Events

Delegation to Poland and Ukraine

Three women Nobel peace laureates will travel to Poland and Ukraine to bear witness to the experiences of women displaced from Ukraine and to recognize the lifesaving work of women, communities, and women’s organisations and networks. Tawakkol Karman (Yemen), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia) and Jody Williams (US) will be in Krakow and Rzeszow (Poland) and Lviv (Ukraine) to visit refugee centers, international humanitarian agencies, local activists, and officials.

Claiming Our Space: Emerging Feminist Voices for Peace

Emerging feminist leaders from more than twenty countries are coming together in Monrovia, Liberia for Claiming Our Space: Emerging Feminist Voices for Peace—a groundbreaking summit! With the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa the young women will strategize alongside five trailblazing Nobel peace laureates to build a global multi-generational feminist peace movement. Phew! No big deal.

#WomenPeaceKorea: A New Era

A diverse global coalition of security experts, women’s rights organizations and leading peace activists – including Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire – will travel to Seoul, South Korea for #WomenPeaceKorea: A New Era. In partnership with Women Cross DMZ, and the Women’s Peace Walk – the delegation aims to make the most of this diplomatic window, and call for the inclusion of women's movements in the peace process.

Women, Land & Peace 2017: Delegation to Honduras and Guatemala

Nobel peace laureates Tawakkol Karman (Yemen) and Shirin Ebadi (Iran) will travel to Honduras— and later join laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Guatemala) and Jody Williams (USA) in Guatemala— to gather a first-hand account of the ongoing violence against women land defenders. The group will visit two rural communities impacted by conflict over land and hear testimony from dozens of women’s organizations and Indigenous women community leaders.

Sister-to-Sister Mentorship Program

The Sister-to-Sister Mentorship Program provides essential training and hands-on skill building for young women’s rights activists. Since launching in 2012 Sister-to-Sister has engaged young women from Mexico, Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, Liberia, Burma, Guatemala, and Honduras. For six weeks the activists hone their communications and advocacy skills and learn from local activists and experts. The activists then return home to implement their new skills.

A Global Feminist Resistance: the Evolution and Revolution—Adapting to Thrive!

Over 50 women—including Nobel peace laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Mairead Maguire and Tawakkol Karman, as well as bold frontline activists from across the globe—will join us in Germany to discuss how we can adapt the global women’s movement to not just survive but thrive in the midst of political, social and cultural backlash against women.

Delegation to Colombia & Guatemala

Join us online from April 27 – May 7, 2016 as Nobel laureate Jody Williams travels to Colombia and Guatemala! Williams will travel to Colombia to stand in solidarity with the Colombian women’s movement as the country reaches a peace agreement. She will then travel to Guatemala to visit the Sepur Zarco women who recently won a precedent setting verdict for a case involving sexual slavery on February 26.

Opening Borders: #WomenRefugeesWelcome Delegation 2015

Nobel peace laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Tawakkol Karman travel to the Balkans and Germany alongside members of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict to meet with women refugees fleeing war in Syria. Join us as we hear first-hand the challenges facing women refugees–and the many ways women-led civil society organizations work tirelessly to support them.

Women of Congo Speak Out Delegation

Led by Nobel peace laureate Leymah Gbowee, the Nobel Women’s Initiative travels to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo meeting with the extraordinary women activists who work tirelessly to prevent violence and support survivors. Join us as we spotlight the innovative strategies women employ to advance peace and justice in their communities and to support survivors of sexual violence.

Women Forging Peace: Delegation to Liberia, 2013

Nobel Women’s Initiative travels to Liberia to meet with women who are at the forefront working for peace and reconciliation in the region. Tired of civil war, Leymah Gbowee mobilized women across religious and ethnic divides, eventually forcing warlord President Charles Taylor into exile. The Nobel Women will bear witness and spotlight the women peacemakers by taking their message to the African Union in the second part of the delegation.

Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala: Delegation

Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams (USA) and Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Guatemala) will be leading a fact-finding mission January 21 to January 31 to investigate violence against women in Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. They will focus on the unique circumstances of women—including why sexual violence is used as a tool to silence women’s human rights defenders—and the strategies women are using to end violence in their communities.

2010 Delegation to Israel and Palestine

Women activists on the ground in Israel and Palestine work tirelessly every day to build peace and justice in the region. The Nobel Women’s Initiative will visit the region to bear witness to their struggles, creativity, and inspiring work to build a sustainable peace. The delegation will focus on hearing from women on both sides of the conflict and providing opportunities for people to come together. We aim to spotlight their strategies for change.

Gender Justice and the Future of the International Criminal Court

The first ever Review Conference of the International Criminal Court is being held from May 31 to June 11 in Uganda. The International Criminal Court has the potential to be a powerful tool in the struggle for gender justice – it has criminalized rape as a weapon of war and other atrocities that specifically target women and girls. The Court provides hope to the millions of women who have lived the daily reality of armed conflict and sexual violence.

International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma

The Tribunal is a women-led justice and advocacy initiative. Judges will hear testimony from several women of Burma who have survived human rights violations under military rule. Their voices, and the findings and recommendations of the judges, will be directed to the Burmese regime and the international community. The Tribunal will spotlight the oppression of Burma’s women in order to support the development of a just and peaceful country.

Delegation for Women’s Rights

The Thai-Burma border, South Sudan, and Chad will be visited this summer by peace prize laureates of the Nobel Women’s Initiative and prominent human rights activists. Why? So the delegation can lend support to women on the ground in promoting messages and ideas about human rights and peace-building in the regions. Follow along as we hear from women in each of these countries and amplify their voices to the international community.

Standing with Rohingya Women: Nobel Women Delegation 2018

On the sixth-month anniversary of the latest cycle of military violence in Burma (Myanmar), Nobel Peace Laureates Mairead Maguire, Shirin Ebadi and Tawakkol Karman are traveling to Bangladesh to better understand the situation of the Rohingya refugees and the violence against the Rohingya women—including high levels of sexual violence. This delegation is in partnership with Bangladeshi women’s organization, Naripokkho.

16 Days of Activism

Each year since 1991, tens of thousands of activists from around the world have taken part in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign. The campaign’s central messages – women’s rights are human rights and violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights – have been a rallying call of the women’s movement. For these 16 days, Nobel Women’s Initiative is spotlighting stories about women activists around the globe.

Delegation to Sepur Zarco trial, Guatemala

Be part of the online journey February 22 – 26, 2016 as Nobel peace laureate Jody Williams travels to Guatemala City. She will be joining sister laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum to stand in solidarity with the brave Mayan women going up against the Guatemalan military in the landmark Sepur Zarco trial. The two women will also bear witness to a trial of global importance for those working to end sexual violence in conflict.

Defending the Defenders: Building Global Support for Women Human Rights Defenders

Over 120 women—including Nobel peace laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Mairead Maguire and Leymah Gbowee, as well as fearless frontline activists from across the globe—will gather in the Netherlands to discuss how the international community can protect women human rights defenders, who face incredible risks and threats for their work to promote peace and protect the environment.

Moving Beyond Militarism & War

MAY 28-30 2013 — Nobel Peace Laureates Mairead Maguire, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, Leymah Gbowee, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, and Jody Williams will join over 80 activists, academics, and decision makers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the Nobel Women’s Initiative’s 4th biennial conference, Moving Beyond Militarism & War: Women-driven solutions for a nonviolent world.

Breaking Ground: Women, Oil & Climate Change

Women around the world are at the forefront of movements to reduce the impacts of climate change and build healthy, sustainable environments. Breaking Ground: Women, Oil & Climate Change will travel to the Alberta oil sands and along the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline to hear from women organizing for a cleaner, safer environment. Join us as we amplify the voices of women calling for clean, renewable energy.

Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict

For three days over 100 women from around the world – activists, academics, security experts, corporate leaders, and Nobel Peace Laureates – are coming together to forge a new security, and a future free of sexual violence in conflict. We will focus on the larger context of conflict and militarism to address sexual violence and women's security. Join us as we devise strategies to end the use of rape as a weapon of war.

Nobel Women’s Initiative at the G8/G20

At this year’s G8/G20 we need Canada and the rest of the world to deliver on their pledge to help developing countries deal with climate change, and to make firm commitments to tackle global poverty. The world is watching and waiting.

Follow the Nobel Women’s Initiative as we descend on Toronto with Climate Action Network Canada for the G8/G20.

International Gender Justice Dialogue

The International Gender Justice Dialogue will bring together an outstanding group of gender experts, feminist legal theorists, peace mediators, legal practitioners, jurists, women’s rights advocates, policy makers, members of the media, activists, and more. For the first time ever, such a group will develop a strategic, shared agenda for advancing gender justice around the globe. Join us as we develop a global women's rights and gender justice agenda in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from 19-21 April, 2010.

Nobel Peace Delegation for Tibet

Nobel laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Maguire travel to India to mark 50 years in exile for Tibetans and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The laureates will stand in solidarity with His Holiness and Tibetans to mark the occasion and will offer messages of support to the Tibetan people. The laureates will also celebrate Tibetan nonviolence and will call for the international community to press China to have constructive dialogue with representatives of the Tibetan people.

International Conference: Women Redefining Democracy

Women continue to be on the margins of democracy, underrepresented and limited in their ability to exercise their rights and participate meaningfully in the decisions that affect their lives. This three-day conference in Guatemala brings together over 100 women from around the world to examine the challenges of democracy through the lens of women’s experiences.