Project profile — Strengthening local leadership in WPS and YPS in conflict and post-conflict settings

With Canada’s support, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) works in 6 fragile and conflict-affected states, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lebanon, Nigeria, and South Sudan, to ensure women’s meaningful participation at each stage of conflict prevention and resolution, and post-conflict recovery and reconstruction. Project activities include: (1) convening and delivering 15 workshops in the 6 countries on monitoring and evaluation to track resolutions’ implementation and progress on National Action Plans (NAPs); (2) conducting 15 localization workshops to draft Local Action Plans (LAPs) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS), and to provide technical support, resources and media support to roll out the third generation NAPs in Nigeria and the DRC; (3) providing technical assistance to Local Steering Committees; (4) facilitating three budget workshops of WPS NAPs and LAPs in Colombia, the DRC, and Nigeria; (5) convening eight workshops on community climate change response; (6) delivering five workshops to increase the capacity of journalists and other media practitioners on WPS and YPS; and, (7) conducting six Training-of-Trainers sessions covering gender equality, peacebuilding, preventing violence extremism and social media.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) increased access for local women and youth peacebuilding organizations to decision-making spaces; (2) improved cross-sectorial collaboration on the implementation of United Nations resolutions and climate action among key stakeholders; and (3) enhanced women’s, peace and security and youth peace and security policymaking and programming through technical workshops, train-the-trainer sessions, and building the capacity of the media to be active in shaping policy.

Results achieved as of April 2025 include: (1) organized 2 workshops in Colombia on the Localization of WPS resolutions, with 50 participants attending; (2) established 2 Local Steering Committees (LSCs) in each area, and GNWP conducted 6 virtual training sessions to strengthen journalists’ and media practitioners’ understanding of the WPS and YPS agendas. 43 journalists and media practitioners participated, including 28 women (of whom 13 are young women) and 15 men. 85 % of participants (17 out of 20 journalists who completed the post-evaluation survey) reported a significant improvement in their knowledge of gender-responsive media coverage. 100% of respondents stated that they gained a deeper understanding of the WPS and YPS agendas; (3) developed 3 train the trainer sessions in Colombia with 45 young women, men and gender-diverse young people; (4) conducted one hybrid workshop with journalists and media practitioners on the WPS and YPS agendas with a total of 43 participants (28 women); and (5) GNWP, the Government of Canada, and the Permanent Mission of Colombia organized a panel discussion “Forging Inclusive Paths: Intersectional Approaches to Local Peacebuilding ” during CSW69 in March 2025. 97 participants (35 in person and 62 online) from diverse regions and backgrounds participated.