The Seventh UNESCO Youth Forum brought together more than 500 youth voices from across the world to debate ‘How youth drive change’, and acknowledged the role youth play in ‘positively transforming society’ (UNESCO, 2011: 2). The 2012 Policy Forum, Engaging Youth in Planning Education for Social Transformation, builds on these debates. Emerging from a partnership between the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and two UNESCO Chairs from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and the University of Ulster, this Policy Forum will address the three thematic areas in youth engagement discussed by the 2011 UNESCO youth delegates. This brief paper is aimed at a broad range of stakeholders (including youth delegates, policymakers, and planners) on the literature and theory relevant to one of these core areas: the role of youth and education in supporting societal transformation through peacebuilding in conflict-affected societies.