In the heart of Pibor, South Sudan, where rivalries between age-sets – traditional generations of men initiated together into adulthood – have shaped community life for generations, Sunday James Nyelang stood before two rival youth groups and asked them to listen.  The Kurenen and the Lango had little reason to trust one another, and even less reason to trust her. Some laughed. Others dismissed her before she had finished speaking. She was, they said, just a girl. It would have been easier to stay silent or walk away.  Instead, she persisted.  With support from the Youth Peace Ambassador program, organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Sunday continued her efforts to help her peers find common ground. She helped organize community dialogues, peace sports tournaments and youth consultations that brought young people who rarely spoke to one another into the same space. What began as shared activities slowly became opportunities for conversation.“When they saw youth who once fought now playing football together and sharing meals, something changed,” Sunday explained. “The community began to believe [in peace] again.” Today, many people in Thangajon know Sunday by a different name: “Our Daughter of Peace.” It is not the title she gave herself. It is one the community gave her after watching her return, repeatedly, to conversations others had given up on.  Her own words explain why she refused to stop. “We are one people. We all lose when we fight, destroy our cattle, our homes, our brothers. If we keep hurting each other, who will be left to build our future?”  Sunday's story reflects a wider change taking place across Bor, Pibor and Malakal.  For many years, women often bore the heaviest consequences of conflict while having limited influence over how disputes were resolved. Decisions about land, community relations and justice were frequently made without their voices in the room. In many places, a young woman standing before rival groups and speaking about peace would have been almost unthinkable.  Changing that reality was part of the goal of the project Local Solutions to Build Climate Resilience and Advance Peace and Stability in Bor, Pibor and Malakal, implemented by IOM, UN Women and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with support from the United Nations Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund.  The project was designed around a simple belief: communities are more likely to build lasting peace when women and young people help shape it.   Across the three locations, women took part in community dialogues, peacebuilding training, customary law reviews and local peace mechanisms. By the end of the project, women's participation in local peace structures increased from 32 per cent to 58 per cent. More women were speaking in meetings, serving on committees and helping make decisions that affect their families and communities.  In Bor, women helped drive efforts to formally separate grazing areas from farmland. While it may sound technical, the issue touches everyday life. When livestock strays into cultivated fields, tensions can quickly escalate between herders and farmers. Clear agreements on land use helped reduce disputes and strengthen cooperation between communities that depend on the same natural resources.   Women also helped shape another important process: the review of customary laws in Bor and Pibor. For generations, these laws guided community life but were largely passed down through oral tradition. Through a community-led review process supported by the project, local leaders, women, youth and elders came together to discuss how customary laws could better reflect present-day realities.  The discussions were not always easy. Some issues generated intense debate. Yet the process created space for voices that had often been absent from such conversations. The result was a written document reflecting collective agreement. It included provisions recognizing women's inheritance and property rights and discouraging early marriage. These were not decisions imposed from outside, but were reached locally, with women helping shape them.   The change is also being carried forward by a new generation of young women. In July 2025, Adol Majur participated in a Youth Peace Ambassador training in Bor that brought together young people and elders to explore ways of resolving conflict and strengthening social cohesion.  What stood out most to her was the opportunity to listen.  “I now see the power of listening, especially to our elders. Their stories carry wisdom we can use today.”  Back in her community, Adol organized dialogue forums that brought youth and elders into the same conversations. She saw relationships improve as people who rarely engaged with one another began sharing perspectives and experiences. “When young people and elders sit together, respect grows, and peace becomes possible.”  The experience inspired her to mentor other young women and encourage them to take active roles in their communities.  “I want to show that youth can lead, innovate, and bridge generations for lasting peace.”   The training also helped another young woman discover her role as a messenger of peace in Malakal. Cecilia Chol soon began using what she learned through the Youth Peace Ambassador initiative in her daily life. She began sharing messages of peace wherever opportunities arose, using both creative approaches and everyday conversations to reach different audiences.  “Sometimes we do drama in the field, using it as a tool to pass the message of peace,” she explained.  For Cecilia, peacebuilding extends beyond community events. It begins with individual actions, and the choices people make in their daily lives.  “Peace begins with me as a Youth Peace Ambassador. I can use those skills at home, speaking the word of peace.”  She believes this work is especially important in a context where divisions can take root early. Reflecting on the impact of the conflict in Malakal, she noted how discrimination and tribalism have become increasingly visible within communities.  “Since the crisis started in Malakal, people have been focusing on tribalism. Even a small child can tell you about tribalism. People are fostering discrimination,” says Cecilia.   By carrying messages of peace into remote communities, public spaces and her own home, she is helping challenge those divisions and encouraging others to see beyond them.   Across Bor, Pibor and Malakal, Youth Peace Ambassadors have become an increasingly important force for community-led peacebuilding. By the end of the project, 94 per cent of Youth Peace Ambassadors reported that they could influence positive change in their communities.  Progress, however, remains uneven. By the end of the project, fewer women felt their interests were fully reflected in community plans than project partners had hoped. Deeply rooted social norms do not change overnight, and women who step into leadership roles can still face resistance.  Some challenges extend beyond the reach of any single intervention. Recurrent flooding continues to disrupt livelihoods and displace families. Insecurity can limit access to communities. Competition over land, water, and grazing areas remains a source of tension in many places.  Yet change is happening.   In communities where a young woman was once told she had no place in conversations about peace; she is now known as a daughter of Peace. More women are participating in decisions that shape their communities. Young women are stepping forward as leaders, and girls are growing up seeing examples of women helping resolve disputes, build trust and strengthen community relationships  The work is far from finished. But peace in these communities is being carried by more voices than before, and many of those voices belong to women.