Schedule
Monday, September 21
Opening Ceremony Plenary: Local Women’s Voices for Peace: 20 Years of 1325.
September 21 / 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Setting the stage for this conference, the opening plenary presented a global tapestry of the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 at the local level. Presenters from around the world shared their work bringing 1325 to the national and community level, as well as the challenges and the strategies of Women Peace and Security activists.
Global Session: Addressing UNSC1325 and Responding to SGBV in COVID Era
September 21 / 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Covid19 has exacerbated the complex reality of sexual gender based violence (SGBV) around the world, putting women’s rights, peace and security at (greater) risk. At the forefront of supporting women are initiatives focused on women’s care, peace and security. In this session, stories of local SGBV initiatives from around the world were presented and discussed.
Latin America & The Caribbean Session: A Review of Gender-Based Violence in the LAC Region: Sharing Lessons, Challenges, Opportunities, And Civil Society Leadership Over the Past Twenty Years
September 21 / 5:00 – 6:30 pm
This panel reviewed some of the key implications that the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and peace and security had in Latin America and the Caribbean. A multi-cultural approach was taken with “practitioners” from the ground who spoke on the diverse contexts in which they have supported women’s recognition, protection, leadership, and implication in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, violence, and insecurity across broad definitions.
Tuesday, September 22
Australia Session: The Power of Pandemic Peacebuilding
September 22 / 5:00 – 6:30 am
A robust panel of women’s voices shared peacebuilding stories and lessons followed by an interactive group conversation with the panelist and participants.
Plenary: Strengthening Local Structures & Practices
September 22 / 1:00 – 2:30 pm
In communities around the world, women are organizing local supports and resources to address conflict in their communities in order to foster peace and justice. This session focused on two case studies of local initiatives, Peace Clubs (Nigeria) and Peace Committees (Kenya), to provide support and resources for peacebuilding.
Global Session: Technology-Related Gender Based Violence: Call it What it is.
September 22 / 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Technology-related Gender-Based Violence is of growing concern and we should be made aware of what it is and how we can safeguard ourselves during these times.
Southern Africa Session: Community Based Responses to GBV in Southern Africa
September 22 / 9:30 – 11:00 am
The session assessed the impact of GBV in Southern Africa and how local women are using their voices to address it. It also explored ways to enhance the capacity of women to prevent and respond to GBV.
Global Session: Women’s Leadership in Conflict and Peacebuilding
September 22 / 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Women’s leadership–formal and informal, visible and invisible–is crucial to addressing conflict and building peace in communities around the world. This work is diverse, challenging and rewarding. In this session, women shared the challenges and strategies of being leaders in their communities.
Skills Workshop: Conflict Resolution Skills
September 22 / 11:30 am – 12:20 pm
Conflict is an inevitable experience in community peace building. Talking about how we can constructively address conflict and learning effective conflict resolution skills are important actions for building peace. This Conflict Resolution Skills Workshop presented a series of conflict resolution skills, and created a space for sharing effective practices for addressing conflict.
Skills Workshop: Amplifying Your Voice – Answering Your Questions about Communicating Effectively
September 22 / 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Shari Graydon discussed how to be a more effective communicator and to better prepare for engaging with media. Shari Graydon is the founder and catalyst of Informed Opinions, an award-winning author and women’s advocate. A former newspaper columnist, TV producer and commentator for CBC radio and TV (Canada), since 2010, she has helped amplify the voices of thousands of women across Canada, supporting them in sharing their insights with a broader public.
Wednesday, September 23
South Asia Session: Local Women’s Voices for Peace in South Asia
September 23 / 5:30 – 7:00 am
Regional Session on Local Women Voices for Peace and Security in South Asia examined the challenges and opportunities for the local women in strengthening the WPS agenda and their contribution towards UNSC Resolution 1325. The Panel shared the voices from different countries and shared practices to discover convergence and discrepancies in amplifying local women’s voices for peace and security in the region.
Plenary: Addressing Cultural Norms
September 23 / 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Cultural norms and practices can hinder and, at times, halt women’s peace and security work. In response, women incorporate local capacities and knowledge for peace to challenge cultural barriers and create new understandings and practices. This session highlighted examples of women’s actions to shift cultural barriers and support peace.
East Africa Session: How women are making 1325 real in East Africa: Stories from Community Leaders
September 23 / 7:30 – 9:00 am
In multiple sectors and roles, visible and invisible, women in East Africa are addressing community and regional issues for conflict, violence, security and human rights. This sessions’ speakers from different East African countries highlighted the work of women Human Rights Defenders and civil society advocates in localizing 1325 for the rights and well-being of women, families, communities, and societies.
Global Session: The Role of Education in Supporting WPS
September 23 / 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Education is crucial to advancing peace and security at the community and national levels. Learning for peace happens in many different ways. As well, learning is inherent and crucial to women’s peace and security work. This session focused on education to advance peace and security, as highlighted by examples from around the world.
Middle East and Northern Africa Session: Local Women Voices for Peace in the MENA Region
September 23 / 5:00 – 6:30 pm
This session explored the role of women in peace building in ruler/tribal communities (showcasing Yemen and Libya), 1325 national plan as a tool to enhance women’s participation in peacebuilding and community cohesion (showcasing Iraq), and women’s political participation and decision making during the Corona era (showcasing Palestine).
South-Southeast Asia Session: Women-Led Storytelling and Art for Peacebuilding
September 23 / 7:30 am – 9:00 am
This regional session brought together the bold, brave, and creative women leaders from the region to share their approach, strategies, reflection, and skills in storytelling and arts for peacebuilding. This session looked deeper into how peacebuilding is possible through a collective, empathetic, and creative way.
Indigenous (Canada) Session: From Where We Stand – Indigenous Women’s Voices & Perspectives
September 23 / 5:00-6:30 pm
This session was offered by a diverse group of Indigenous women discussing topics such as gender-based violence, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), and Indigenous women as refugees in their homelands. We heard the voices and stories of Indigenous women and their experiences living in Canada.
Thursday, September 24
East-Southeast Asia Session: What is Peace and Security for Women in Southeast Asia and East Asia
September 24 / 5:00 – 7:15 am
In Southeast and East Asia, at the forefront in enduring fragile peace and false security are women who work towards transformative relations, full access to human rights and citizenship and inclusive, just and lasting peace. Precisely because of their exposure to risks and their limited resources, they create spaces to build their confidence as leaders, engage fellow women, men, young people and other stakeholders, influence practices, policies and people and ultimately shift power. As they strengthen relationships among people, they make the links between and among issues. They foster and facilitate the necessary conversations.
Skills Workshop: How to Tell/Write Your Story Effectively
September 24 / 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
In keeping with the theme of this conference that promotes the voices of women working locally to achieve peace, one goal in the coming months is to gather stories, analyses and cases that can be shared in the future. This workshop provided an introduction to this writing process for those who may find the idea a bit intimidating. Community practitioners who are dedicated to documenting women’s knowledge in a variety of formats shared their insights and advice for those of you with a story to tell.
West Africa Session: Localization UNSCR1325: Building Resilience, Support Systems, Policies and the Capacities of Women in Mitigating Conflict at the Grassroots
September 24, 2020 / 7:30 – 9:00 am
This regional session addressed issues around getting support systems for women in conflict at the local level, enabling policy and access to services in West Africa, and enacting policies to strengthen the capacity of women in mitigating Conflict, and building resilience in West Africa.
Plenary: Where to Next with UNSC1325 Locally?
September 24 / 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Bringing together women of different generations, this session examined the key areas of focus for women’s community peace and security work in the next 5, 10, 20 years. Participants reflected on their learning in the conference so far and add to the discussion of – what next for 1325 locally.
Session Afrique Francophone: Voix Féminine Locales pour la Paix et la Sécurité
September 24 / 9:30 – 11:00 am
Cette session régionale sur les voix des femmes locales pour la paix et la sécurité en Afrique de l’Ouest francophone examinera les défis et les opportunités pour les femmes locales dans le renforcement du programme WPS et leur contribution à la résolution 1325 du CSNU. Le Panel fera entendre les voix de différents pays et partagera les pratiques et expériences sur la convergence et les écarts dans l’amplification des voix des femmes locales pour la paix et la sécurité dans la région.
Global Session: Supporting Ourselves, Supporting Each Other & Closing Ceremony
September 24 / 3:00 – 4:30 pm
While often not in the spotlight, care work is essential to community peacebuilding. Women are known for caring for others, yet caring for themselves and each other is equally important. In this session presenters shared about women’s carework and the importance of networks of care in sustaining and caring for women’s peace and security work over the long haul.