Good evening Ambassadors, colleagues, partners, mentors, Ra'idat alumni, friends and families, and most importantly, the graduates of Ra'idat's third cohort.
It is a pleasure to join you tonight as we celebrate your graduation and welcome you to the growing family of Ra'idat alumni.
The timing of this event is especially fitting because today is International Youth Day. Around the world, this day is an opportunity to recognise not only the challenges young people face, but also their essential role in building more peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous societies. This year's theme, "Different Contexts, Common Aspirations", reminds us that although young people live in different circumstances and confront different realities, they share remarkably similar hopes: dignity, opportunity, participation, equality, and the chance to shape a better future for themselves and their communities.
I cannot think of a more appropriate theme for tonight.
When I look around this room, I see young women from every corner of Libya. You come from different cities, regions, communities, and cultural backgrounds. Your personal journeys have been different. The challenges you have faced have been different. The obstacles you have overcome have been different.
Yet over the past year, you have been united by common aspirations: to contribute to your communities, to participate meaningfully in public life, to grow and develop personally, and to help build a future defined by stability, opportunity, and hope.
And that is precisely why the Ra'idat programme exists.
Three years ago, the United Nations in Libya launched Ra'idat with a simple but ambitious objective: to support young Libyan women to become leaders, advocates, peacebuilders, and agents of positive change. Since then, nearly one hundred young women have completed the programme and joined a growing alumni network that spans the entire country.
What makes Ra'idat special is not only the training and pastoral support it provides, but also the trust it helps build between women from different regions, communities, and backgrounds.
Many graduates have described Ra'idat as life changing. Others have spoken about finding confidence, friendship, and purpose. Repeatedly, I hear participants talk about the power of the network they have built.
This is particularly important in Libya today.
Across the country, many young people express frustration about political uncertainty, economic challenges, limited opportunities, and the feeling that decisions about their future are often made without their meaningful participation.
These concerns are understandable.
Yet throughout my engagement with young Libyans, I have also seen resilience. I have seen young people volunteering in their communities, promoting dialogue, supporting local initiatives, and refusing to accept that leadership belongs only to others. I have also seen a determination to help build a better future for Libya.
That determination gives me hope.
Today, Libya stands at an important moment.
For many years, Libyans have expressed a desire for peace, accountable institutions, economic opportunity, and an end to division. Across the country, citizens continue to call for stronger governance and a more stable and prosperous future.
In recent months, UNSMIL has sought to place Libyan voices at the centre of discussions about the country's future through the Structured Dialogue and broader public consultations. Thousands of Libyans from different regions, age groups, and backgrounds have shared their perspectives, priorities, and concerns. A clear message has emerged: people want to be heard, they want inclusive institutions, and they want a meaningful stake in shaping the decisions that affect their lives.
This is particularly true for young people.
Throughout these engagements, young Libyans have spoken not only about the challenges they face, but also about the opportunities they see for their country. They have demonstrated a strong desire to contribute to public life, strengthen their communities, and help move Libya beyond cycles of uncertainty and division. Their message reflects this year's International Youth Day theme: while circumstances may differ, aspirations remain remarkably similar. Young people want participation, dignity, opportunity, and hope for a better future.
That is why meaningful youth participation cannot be treated as an afterthought. The future that Libya is seeking to build will belong to today's young generation. Their perspectives, concerns, and aspirations must therefore be reflected in the conversations and decisions that shape the country's path forward.
And within that broader effort, the participation of women is especially important.
Experience around the world has shown that peace processes and governance are stronger, more sustainable, and more representative when women participate meaningfully. The same applies in Libya, where women continue to face barriers that limit their participation. Societies are made stronger when everyone has a voice and everyone can prosper. The young women graduating from Ra'idat today represent exactly the type of leadership Libya needs: leadership that can listen across differences, build consensus, strengthen communities, and contribute constructively to national dialogue.
Sustainable peace ultimately depends on people. It depends on citizens who are willing to engage, contribute, and take responsibility for their communities. It depends on citizens who are willing and knowledgeable enough to hold their leaders to account. That is why programmes such as Ra'idat matter. They help ensure that Libya's next generation of leaders is prepared not only to imagine a better future, but to help build it on behalf of the people they represent.
This year also comes as the United Nations marks more than a decade of implementing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda established by Security Council Resolution 2250. That landmark resolution recognised that young people are not simply beneficiaries of peace, but partners in building it, whose perspectives and participation are essential to sustainable solutions.
This principle has guided UNSMIL's engagement across Libya.
As we support Libyan-led efforts to move the political process forward, we have consistently advocated for meaningful inclusion, not only of women, but also of young people.
By working with young people we can help unlock the demographic dividend, accelerate sustainable development, and bring their energy and expertise to bear on some of the defining crises of our time. They must also be granted a greater role in decision-making processes at the local, national, and international levels.
Youth participation is not a symbolic gesture. It is a necessity.
And women’s participation is not optional. It is fundamental.
We know that many women in Libya continue to encounter significant social, institutional, and economic barriers, including discrimination, intimidation, and exclusion.
Many of you graduating tonight know these realities firsthand.
I wish I could tell you that those challenges disappear once you receive your certificate.
They do not. But I can tell you something else.
You are now better equipped to face them.
Over the past year, you have gained skills, experience, and confidence. Perhaps most importantly, you have gained a network of women who understand your journey and who can support you as you move forward. I am also sure you have gained friends.
That is a powerful resource. When one voice speaks alone, it can sometimes be ignored.
When many voices speak together, they become much harder to dismiss.
That is the true strength of the Ra'idat community.
The word "Ra'idat" means pioneers. A pioneer is someone who helps create opportunities for others, opens doors that were previously closed, and charts a path that others can follow. Each of you now has the opportunity, and the responsibility, to do exactly that.
As members of the third cohort, you are joining a network that is already creating positive change in communities across Libya through civil society, public service, education, media, business, and community leadership.
The impact of Ra'idat extends far beyond each cohort. It is reflected in the communities you influence, the people you support, and the opportunities you create for those who come after you.
I would also like to recognise the remarkable commitment of our partners, mentors, and supporters, as well as the international partners whose contributions make this programme possible. I would particularly like to thank those governments and institutions that continue to invest in young Libyan women through Ra'idat notably the Republic of Finland, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom.
Your support is helping to build a generation of leaders, peacebuilders, and changemakers across Libya. Every time a young woman gains the confidence to lead, advocate, solve problems, and bring people together, the entire country benefits.
To the graduates, tonight is a celebration of what you have achieved, but it is also the beginning of a new chapter. As you leave the programme and join the Alumni Network, I encourage you to build on what you have learned and continue contributing to your communities, supporting one another, and strengthening the Ra'idat legacy.
Wherever your path leads next, I encourage you to remain curious, remain engaged, and remain connected to one another.
Continue learning. Continue contributing to your communities. Continue building bridges and creating opportunities for others.
The future of Libya will not be shaped by a single institution, a single process, or a single agreement. It will be shaped by Libyans themselves; by citizens, communities, civil society leaders, and young people who choose to engage constructively in their country's future.
Despite our different contexts, our aspirations remain remarkably similar: a peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable future for all.
What unites the world’s young people is greater than what divides them. The United Nations stands with youth all over the world in their call for investment and inclusion. Together, let us build a present and future where every generation can thrive.
Congratulations on your graduation, congratulations on all that you have achieved, and thank you for the leadership, courage, and commitment you have already shown.
Thank you.
