Join The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) for an-in person side event at CSW67, to unpack the multifaceted impacts of modern connective technology on the work of feminist activists and feminist organisations in the MENA region.

Reflecting on an ever-evolving technology trad-eoff, women civil society representatives from Syria, Yemen, and Libya will share their insights and experiences, looking back at technology and the revolution during the Arab Spring uprisings, the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, and all the way to their present day efforts to redesign the peace table.

The Peace Track Initiative (PTI) — in partnership with the Women International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) supported by the Netherlands Embassy in Yemen, and in cooperation with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) with support from US Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) — are organising a CSW67 parallel event on “Technology and its Impact on Women, Peace and Security in Yemen”. 

The event will examine the role of technology in promoting women’s empowerment and protection in conflict situations, and will provide a platform for sharing ideas and best practices in the field. It will also examine the mechanisms and policies put in place to create a safe participatory online arena. 

PAX, WILPF, ABAAD, SIHA and UPP, are co-organising a hybrid event on “Gendered Dynamics of Digital Peace Activism: Challenges and opportunities experienced by feminist peace activists and human rights defenders” on the sidelines of the 67th session of the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. This event will convene a panel of feminist peace activists from Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and Sudan to share their insights and analysis, centering the discussion around opportunities provided by new technology for online campaigning and organising by feminist and women’s peace movements, as well as accessing access limitations due to the digital gender gap. The event will also focus on the gendered ways in which women peace activists are targeted and repressed online and identify opportunities for countering digital and technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

Join us in our last webinar in the series “A Climate of Insecurity for COP27” on Thursday, 27 October at 7PM CEST, where we will shed light on the myriad impacts of the climate crisis in the MENA region. Speakers will illuminate different impacts of the climate crisis on women under militarised regimes and in conflict areas, and they will sketch out grassroots solutions, and share their key demands for COP27 and beyond.

Moderator: Salma Kahale, WILPF MENA Director

Opening remarks: Hanan Awwad, MENA Representative and President of WILPF Palestine

Panelists:
– Nouha Ghosseini, President, WILPF Lebanon
– Rula Assad, Syrian Female Journalist Network
– Shirine Al Jurdi, WILPF Lebanon
– Dr. Nadia Al Sakkaf: Independent Yemeni researcher and Director of Research at Arabia Brain Trust

In solidarity with the Month of Action against US AFRICOM #ShutDownAFRICOM

How is the West militarising the African continent, and why does this prevent countries in the region to adapt to climate change and ensure the well-being of its people?

Join us in the second webinar of our series “A Climate of Insecurity for COP27” where we will explore how military alliances such as NATO and US AFRICOM are militarising the African continent. Africa is the continent hit hardest by the climate crisis and is already experiencing severe droughts, desertification, worsening heat and water, and food insecurity. Instead of helping Africa adapt and become more resilient, the US and NATO allies are exporting arms, training security forces, conducting destabilising military operations, and increasing tension causing a climate of insecurity across the continent. The issue of Western militarism exacerbating the climate emergency cannot be overlooked in the lead up to COP 27. It is important to consider that the climate summit in November will be taking place in Egypt, which borders Libya. In 2011, NATO forces bombed and helped to overthrow the government of Libya, which was one of Africa’s richest countries. A decade later as a result of the NATO intervention, Libya is suffering from a civil war and refugee crisis that makes it more challenging for the country to deal with climate-induced extreme drought and dust storms. There is a crucial connection between Western militarism and climate injustice across the African continent.

For background, please see Djibo Subukwe’s article “NATO and Africa: A Relationship of Colonial Violence and Structural White Supremacy” as well as Margaret Kimberley’s interview “Blacks must oppose US AFRICOM” and Abayomi Azikiwe’s “Africa Remains at the Center of a 21st Century Cold War”.