News and Updates
A Mother is a School: The Influence of Women in Preventing Violent Extremism
Ensuring women are properly equipped with knowledge to counter and prevent extremist ideology can contribute to promoting peaceful coexistence within communities now, as well as for future generations. From 11-12 October, UNDP and ICAN held a two-day workshop on gender responsive approaches to transforming extremisms in Erbil, Iraq.
To Address Extremisms In The New Decade, Do What The Women Say
ICAN’s Senior Program Officer, Rosalie Fransen provides a gendered analysis of emerging trends and threats in the CT and P/CVE landscape.
Flexible Funding and the Road to Reconciliation in Sri Lanka
Through ICAN’s Innovative Peace Fund (IPF), we have supported the Association of War Affected Women (AWAW) in Sri Lanka since 2013. Visaka Dharmadasa, Founder and Chair of AWAW, spoke to our IPF Program Director, France Bognon, about how flexible funding in their project yielded unexpected results.
ICAN Partner AWAPSA: A Catalyst for Kenya’s First SGBV Court
Funded by ICAN’s Innovative Peace Fund (IPF), AWAPSA launched a project across Kenya’s coastal counties to increase awareness of SGBV, educate women and girls on how to report instances of SGBV, and facilitate the reporting of cases to the police. One of the most significant and unforeseen outcomes of AWAPSA’s project was the establishment of Kenya’s first special court for handling SGBV cases, which opened in March 2022, at Shanzu Law Courts, Mombasa.
Despite the Challenges, Donors Must Continue to Support Struggling Nonprofits in Afghanistan (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Following the Taliban takeover, a large number of civil-society leaders, particularly women, were forced to flee the country, and a severe lack of funding and a repressive operating environment led many organizations to shut their doors.
What Happened in Afghanistan Isn’t Staying in Afghanistan (Common Dreams)
To prevent the forever war turning into war forever, instead of an arms race and trillion-dollar defense spending, now more than ever we need to stand for and practice the principles of universal human rights, justice, and pluralism.
New Case Studies on Gender and Identity in Extremisms: Cameroon, Jordan, Libya, Pakistan
In October 2021, ICAN, with the support of Global Affairs Canada, released a set of four “Case Studies on the Role of Gender and Identity in Shaping Positive Alternatives to Extremisms.” In response to the positive feedback, we have developed a further four case studies covering work in Cameroon, Jordan, Libya and Pakistan.
August 31, 2022: ICAN marks one year since the US and NATO ended their chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan
In the year since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, ICAN have advocated for and assisted in the relocation of approximately 200 families, issued rapid response grants comprising $590,000 to Afghan women-led peacebuilding organizations, and issued 17 individual grants totaling $36,000.
Widespread Violence Across Libya Threatens Women Peacebuilders
The Libyan Women’s Forum (LWF), member of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL), invited their colleague and Libyan parliamentarian, Ibtesam Al Rubai, to join the WASL weekly community call on July 20, 2022 to discuss the situation in Libya.
Outcome Document from the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues Series on Innovative Solutions for Feminist Financing for Peacebuilding
The lack of quality financing for peacebuilding is a major challenge to sustainable peace. Quality financing is adequate, flexible, predictable, and sustainable financial mechanisms for local women peacebuilders who are the first responders to crises and best positioned to advance sustainable peace in their communities. This outcome document from the multi-stakeholder dialogues series on innovative solutions for feminist financing for peacebuilding outlines five key priorities moving forward.
Reclaiming Power, Restoring Peace: Concluding ICAN’s 9th Women, Peace, and Security Forum
ICAN’s 9th Women, Peace, and Security Forum: Reclaiming Power, Restoring Peace concluded on Friday June 3, 2022, following four days of strategizing, exchanging, and building solidarity on Bandos Island, Maldives.
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini’s Statement at the High-Level International Conference on Human Rights, Civil Society and Counter-Terrorism
ICAN’s Founder and CEO, Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, MBE, at the High-Level International Conference on Human Rights, Civil Society and Counter-Terrorism in Málaga, Spain, organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the Government of the Kingdom of Spain.
ICAN’s Annual Report 2021
ICAN is pleased to announce the release of our 2021 Annual Report. Find out about our mission, approach, work and reflections on a challenging year, including our response to the crisis in Afghanistan and developments in the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL).
ICAN Welcomes New Member of the Board of Directors, André Mundal
It is with immense pleasure that the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) Board of Directors and staff welcome André Mundal in joining the Board of Trustees. At a time of increasing complexity and insecurity globally, where the work of ICAN and its partners – women peacebuilders around the world in the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) – is even more urgent and necessary, André’s contributions and experiences will be immensely valuable.
Where Do We Go From Here? Reflections on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
In response to the UK’s plan to host an international conference on the ten-year anniversary of their preventing sexual violence in conflict initiative (PVSI), members of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) shared their reflections during our weekly community check-in call. Despite mention of conflict related and other sexual violence (CRSV) in 8 security council resolutions since 2008, there remains substantial gap in implementation with the Secretary General’s reports indicating low levels of compliance by conflict parties.