"Building peace across the divide", Susan Risal, executive director, Nagarik Aawaz, our partner organisation in Nepal

"Bringing peace to Mindanao": Yasmin Busran-Lao, former member of the Philippine government's peace negotiation panel for talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Compact, interesting and relevant: in our printed and electronic newsletters, you can find out about our events and projects and our political activities in Switzerland and abroad.

In this special edition of our newsletter, you can find out which stages peace processes go through and where and how women exert influence in order to drive peace processes and prevent setbacks. We have added an extra, detachable double page so that you can use the graphic illustration of peace processes and the accompanying text yourself. You will also find out how our partner in Nepal is helping to ensure that the generations affected by war are heard and recognised as victims of war violence through intergenerational Women's Peace Tables. The meeting with peace activists from our Feminists Connecting for Peace network, which took place in Bern at the beginning of the year, is another focus of our newsletter.

In this newsletter you will learn about the exemplary work of the Colombian Truth Commission, involving women and marginalised groups – and about how we contributed. You will also find out how we are making sparks glow with the Feminist Peace Initiatives and how we continue to work with women for peace in Ukraine, despite the war.

Even before the Russian war of aggression, women in eastern Ukraine were barely heard, their needs and concerns ignored. Our pilot programme, launched in 2021, opened up spaces where women discussed issues and formulated demands to make their everyday lives safer. We are picking up where we left off with the new Women’s Platform for Peace.

With the Reconciliation Award 2022, the German Klaus Jensen Foundation for civil conflict transformation recognises the commitment of PeaceWomen Across the Globe to women affected by war and conflict.

On 8th March women’s organisations around the world celebrate International Women’s Day and make their demands for peace and gender equality public. On this occasion, PeaceWomen Across the Globe (PWAG) – together with its worldwide network of peace activists – launched a workshop series on feminist peace politics, disarmament and demilitarisation. PWAG organises this workshop series with the support of Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

Even before the Russian war of aggression, women in eastern Ukraine were barely heard, their needs and concerns ignored. Our pilot programme, launched in 2021, opened the space for women to discuss issues and formulate demands that would make their everyday lives safer. We are picking up where we left off with the new Women's Platform for Peace.

What images does the word "peace process" conjure up for you? You probably imagine years of negotiations, a ceremony at which the parties to the conflict sign an agreement and shake hands? We have deconstructed this common image and taken an in-depth look at the question: "How do women influence peace processes?" The result is a graphic representation of the different stages of peace processes. With this tool, we put the role of women centre stage and show where they exert influence to drive peace processes and prevent setbacks.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. As a result, tens of thousands of people have been killed, twelve million have been displaced, and famine is imminent. On 24 July 2024, the United States invited the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to peace talks in Switzerland to take place on 14 August. So far, similar initiatives to bring about a ceasefire have failed. Prominent Sudanese mediator and peace activist Rabab Baldo is part of our global network Feminists Connecting for Peace. She has decades of experience working for a just peace in Sudan and explains what needs to happen for the talks in Switzerland to succeed.

Negotiations for a ceasefire in Sudan began in Geneva in mid-August. Fifteen Sudanese women also travelled there to demand to be part of the peace processes. In the swissinfo article, Rabab Baldo from our network and our director Deborah Schibler share their insights.

Our founder and president, Ruth-Gaby Vermot, is stepping down. For decades, she has championed the visibility of the often undervalued work of women in countries affected by war and armed conflict. Her courageous vision of collectively nominating 1,000 women from around the world for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize lives on in our collaboration with women and feminist activists in our programmes and within the Feminists Connecting for Peace network. In an interview with our colleague Larissa Mina Lee, she talks about successes, setbacks and hopes.