"Every person in this world has a special story…” - Sarah Al-Shikh Omar, 27-year-old, Syria

‘Own War’ offers an alternative model of knowledge production in the context of displacement and youth engagement. Led by refugee youth, the project uses multimedia storytelling (photography, sound, and personal testimony) to document lived experiences of conflict and life in countries of asylum. It challenges top-down approaches to peacebuilding by placing young people at the centre, not as subjects of policy, but as active narrators of their realities. Aligned with the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda, the project affirms young people’s right to participate meaningfully in shaping the policies that affect their lives. By expanding the definition of evidence in peace and security to include creative practice, ‘Own War’ demonstrates how art and policy can meet not to soften the facts, but to deepen them. This is not just a research output about refugee youth; it is a policy intervention by them.

Highlighted Stories

Access the full project as a pdf here, which includes all the stories, the creative video, background on the project and more.

Sarah Mustafa Al-Shikh Omar – Researcher and Project Creator

I am Sarah Al Sheikh Omar, 27 years old, from Syria, Idlib. I hold a bachelor's degree in Biology and postgraduate studies in refugee studies and forced migration. I was born and live in Jordan as an asylum seeker. I am interested in youth affairs and their issues, especially refugees who have suffered the ravages of war, displacement, and loss of hope in the future! Through the research and reports that I write or participate in writing, I aim primarily to give youth confidence in themselves that they can and are capable of achieving change.

The Volunteers

Rahmah Deeb – Photographer

Sameer Nashwan – Music Producer
Muhammed Halaiqa – Graphic Designer

Qais Abdulrazaq – Video Editor

Youth Participants

Sarah Abdullah Al-Subayai

Sameer Nashwan

Mohammad Shehadat

Mayas Abdullah

Hasan Al-Matroud

Abdullatif Obaid

Omar Hashi

Mubarak Ricky

References

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Karimi, L. A. (2019). What’s going on in Sudan and what the US is doing about it – explained. CNN.

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Rais, M. (2013). Syrian crisis: a proxy war. Le Journal International 2008 - 2016.

Shafaq. (2024). Iraq's youth faces grim future: 250K annual graduates, 2024 budget lacks jobs. Shafaq.

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