Participants in ICAN’s training produced and performed a musical drama depicting the experiences of women mobilizing for political action.

 
 

“Team 1325” strengthened their conflict resolution and coalition building skills.

 
 

The women discussed United National Security Council Resolution 1325 and women’s roles in peace and security decision making.

 
 

Participants in ICAN’s training in Sri Lanka learned about SCR 1325.

 

Grantee name: International Civil Society Action Network

Mission: Formed in 2005, the International Civil Society Action Network’s  (ICAN) aim is to strengthen civil society and women’s participation and influence in conflict prevention, social justice, coexistence, and peacebuilding efforts, in situations of closed political space and conflict affected states.  

ICAN has several program goals:

To bridge the knowledge and information gap between the international policy community and national level developments as they affect women;

To strengthen the capacities of women to engage more effectively in peace-related initiatives and to enhance their interactions with their international counterparts; and

To bridge the resource gap between major donors and women’s peacebuilding initiatives by setting up a fund to administer small and medium grant-making targeting organizations in conflict-affected societies.

The program has three inter-related strands:

Collection and dissemination of objective information on the situation of women in conflict-affected countries to the international policy community.  We will strive to cover the full gendered (men and women) dimensions of security, human rights and governance issues in countries undergoing crisis and change. 

Provision of trainings to locally based organizations in transition and conflict-affected countries.  Trainings will be determined based on the needs of the recipient groups and will include a focus on thematic issues (e.g. security sector reform, constitutional issues, transitional justice), and technical skills (e.g. organizational management, fundraising, consensus building, conflict resolution.)

Provision of concrete recommendations to the international community regarding: practical actions to support women’s inclusion in peacebuilding processes; identification of women-led peace and coexistence organizations in need of technical and financial resources; and establishment of a database of individual women with strong track record in working on peace and security issues.

 

Location: Washington DC, USA

Website: www.icanpeacework.org

Channel Grants: Channel made a grant to ICAN to help strategically link women’s rights and peacebuilding groups in the MENA-Asia region via a solidarity network of support created to enable more sharing of strategies around peace activism and promotion of women’s rights. (2011)

Channel made a grant to ICAN to support the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) Project which plans to use media to facilitate development and implementation of community-based sexual violence prevention programs in conflict-affected situations using existing national action plans on 1325 and 1820 and equivalent policies. GNWP plans to popularize and call for support for ICAN’s Women’s Security Campaign (WSC) project. The media and sexual violence prevention project will include production of radio and TV spots and use of social networks. Additionally, it will include mobilization of national and community media associations. In fact, the project begins radio productions in Liberia via awareness raising through radio, TV and social media, and development and support of community-based sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention programs. Liberian project partners will include groups like WIPNET, LIWOMAC, and the Flomo Theater. (2010)

Channel made a grant to support ICAN to conduct several case studies as part of an assessment of the impact of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in the 10 years since its passage. (2009)

The ICAN/MIT report, “What the Women Say: Participation and UNSCR 1325,"  includes case studies from six countries (Liberia, Sri Lanka, Aceh, Israel/Palestine, Colombia and Uganda) and key recommendations. A critical aspect of the project was to return to women in conflict zones to "capture their voices and experiences regarding the relevance and impact of 1325 and related activities in their countries." The report accuses donors of  "not practicing what they preach," because they have failed to support and include women's participation in peace-related activities.

Channel made a grant to support the 1325 Global Bridges workshops bringing women leaders together to discuss implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 and to ensure women’s participation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding in conflict zones. (2008)

In Kandy, Sri Lanka, in September 2008, ICAN led a five day training for 26 diverse Sri Lankan women on women, peacebuilding, and the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820.

All photos courtesy of ICAN.