The Association des Jeunes pour la Citoyenneté Active et la Démocratie (AJCAD) organised a National Forum for Youth and Women, bringing together young peacebuilders, civil society organisations, government representatives and members of the international community for a kind of dialogue that has become rare in Mali: honest, open and held in the same spirit by everyone in the room.

Getting there was not straightforward. Securing safe conditions for participants meant lengthy negotiations with the authorities and armed groups, as well as close coordination with youth networks. But AJCAD held firm, and the forum came to fruition. Panels brought together voices that rarely share a platform. Artistic and digital contributions kept the energy alive. And crucially, participants felt safe enough to say what they actually thought.

Young people, women and advocates for people with disabilities made concrete recommendations about their inclusion in Mali's peace process - recommendations that were published and that AJCAD will take forward into their future work.

The forum drew national media attention and significantly raised the public profile of AJCAD and its partners. In a country where the space to speak freely is shrinking, young Malians stood up, created that space themselves, and used it well.