On the 16th of April 2026, Italy adopted the first National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security (2026–2029), within the implementation framework of the UN Security Council Resolution 2250/2015 and the subsequent resolutions on the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda: resolutions 2419/2018, 2535/2020 and 2807/2025.

Structured in three parts, the Plan serves as an operational tool to ensure and strengthen the active participation of young people in Italy's public policies and international action. Its aim is to empower new generations as key actors in decision-making processes, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction — both in national policy and in Italy's foreign policy engagement in Europe, at the UN, in the G7 and across all major international fora.

The first part defines the institutional and regional context, identifying the cross-cutting themes through which to read the Agenda: the climate crisis, security, digital challenges, food security and the protection of cultural rights. 

The second part sets out, in operational and strategic terms, the objectives, targets and measures to implement the Agenda across its five traditional pillars: participation, protection, prevention, partnerships and disengagement and reintegration. This context includes initiatives such as the project “Youth, Peace, and Security in Iraq and Italy”, implemented by the Human Rights Centre “Antonio Papisca” of the University of Padova, in collaboration with Un Ponte Per, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). The initiative strengthens the operational capacities of Iraqi youth networks, specifically supporting Network 2250 in defining the Iraqi National Action Plan, thereby fostering the exchange of best practices with Italian civil society. 

The third part establishes a new structured system of governance, monitoring and evaluation, to ensure that policy implementation remains coherent and effective over time.

The process leading to the Plan's adoption was launched in 2024 through a broad working group comprising representatives of the Department for Youth Policies and Universal Civil Service of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Italian Youth Agency (AIG) and the National Youth Council (CNG), coordinated by the Directorate General for Political and Security Affairs (DGAP) and the CIDU of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), under the guidance of the YPS Agenda Coordinator. Representatives of civil society, academia, research centres and youth organisations also contributed to the process.