Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, there have been calls for rearmament and higher military spending. As a feminist peace organisation, we oppose the claim that more weapons lead to more security. We call for demilitarisation and disarmament, because this is the only way to achieve real peace and genuine security. Our board member Margo OkazawaRey and our programme and network manager Annemarie Sancar explain why the world is at a crossroads today.

Common paths to peace: this could be the title of this print newsletter. Because the women from Colombia and Ukraine featured in this issue are on these paths – even though war is still raging in Ukraine and a peace agreement has been in force in Colombia since 2016.

In this issue of our newsletter, our Ukrainian partners report on the changes they have noticed over the last two years in the participants of our meetings with war-affected women from Ukraine. In another article, you will find out which topics were at the centre of discussions for 17 peace activists from 10 Asian countries at the network meeting in Manila. You can also find out what was on the programme during the visit of Sudanese peace activist Rabab Baldo and Colombian human rights lawyer Luz Marina Monzón Cifuentes in Bern.

With the Feminist Peace Initiatives, we finance projects that arise from our network. Events organised by us or our partners provide the impetus from which new ideas emerge and are passed on. This, too, is what feminist peace work is about

We use media contributions and interviews to bring our work and positions to the attention of a wider audience. As part of our advocacy work, we facilitate interviews with partners and members of our network Feminists Connecting for Peace.