ICAN is hiring a Staff Accountant to provide financial and administrative support to ICAN’s Finance Director and broader team.
Kareemat Center is an organization that supports conflict-affected Syrian women and children who sought refuge in Turkey. Established in 2014, Kareemat works to promote equality for women and the fulfilment of their human rights in order to build a society that believes in peace, justice, and equality for all members of society to live in dignity.
Kareemat has developed programs that support women’s transition to life in Turkey, focusing on issues affecting refugees and the challenges associated with forced asylum, including providing free Turkish language courses, vocational training, job opportunities, literacy courses, legal education, and raising awareness on the rights of refugees. Kareemat has also developed programs combatting domestic violence and providing psychosocial support programs.
ICAN’s Innovative Peace Fund has supported Kareemat since 2019.

The ongoing war in Syria has resulted in the world’s largest refugee crisis with more than 13 million people forcibly displaced since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. Kilis, a Turkish border city, is the main point of entry from Syria and is home to around 200,000 Syrians. Kareemat, a women-led peacebuilding organization in Kilis, Turkey, is making a profound impact on Syrian refugee women and their families. Supported by ICAN, Kareemat addresses the challenges of displacement, isolation, and economic hardships through psychological support, language classes, and economic empowerment resources, fostering integration and reducing tensions between Turkish and Syrian communities.
“I often dream the jasmine returns to Syria to decorate and perfume our streets.” As the Syrian regime rained barrel bombs on her hometown in Syria, Najlaa and her family were forced to flee to Turkey where she established the first organization led by a Syrian woman to help other women refugees with literacy, economic empowerment, and psychosocial support. Peace Hero Najlaa El Sheikh speaks to ICAN about her journey, her work, and her dreams.
Empatiku is a civil society organization based in Indonesia that fosters empathy in the security and education sectors and addresses the rise of violent extremism. Since its establishment in 2015, Empatiku has innovated its programs to ensure the involvement of civil society, especially women, in bringing about social change.
Qadims Lumiere School and College was founded by Bushra Qadim Hyder in Peshawar, Pakistan. The institution provides a positive alternative to violent extremism through education, actively addressing divisions among Pakistani identity groups and gender inequalities that are exploited by extremist outfits.
Digital Shelter is an initiative founded in March 2018 by human rights defenders in Somalia who are committed to advancing digital safety, digital rights, internet freedom, and digital inclusion.
The National Transformational Leadership Institute (NTLI) was launched in 2016 as a partnership between the University of Juba, the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, and UN Women South Sudan. Created to meet South Sudan’s urgent need for ethical, inclusive, gender-responsive policies and visionary leadership in the aftermath of conflict, NTLI has quickly risen as a regional center of excellence in East Africa.
Afghan Women News Agency Organization (AWNAO) is a nonprofit, non-political, and non-governmental organization that supports women’s participation in social activities. Its work amplifies women’s voices through news and magazine publications, advocacy, capacity building, and education.
The Afghan Women Skills Development Center (AWSDC) is a non-governmental organization, founded in 1999 and dedicated to the promotion and protection of women’s rights in Afghanistan.
Equality for Peace and Development Organization (EPDO) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 2010 in Afghanistan. EPDO works to promote women’s rights, social cohesion, civil society, and inclusive community development, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
Kaaj Magazine is a digital magazine led by Farahnaz Forotan, one of Afghanistan’s prominent journalists, who heads a distinguished editorial team dedicated to telling the human stories of a nation shaped by decades of conflict.
Women for Development (WFD) is a women-led, grassroots, non-governmental organization based in Gyumri, Armenia. WFD was established in 1997 and was formed upon the vision of women shaping their future and bringing positive societal change to the communities of Armenia, particularly in the country’s most impoverished region of Shirak.