In this programme, we focus on the point in time when there is little or no talk of peace and narratives revolve primarily around military and humanitarian measures. But peace work is relevant long before negotiations begin. The conditions must be actively created long before that: peace intentions and visions need to be developed and peace activists and their networks can be supported even during armed conflict. In this way, we can ensure that women are prepared to engage with the post-conflict period and to strategically plan for and participate in structural, transformative change.
War has been raging in eastern Ukraine since 2014. In 2022, Russia expanded its war of aggression in eastern Ukraine and to other parts of the country. As early as summer 2021, we launched a pilot programme in conflict-affected communities along the then-contact line between Russia and regions in eastern Ukraine, where women for years have been affected by rampant poverty, social insecurity and gender-based violence. Our Ukraine programme gave them the space they needed to work together on strategies for safety and security in their daily lives and equal participation in peacebuilding. We continue building peace with them during the war.
Interview with Olena Zinenko, project coordinator at KRF Public Alternative, about the tense situation in Ukraine a few days before the start of the Russian war of aggression on 24 February 2022.
Women living in communities close to the contact line are affected by the war between Ukraine and the autonomous Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in multiple ways. At the Women’s Peace Tables they can both network and freely share their experiences and visions of peace. We interview Board member Margret Kiener Nellen and our project coordinator Annemarie Sancar after their project visit in September
From March 2021 to June 2022 we organised a series of workshops on feminist peace policy, disarmament and demilitarisation, together with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).