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.