Hillary BriffaThe Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has adopted a Ministerial Council Declaration on Youth, which paved the way for more inclusive work.
Building upon the potential of young people to contribute to economic, political and social development, the Serbian chairmanship, together with its special representatives on youth and security, are convening a conference entitled ‘Working with youth for youth: protection against radicalisation’.
Taking place in Belgrade next month, it will address one of the most worrying contemporary phenomena: the radicalisation of young people.
In January 2014, the Swiss chairmanship elected a network of OSCE youth ambassadors, representing each of the participating member states. They were instrumental in the process leading up to the Ministerial Council Declaration on Youth and will again be making their voices heard on this issue.
While they will be collectively fostering discussion on combating radicalisation using the potential of the organisation’s cross-dimensional approach to security threats, Maltese youth ambassador Hillary Briffa will be serving as a panellist for the sessions on the politico-military dimension.
Briffa last year worked on the Youth Action Plan in Vienna, Belgrade and Basel and has also patrolled with the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova.
The latter inspired the dissertation for her Master’s in Conflict, Security and Development at King’s College London on the role of the OSCE in mediating the frozen conflict in Transnistria.
This was funded by the Malta Government Scholarship Master It! Scheme 2013 and part-financed by the European Union – European Social Fund (ESF) under Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, ‘Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life’.
Briffa is reading for a doctorate in War Studies at King’s College London, while interning at the Malta High Commission to the UK. She is continuing her ongoing work with the OSCE, which in October will see her chair the youth panel at Europe’s largest human rights conference – the Human Dimension Implementation meeting of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.