The International Board is responsible for the strategic leadership of PeaceWomen Across the Globe. It is composed of members from all over the world, as well as a Swiss committee.

Our teams in Bern (International Office) and in Bogotá (Colombia Office) support our local partners in designing peacebuilding programmes in various contexts and at different stages of peace processes, namely peacebuilding during armed conflict, peacebuilding during peace negotiations and peacebuilding after armed conflict.

"1000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize", Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, president and founder PeaceWomen Across the Globe (German, English)

The valuable support of our funding partners makes our impactful peace work with our partners possible. We thank you for your trust and commitment.

Our work in Palestine counters the increasing social, political and geographical fragmentation of Palestinian society. It supports Palestinian visions for a feminist future marked by justice. With our project partners, we work to bring together and empower women and queer people affected by violence and gender injustice across fragmented and militarised borders, in order to become more aware of and claim their rights. (The programme has concluded.)

Women living in communities close to the contact line are affected by the war between Ukraine and the autonomous Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in multiple ways. At the Women’s Peace Tables they can both network and freely share their experiences and visions of peace. We interview Board member Margret Kiener Nellen and our project coordinator Annemarie Sancar after their project visit in September

Since the beginning of our programme, and especially since Russia's war of aggression in 2022, we have been building trust with women affected by the war in Ukraine. Our meetings have fostered an environment where women can openly share experiences and talk about their visions for peace – whether they have gone into exile, remained in eastern Ukraine or were displaced to other parts of the country. Following the launch of the redesigned Ukraine programme in the autumn of 2024, we organised a train-the-trainer workshop in Krakow in February for women who play a leading role in their municipalities.

"I had to close my heart and soul to work." Valentina Cherevatenko, Russian PeaceWoman, human rights defender and member of Women's Initiatives for Peace in Donbas(s) describes her despair after the Russian war of aggression began.

Despite a growing awareness that the full, equal, safe and meaningful participation of women leads to more sustainable peace agreements, women remain largely excluded from formal peace negotiations. We strengthen women's participation in peace negotiations by finding creative ways to link formal and informal women's initiatives.

As part of a pilot programme in Sudan, we are connecting peace activists in the Dilling region in the south of Sudan with Sudanese activists who have lived in exile since 2023 due to the ongoing violence. Together with our local partner, we promote the targeted development of skills that these women can use to participate fully and meaningfully in peace negotiations and drive social change.

In the fall of 2019, we brought together peace activists from Colombia, Nepal and the Philippines to share their experiences of armed conflict and of the subsequent peace efforts in their countries and to benefit from each other's expertise. As different as the political contexts are, the women found many similarities. The solidarity they felt at the meeting gives them the strength to continue their often arduous peace work.

Film about the Women's Peace Tables carried out by our partner Nagarik Aawaz with our support in Nepal until 2019.

Women in Afghanistan know how much is at stake for them in the peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government. If negotiations fail, they above all risk losing hard-won rights. The women must be able to demand their rights and have their say. A course at Gawharshad University in Kabul empowers them to do so. (The programme has concluded.)

If peace in Afghanistan fails, the women stand to lose the gains they have made since the collapse of the Taliban regime. Sima Samar, Coordinator for PeaceWomen Across the Globe and government official in Afghanistan speaks out for women’s rights and their inclusion in shaping her country’s peace and future. For this she has paid a high price. And yet she remains steadfast and cautiously hopeful. (Interview from 2019.)

What barriers do women and feminist peacebuilders face in Africa – what means do they have to overcome them? How can generations of peacebuilders work together to make their demands heard and achieve lasting peace in their countries and regions? These were among the questions discussed at the first regional meeting of the Feminists Connecting for Peace network in Africa.

Ever since a team around our founder and president gathered the names of 1000 women peacebuilders from across the globe and nominated them collectively for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, we have understood how fundamental networks are to peacebuilding and specifically to women’s peace work. We also know: networks need to be cultivated and cared for. With this in mind, we invited 12 women peacebuilders to come together in Bern in February 2024.

On the start of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023, we ask the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis in an open letter to what extent the commitments of the Women, Peace and Security agenda will be taken into account at the conference. We also express our regret that civil society, especially women's organisations, are not included in this important conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine.

One year after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, there are no signs of a ceasefire, let alone peace. Since 24 February 2022, more than 200,000 soldiers and, depending on the source, up to 50,000 civilians have lost their lives in the gruesome war. Every day the numbers rise and the suffering increases. On the anniversary of the attack, we are issuing a renewed appeal with a special focus on the participation and protection of women.

More than 2,700 billion US Dollars. That is the global military expenditure in 2024. It marks the steepest rise in such spending since 1988. This stark figure underscores a world increasingly reliant on military solutions to achieve security. In sharp contrast: PeaceWomen Across the Globe firmly stands for non-violent conflict transformation. We believe that lasting security can only be achieved through inclusive dialogue and not through weapons or military deterrence.

"Being a feminist in Albania": Sevim Arbana, PeaceWoman and women's rights campaigner (English)

"Truth and gender in the Colombian peace process", "La verdad y el género en el proceso de paz colombiano": Alejandra Miller Restrepo, member of our Board and member of the Colombian Truth Commission, Colombia (English, Spanish)

"1000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize", Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, president and founder PeaceWomen Across the Globe (German, English)

"Justice and peace for Afghanistan", Sima Samar, member of our Board and women’s rights and human rights defender, Afghanistan