Writing about the dreams for peace and social cohesion in the Great Lakes Region is an initiative that aims to inspire the youth, to stir up the positive energy and the imagination of young people for a positive change. The youth in the Great Lakes Region have been accustomed to living in violent and precarious conditions. This situation must change, and the youth should play a leading role in this new dynamic. The inspiration behind this small book takes its roots in the obvious need to create a platform for young people to exchange, and to share ideas and to propose solutions. The idea is simply about giving a voice to the youth and creating channels of communication for this particular category of the population which is the most active but which has fewer possibilities to voice its concerns or share its contributions directed towards sustainable peace.

In addition to creating a platform for exchange, it is important to encourage the youth from the different countries in the region to join their efforts in peace-building, using local knowledge and when possible using local resources. The specificity of the project lies in helping young people, especially those in universities, to identify the problems their society faces and to analyse what they can do in order to contribute to its stabilisation and to the healing of the communities in the Great Lakes Region as a whole.