brand partnerships that Peace First has in place, how the cooperation is going and what brands they would like to partner with.

“We have ongoing partnerships with diverse institutions, organizations, and brands. One of our brand partnerships is with TOMS and KROST, where a percentage of their WE’RE ALL FRIENDS HERE™ line supports Peace First directly, “ Dr. Cudjoe mentioned.

These partnerships have affirmed their belief that brands have the power to do good, especially when they work with mission-driven organizations and have a track record of responding to the needs of the communities they support.

He noted, “We’d love to continue honoring our belief that brands can make a substantial social impact in communities worldwide. We want to work with brands that care deeply about where our world is headed, like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Everlane. We also want to work with companies like Benchling, Mozilla, Nike, and the NBA to center changemaking in their work and encourage young people to see themselves as a part of today’s solutions.”

With more than 30,000 young people registered on its digital platform, Peace First is currently investing in redesigning and launching a new version that will enable it to democratize access to changemaking tools and better connect its users. Building on three decades of experience and feedback from the tens of thousands of young people Peace First has worked with, the new platform will introduce a range of functionalities and features to streamline, accelerate, and scale its work.

Peace First is actively looking for partners and donors passionate about unleashing the power of technology to accelerate change to join it. It also invites other organizations to think through how they can be a part of the knowledge sharing that will take place on its new platform.

“We invite brands to join us in our effort to reimagine and redefine what it means to be a ‘donor’ through our Youth Investment Fund. We are democratizing fundraising and we know brands can help us do that,” Leiva explained.

I asked her about some of the young cultural icons Peace First has worked with and who it would like to partner with. “We talk a lot about how young people built Peace First and how our organization was strengthened by the contribution of people like Rashida Jones, America Ferrera, and so many others. It is our responsibility to continue that tradition by inviting cultural icons whose values are centered in everything they do. We want to work with people whose activism is not separate from their public persona and is core to who they are.”

“We admire and want to work with young cultural icons and activists like Yara Shahidi, Naomi Osaka, Winter BreeAnne, Joshua Gabriel Oluwaseyi, Austin Serio, and BTS. But our work is intergenerational, so we are also looking to work with long-standing visionaries and allies like Amal Clooney, Pharrell Williams, Craig Newmark, and Viola Davis,” she added.

Finally we chatted about the advice they have for brands out there who wish to genuinely engage with youth. Their view was that young people are very aware of the implications of their consumer choices and the global social and cultural dynamics affecting them and their communities. Brands need to show consistency in their values and clarity in their message. Young people no longer separate their values from work - and this also extends to their spending. The rise and success of values-led brands like TOMS and Patagonia show that brands can do good while also turning a profit. Additionally, Peace First would like to invite brands to see young people through a global lens. Most Gen Z are connected across international borders through social media and technology. That’s the power and the community it is platforming with its work.

“We welcome brands to join us in taking on this work by transforming their companies to put their values front and center and supporting non-profits like ours to impact lives for the better,” Dr. Cudjoe concluded.