“We Canceled Silence”: How Local Peace Committees Rebuild Trust in Syria
Across Syria, communities are finding ways to reconnect after years of war through dialogue, storytelling, art, and collective action. Mobaderoon’s Local Peace Committees demonstrate why lasting peace begins within communities themselves.
The Odd Couple: Women Peacebuilders and Security Actors Bridging Positions, Building Trust
The WPS agenda has proven a vital entry point for women peacebuilders to engage with the security sector and build trust within affected communities. These efforts—often invisible—are contributing to the reform of the sector, reshaping local security environments and mitigating violence.
The War Against Ourselves: Afghan Women Peacebuilders’ Response to the Mental Health Crisis in Afghanistan
This case study describes the drivers of the mental health crisis in Afghanistan, its gendered and cultural dimensions, and the strategies used by Afghan women-led peacebuilding organizations to provide solutions. The authors conducted interviews with representatives of Afghan women-led peacebuilding organizations and thematic experts, which were complemented by a desk review of project documentation and […]
Center for Advocacy in Gender Equality and Action for Development (CAGEAD)
June 2022 – The Center for Advocacy in Gender Equality and Action for Development (CAGEAD) continues to increase awareness about women peacebuilders and their work with diverse stakeholders including mayors, government administrators, local and traditional leaders, church leaders, and civil society organizations. At a convening on February 2, 2022, they signed commitments to stand with women peacebuilders with specific action points. For instance, one mayor will include the language of women peacebuilders in their budget; a journalist committed to allocate free space in newspapers and blogs for women peacebuilders; and a local flight agency pledged to a 5% discount for flights for women peacebuilders.
In addition, 25 women peacebuilders from seven divisions in the northwest region gathered on February 3, 2022 to increase their understanding of the She Builds Peace campaign pillars and how to integrate them into their advocacy and peacebuilding work. They will incorporate the campaign into local community peace clubs and track the levels of commitment made by the stakeholders who support them.
July 2020 – The Center for Advocacy in Gender Equality and Action for Development (CAGEAD) launched the She Builds Peace campaign in March 2020 in the Northwest region of Cameroon with a conference that brought together over 150 participants. The event aimed to brief the press, government officials, traditional rulers, academics, and civil society members on the campaign; start a discussion on the important work of women peacebuilders in Cameroon; and increase awareness of the security threats women peacebuilders face. One speaker described the consequences such security risks have on women peacebuilders and their families. Others highlighted best practices, challenges faced, and the roles women play when conducting peacebuilding work.
The conference featured a traditional dance from the Kom royal family and the performance of songs which call for men to drop their guns and give women the chance to bring peace to their communities. In addition, three CAGEAD youth ambassadors recited a women’s peace poem and performed a peace song.
The launch event mobilized the attendees, all of whom pledged to join the call to stand with women peacebuilders. The Regional Delegate for Women Empowerment and the Family, speaking on behalf of the government, said that he and his office will accompany CAGEAD and other women peacebuilders in their peacebuilding work in the Northwest region. Traditional rulers promised to encourage other men in their communities to allow their wives to join peace movements and to also support in any way they can. The event was widely publicized, resulting in many requests from various stakeholders for more information on the campaign and next steps.
Oba Rose, the National Coordinator Cameroon Community Media Network- CCMN, highlighted challenges faced by female journalists and the network’s best practices for peacebuilding.
Dr. Fochu, representing the University of Bamenda, spoke about the various risks that women peacebuilders face and the consequences these threats have on them and their families.
Madame Foncham Gladys, representing the South West North West Women Taskforce, spoke on the role of women in peacebuilding and shared strategies on how to overcome challenges.
The Regional Delegate for Women’s Empowerment and the Family, speaking on behalf of the government, urged women to join peacebuilding initiatives.
ICAN convened 20 members of WASL in Lisbon for the “Our Strategies, Our Peace” Writers’ Workshop. This unique gathering provided a secure and creative space for women peacebuilders to share their strategies, experience, expertise, and stories from conflict and crisis contexts.
It is with immense grief and shock that we share the tragic news that our dear sister, friend and colleague, Sureya Roble Hersi passed away on Friday October 25, 2024, in Mombasa, Kenya.
ICAN, in partnership with the Permanent Missions of Norway, Sweden, and Canada, the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (UKFCDO), the Ministry of Gender, Child and Welfare of South Sudan, the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and the National Transformational Leadership Institute (NTLI), convened a 1.5-day workshop to discuss how to strengthen community security as a localized, transformative approach for sustainable peace.
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On Sunday, February 4, 2024, our dear friend, partner, and colleague, Enass Muzamel, Co-Founder of the Sudanese peacebuilding organization Madaniya, passed away due to a sudden illness. We express our deepest sympathies to Enass’ family, friends, and colleagues in Sudan and around the world. Together with them, we are in deep shock and mourning for […]
With support from the Rapid Response Window of the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund in partnership with the International Civil Society Action Network, Women Relief Aid, a South Sudanese women-led NGO and member of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership, is making remarkable strides to improve realities for women in the country.
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On November 22, 2023, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)—in partnership with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), and Karama hosted a high-level dialogue to reimagine partnerships and coordination between women peacebuilders, international mediation, humanitarian, and development actors in crises and conflict settings.
ICAN was invited to attend the Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy Conference at the World Forum in The Hague from November 1-2, 2023. Organized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the conference welcomed more than 750 participants from over 40 countries.
On the first day of the conference, ICAN hosted a side event titled: No Feminist Foreign Policy Without Feminist Funding, in partnership with GPPAC.
Today, over 1 billion people still lack access to clean water and electricity. Environmental and climate change exacerbates this problem and exposes fragile and conflict-affected communities to further risk and insecurity. While the link between resource scarcity and conflict is well understood, the potential for natural resource governance to facilitate peacebuilding is less well researched.
On Thursday, October 5, 2023, ICAN welcomed Bas Berends, Co-founder and Chief Partnership Officer at OffGridBox, to join our WASL community call.
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