About Helen

I’m Dr Helen Berents, a feminist scholar and advocate for youth-led peacebuilding. I work in the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University, in Brisbane, Australia. I am centrally concerned with both representations of young people in contexts of crises and conflict, and with engagements with the lived experience of violence-affected young people. My broader work draws on feminist international relations, critical peace studies, and the sociology of youth to explore representations and participation of children and youth in peace and conflict, everyday approaches to peacebuilding, and local-global relations in peace and security governance.

My work is motivated by a genuine belief in the importance of not just including young people, but recognising their leadership and expertise in resolving violence and building peace. Find out more about me and my work at my website.

This will be an occasional Substack newsletter, with reflections, observations, and commentary on the YPS agenda and on approaches to youth-inclusive peacebuilding more broadly.

In 2024 I am concluding a 4 year research fellowship, funded by the Australian Research Council titled ‘Youth Leadership and the Future of Peace and Security’ which examines the role of youth in the context of the global ‘Youth, Peace and Security’ agenda. Since 2019 I have spent extended time with advocates, bureaucrats, and policymakers—both youth and adult—who are working on developing, implementing, and making use of the YPS agenda. It is this sustained engagement, informed by both a ‘feminist curiosity’ (to reference Cynthia Enloe) about how things are and how they could be and in striving to embody meaningful allyship of youth leaders and their work, which I draw on in these newsletter updates.

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