ICIP has released a new issue of the magazine Peace in Progress, issue number 43, produced in collaboration with the international organisation Build Up and focused on exploring how digital technologies are transforming conflicts and peacebuilding processes.
Under the title “Peace in the Digital Age”, this new issue examines phenomena such as online disinformation, manipulation and hate speech; the risks of artificial intelligence; the impact of algorithms on polarization; mediation in digital environments; and cyberactivism in contexts of repression. It also includes an article on the digitisation of cultural heritage during war and in post-conflict settings.
This monograph is co-published by ICIP and Build Up as part of their collaboration to organise the Build Peace 2025 conference. Both the journal and the conference aim to foster a critical understanding of the risks and opportunities posed by digital technologies, and to offer tools and insights for steering them towards peacebuilding. The editorial coordination of the monograph was led by Eugènia Riera and Chema Sarri (ICIP).
Several contributors to the journal will also take part in the Build Peace 2025 conference, where they will expand on these topics through workshops, presentations and debates.
Peace in Progress is published in Catalan, Spanish and English, and is available both digitally and in print, reflecting ICIP’s commitment to accessibility and the dissemination of knowledge on peacebuilding.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (UNSCR 1325), ICIP and the Escola de Cultura de Pau (School for a Culture of Peace) held the event “Where Are Peace and Security? Feminist Proposals” on 12 November at Pati Manning. The session set out to analyse progress under this international framework and, above all, to reflect on its challenges in a global context shaped by war, rearmament, and authoritarian pushback.
The opening remarks were delivered by María Villellas (Escola de Cultura de Pau) and Kristian Herbolzheimer (ICIP), who situated the discussion in a political moment that is especially hostile to women’s rights and to the defence of multilateralism.
The programme featured a keynote lecture by Sarah Taylor, an expert on gender, peace and security policies, followed by a feminist conversation with Carmen Magallón, Nour Salameh and Patricia Simón, moderated by Pamela Urrutia.
Successes, limits and a “captured” agenda
In her keynote, Taylor reminded the audience that Resolution 1325 is the result of decades of activism by women in conflict contexts and that it has helped generate more inclusive international frameworks and peace processes.
Yet she sounded the alarm about a structural problem: the political capture of the agenda. As Taylor explained, once institutionalised in bodies such as the UN Security Council, the 1325 agenda became conditioned by the interests of states, especially permanent members, who prioritise their geopolitical and military objectives. This shift weakened its antimilitarist core: the original spirit of questioning militarism and the logic of war has progressively faded because it clashes directly with the priorities of the most powerful states in the international system.
This capture is also reflected in the lack of accountability in conflicts such as Gaza, Sudan or Myanmar; in the shrinking funding for feminist organisations; in the persistent confusion between “women” and “gender”; and in the limited attention given to LGBTQIA+ communities.
According to Taylor, reversing this trend requires putting grassroots peacebuilders and community organisations back at the centre, with consistent political and financial support, in order to recover the transformative potential of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
A feminist conversation to defend life and democracy
The roundtable, featuring Carmen Magallón, Nour Salameh and Patricia Simón and moderated by Pamela Urrutia, delved into the current implications of militarism and violence.
Carmen Magallón, Honorary President of WILPF Spain, described the present moment as “very hard and very dark times”. She stressed the need to protect Resolution 1325 as part of international law and to reclaim the basic concepts now under attack, starting with the notion of humanity. Both Magallón and Simón also warned of the importance of countering far-right narratives that target and attract segments of young men, and of promoting proposals that uphold equality, coexistence and democracy.
Researcher and ICIP Board member Nour Salameh brought the discussion to Syria. She argued that feminist peace is grounded in the living memory of women who have resisted decades of war and authoritarianism. She criticised how the WPS Agenda has often been instrumentalised — inviting women to negotiation tables without transforming the patriarchal and militarised structures that shape those processes.
Journalist and ecofeminist Patricia Simón denounced what she described as a “declared war” against those who produce critical thought (feminists, pacifists, journalists), in an attempt to erode democracy and impose an order based on hatred. She highlighted the strength of the global solidarity movement with Palestine and the active participation of young people. And she reminded the audience that while international humanitarian law is being openly violated, it is precisely the “utopian radicals” who are defending norms and the rule of law
An agenda that must continue to be defended
The session made it clear that, despite the political instrumentalisation that Resolution 1325 has suffered, the transformative power of the WPS Agenda remains alive in feminist solidarity, in the demilitarisation of public narratives, and in the active resistance of grassroots movements and communities working for peace.
Far from giving it up, the speakers agreed that this is precisely the moment to deepen the agenda and to reclaim its original anti-militarist spirit.
L’espai de La CIBA de Santa Coloma de Gramenet acollirà del 21 al 23 de novembre al conferència internacional Build Peace 2025, que coorganitzen l’ICIP i Build Up, un col·lectiu que dissenya i implementa eines i processos que fan servir la tecnologia i les arts per abordar els conflictes i promoure la pau.
A la conferència s’hi han inscrit prop de 300 participants d’arreu del món, membres d’organitzacions socials, d’universitats, activistes i professionals de la tecnologia. En aquesta dotzena edició, l’esdeveniment porta per títol “Cap a un Plurivers de Pau” i posarà el focus en la innovació i l’ús d’eines creatives i tecnològiques per transformar els conflictes i promoure la convivència a partir de tres grans temàtiques: el diàleg, la seguretat i la memòria.
La conferència compta amb el suport dels ajuntaments de Santa Coloma de Gramenet i Barcelona, Catalunya Internacional i la Generalitat de Catalunya.
Build Peace 2025 proposa repensar què significa la pau en un món marcat per la divisió, la desigualtat i l’opressió. El programa s’estructura al voltant de tres temàtiques:
De la polarització al diàleg
Davant dels reptes que suposa la creixent polarització política i social, promoguda en part per la propagació de discursos d’odi i desinformació a les xarxes socials, abordarem les eines que tenim a l’abast per promoure el diàleg i els espais participatius. Ho farem amb ponents com Nadim Nashif, de l’organització 7amleh (Palestina); Nerima Wako, fundadora de Siasa Place (Kènia), i Nil Homedes, responsable de la plataforma Decidim (Catalunya).
De la dissuasió a la noviolència
En el context de creixent militarització i cursa armamentística, posarem sobre la taula els enfocaments basats en la seguretat humana i comunitària. Comptarem amb un debat entre Julio Rodríguez, excap de l’Estat Major de Defensa a Espanya, i Anastasiia Holovnenko, del Centre for Civil Liberties d’Ucraïna, organització guardonat amb el Premi Nobel de la Pau 2023; i reflexionarem sobre l’ús de la tecnologia per a la defensa civil noviolenta amb les intervencions d’Ophelia Rivas, activista; Bruna dos Santos, de Witness, i Jack Isles, de Border Forensics.
De l’oblit a la memòria
Reflexionarem sobre com l’estudi i anàlisi del passat és clau per abordar les situacions de postconflicte i promoure la reconciliació. Entre els ponents per abordar aquesta qüestió destaquen Francisco Ferrándiz, membre del Consell Superior d’Investigacions Científiques; Natascha Zupan, de Berghof Foundation o Jelnar Ahmad, del projecte Syrian Archive (Síria).
Tallers, presentacions i propostes artístiques
La conferència també proposa diversos tallers (workshops), presentacions de projectes relacionats amb les diferents temàtiques (short talks). A nivell local, s’hi presentaran propostes de col·lectius i entitats com Canòdrom (Ateneu d’innovació digtial i democràtica de Barcelona), FundiPau, el Centre Delàs o l’Escola de Cultura de Pau. A nivell internacional, destaquen les iniciatives de swisspeace, WILPF, Perú por el Desarme, Sudan Memory Project o Fundación Corona.
També hi haurà espai per a propostes artístiques, com exposicions, projeccions de documentals, activitats de moviment i rutes guiades.
Coincidint amb la celebració de la conferència, el divendres 21 de novembre, a dos quarts de 7 de la tarda, el Teatre Sagarra de Santa Coloma de Gramenet acollirà l’acte inaugural de la campanya “Municipis, llavors de pau”, impulsada pel Fons Català de Cooperació al Desenvolupament.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for her tireless efforts to promote the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
The ICIP welcomes the fact that the award highlights explicit support for democracy in the face of authoritarianism—in this case, that of Venezuela—and the value of dialogue as a tool for conflict resolution.
The ICIP president, Xavier Masllorens, emphasised that Machado “is a figure of consensus within the highly fragmented Venezuelan opposition, a symbol of resistance, and a defender of civil rights and citizen participation.”
With a long history of defending human rights, María Corina Machado also represents perseverance and a steadfast commitment to peace —an “urgent necessity” in today’s context of rising authoritarianism.
On September 29, ICIP took part in the 29th session of the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances, held in Geneva. The annual meeting brought together representatives from 21 States and 44 civil society organisations from around the world.
The session aimed to share experiences, set priorities, and strengthen international cooperation to ensure the effective implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Discussions addressed issues related to the prevention, investigation, and reparation of enforced disappearances, as well as current challenges in the fields of human rights and international justice.
Representing the institution, Sílvia Plana, Head of Strategic Alliances at ICIP, highlighted the organisation’s commitment to victims of violence and war, particularly to women searchers, whom she recognised as peacebuilders. Plana emphasised the need to give greater visibility to their work and announced ICIP’s intention to promote a new international gathering of women searchers in Barcelona in 2026 or 2027.
ICIP’s participation built on the work initiated at the First World Congress on Enforced Disappearances, held in Geneva in January 2025, in which ICIP was a collaborating organisation. That event reaffirmed the importance of placing victims and their demands at the centre of international action and of promoting a joint agenda to advance truth, justice, and reparation.
Through this participation, ICIP strengthens its collaboration with international human rights protection mechanisms and reaffirms its commitment to truth, justice, and reparation for the victims of enforced disappearances.
The Catalan Forum for Peace has collected 913 proposals from citizens to help shape the Government of Catalonia’s new Country of Peace Master Plan. Between April and June, around 500 people took part in the 36 in-person sessions held throughout Catalonia, along with additional online contributions via the Participa website.
Specifically, ten deliberative sessions and 26 self-managed sessions were held by various groups, organizations and institutions, with discussions focusing on five themes: Culture of peace; Security and justice; Conflicts, violence and peace; Global threats and challenges to peace; and Women, peace and security.
Based on these thematic areas, the goal of the participatory process was to identify concrete measures to be included in the future Country of Peace Master Plan.
Debates across Catalonia
A total of 183 participants generated 301 proposals in deliberative sessions held in Barcelona, Bellaterra, Girona, Granollers, Lleida, Olot, Tarragona and Tortosa.
The self-managed sessions resulted in 467 proposals, with a total of 322 participants. These sessions were organized by various actors:
Public institutions, such as the Department of Justice, Interior, and European Union and Foreign Affairs; the Catalan Youth Agency; the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation; and ICIP.
Organizations advocating for peace, such as FundiPau, the Delàs Centre for Peace Studies, NOVACT, the Coordinating Committee of Solidarity NGOs of Girona, Aturem les Guerres, Terra i Pau, and Friends of UNESCO-Girona.
Trade unions, such as Comissions Obreres and UGT.
Community and social groups, such as neighborhood associations in Figueres, members of the African and Latin American diaspora, universities, the Network of Educators for Global Citizenship in Tarragona, CIEMEN, the Journalism for Peace Group of the Association of Journalists of Catalonia, and third-sector organizations like the Red Cross.
Finally, the participatory process also included online contributions through the Participa website. A total of 145 proposals were submitted, both individually and collectively. These include proposals submitted by Lafede, the School for a Culture of Peace, the Catalan Fund for Development Cooperation, and the Network of Mayors for Peace.
In total, 505 people took part in the participatory process. The Catalan Council for the Promotion of Peace – one of the driving forces behind the Forum – will now review the proposals before presenting them to the Government. The results of the process will help define the content of the Country of Peace Master Plan, which will later be submitted to Parliament for approval. All of the proposals collected during this process will be publicly available on the Participa website.
Less violence, more global justice
The Catalan Forum for Peace is both a space for public participation and a platform for reflection. Its aim is to develop a public peace policy for Catalonia while also strengthening the peace movement. The Forum is the result of joint efforts by institutions and civil society, promoted by the Government of Catalonia, the Catalan Council for the Promotion of Peace, ICIP and the network of peace associations, under the motto “Less violence, more global justice.”
In the face of global challenges such as the climate crisis, rising military expenditure, an increase in the number of armed conflicts, and the erosion of democratic foundations, Catalonia is committed to peace and seeks to encourage reflection on how we contribute to peace both here at home and abroad.
On Wednesday 10 September, Barcelona hosted “Artistic practices and a culture of peace,” an event that brought together artists, educators and activists to explore the role of artistic expression in peacebuilding.
Organized by ICIP, ConArte Internacional, Fundación Baketik, Fundació L’Arc, the Theatre Institute’s Social and Community Action Unit, and Dansalut, the event took place at the Fundació Carulla. The gathering underscored that fostering a culture of peace is a collective responsibility involving not only the pacifist movement but also numerous organizations using art and culture to transform society.
The program opened with the roundtable “Art for Peace,” where participants shared experiences of social transformation through art therapy, theatre and hip-hop. Participants included Silvina Merino (La Quinta Pata), David Martínez (La Nave Va) and Lucas Vico (Erol Urbà).
Merino presented Bud na bud, a project that uses embroidery and collective artistic practices to empower Afghan refugee women, turning trauma and exclusion into creative expression that strengthens a culture of peace through memory, dignity and community solidarity. Martínez highlighted the work of La Nave Va, which uses social theatre as a tool for inclusion, awareness and dialogue, taking art beyond the stage to strengthen community bonds. Finally, Vico presented Erol Urbà, a collective that promotes social intervention projects through urban art – rap, graffiti, dance and audiovisual projects – as a way to channel creativity into processes of critique, expression and community transformation.
Movement and words
Following the roundtable, artists Marta Galán and Montserrat Iranzo from Dansalut led a hands-on workshop focused on the body, identity and life stories as tools for theatrical creation and dramaturgy. Through creative dance, body expression, improvisation and free writing, participants explored the interplay between movement and words as a way of recognizing identity, sharing personal experiences and discovering new forms of artistic and collective expression.
The event was part of MONDIACULT 2025, UNESCO’s World Conference on Cultural Policies, which will take place in Barcelona from 29 September to 1 October, with thousands of participants from all over the world.
On Thursday, September 18, during the week marking the International Day of Peace, ICIP presented the 2025 Peace in Progress Award to Women Now for Development, a leading Syrian women’s organisation. The award honours the network for its work in supporting, protecting, and empowering Syrian women—both inside the country and in exile—as a powerful symbol of resistance and feminist solidarity in the face of violence.
Women Now for Development was founded in 2012 as a community initiative to support women and girls in the early days of the Syrian revolution. Its initial aim was to create safe spaces where women could meet, share knowledge, and exchange experiences. Since then, it has become a leading feminist organisation working both in war zones and in conflict-affected contexts, inside and outside Syria. The network has helped shape a generation of women who continue resisting violence and building hope amidst destruction.
The ceremony was opened by ICIP president Xavier Masllorens, who underlined the importance of “recognising people and organisations that work against the tide, upholding dignity,” which is the essence of the ICIP Award. In today’s turbulent context for peace, Masllorens lamented the lack of action on conflict prevention. He also stressed the need to work for peace: “Not preventing means giving up on deeply analysing the true causes of conflicts, and that constitutes a collective failure with devastating consequences (…). Today, we have the conditions to work with a new paradigm in conflict resolution between communities, peoples, nations, and states. A paradigm that is unprecedented but not impossible, which we call a culture of peace: a world without misery, more just and equal.”
Next, Palestinian poet and translator of Syrian origin, Mohamad Bitari, offered a tribute to the award-winning organisation and highlighted that the ICIP Award “is a homage to the memory of Syrian women, and to all that they have given for a more just, free, and safe country. It is also a tribute to every woman in the world who has refused to be only a victim, and has chosen to be active, courageous, and transformative.”
A recognition of women’s struggle
In his remarks, Bitari recalled many Syrian women who have marked the country’s resistance through their social and political activism. Many of them suffered repression at the hands of the Syrian regime and received support and protection from Women Now for Development.
On behalf of the award-winning organisation, the award was accepted by executive director Lubna Alkanawati and the organisation’s director in Lebanon, Roulah Al Rekbie. In their acceptance speeches, they emphasised the repression and displacement suffered by Syrian women for decades. They highlighted that the ICIP Award makes their struggle visible and places women at the centre of peacebuilding: “This recognition gives us strength to keep moving forward, to transform pain into action. It reminds us that the struggle continues, that we will keep working to ensure that Syrian women have a voice of their own,” said Al Rekbie. For her part, Alkanawati dedicated the award to the “women of Syria, Sudan, Palestine, Yemen, Iran, and Afghanistan, and all places where women suffer from occupation, extremism, and patriarchy.” The organisation will allocate the prize to funding support programs for survivors of sexual violence.
A third representative of the organisation, Muzna Al Jundi, who was unable to travel to Barcelona due to visa difficulties, participated through a video message to thank the organisation for the award from northwest Syria.
The President of the Catalan Parliament, Josep Rull, closed the ceremony with words of gratitude to ICIP and to the award-winning organisation. “Today is an act of recognition, of hope, and of collective dignity,” he said. Rull praised the work of Women Now for Development and ICIP for the quality of the Peace in Progress Award. He also warned that this award comes in an “absolutely devastating international context” and called for “the participation and perspective of women in peacebuilding and reconciliation processes.”
Solidarity with Palestine
The genocide in Gaza was a recurring theme throughout the ceremony. The ICIP president began his remarks with a moment of silence in solidarity with Palestine, which the audience joined, standing. Poet Mohamad Bitari also remembered the people of Palestine, “subjected to systematic genocide and constant aggression that continues day after day before the eyes of the world.”
The ceremony opened and closed with a musical performance by the Syrian duo Athrodeel.
The ICIP Peace in Progress Award, a fourteen-year trajectory
The ICIP Peace in Progress Award, established in 2011, aims to publicly recognise individuals, organisations, or institutions that have worked and contributed in a significant and sustained way to the promotion and construction of peace. The award consists of public recognition, a sculpture created by Nobel Peace Prize laureate, artist, and activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel entitled Porta de Sol, and a monetary prize of 6,000 euros.
Over its fourteen-year history, the ICIP Award has recognised individuals and groups from Catalonia, Bosnia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Mexico, and Algeria for their struggle in favour of reconciliation, truth, justice, or equality, with a focus also on the empowerment of women and a gender perspective.
Photos: Sergio Ramos Ledesma (Parlament de Catalunya)
This Thursday, September 18, at 6 p.m., the Parliament of Catalonia will host the ceremony of the ICIP Peace in Progress Award 2025, granted to the Syrian organisation Women Now for Development.
The event will feature speeches by the President of the Parliament, Josep Rull i Andreu, and the President of ICIP, Xavier Masllorens i Escubós. It will also include a tribute reading by Palestinian writer and translator Mohamad Bitari and a musical performance by the Syrian duo Athrodeel.
The award will be accepted on behalf of the organisation by Lubna Kanawati and Roulah Al Rekbie.
La CIBA space in Santa Coloma de Gramenet will host the international Build Peace 2025 conference from November 21 to 23, co-organised by ICIP and Build Up, a collective that designs and implements tools and processes using technology and the arts to address conflict and promote peace.
Around 300 participants from all over the world, including members of social organisations, universities, activists, and technology professionals, have registered for the conference. In its twelfth edition, the event is titled “Towards a Pluriverse of Peace”. It will focus on innovation and the use of creative and technological tools to transform conflict and foster coexistence around three main themes: dialogue, security, and memory.
The conference is supported by the City Councils of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Barcelona, Catalunya Internacional, and the Government of Catalonia.
Build Peace 2025 invites participants to rethink what peace means in a world marked by division, inequality, and oppression. The program is structured around three themes:
Between Polarisation and Deliberation In the face of growing political and social polarisation, partly fueled by the spread of hate speech and disinformation on social media, we will explore the tools available to promote dialogue and participatory spaces. Speakers will include Nadim Nashif from the organisation 7amleh (Palestine); Nerima Wako, founder of Siasa Place (Kenya); and Nil Homedes, head of the Decidim platform (Catalonia).
Between Deterrence and Nonviolence In a context of increasing militarisation and arms race, we will discuss approaches based on human and community security. The session will feature a debate between Julio Rodríguez, former Chief of the Defence Staff in Spain, and Anastasiia Holovnenko from the Centre for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, recipient of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. We will also reflect on the use of technology for nonviolent civil defence with contributions from activist Ophelia Rivas, Bruna dos Santos from Witness, and Jack Isles from Border Forensics.
Between Erasure and Memory We will reflect on how studying and analysing the past is key to addressing post-conflict situations and promoting reconciliation. Speakers on this topic include Francisco Ferrándiz, member of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC); Natascha Zupan, from Berghof Foundation; and Jelnar Ahmad, from the Syrian Archive project (Syria).
Workshops, presentations, and artistic proposals The conference will also feature several workshops, short talks, and project presentations related to the different themes. At the local level, initiatives will be presented by organisations such as Canòdrom (Barcelona’s Digital and Democratic Innovation Hub), FundiPau, Centre Delàs, and Escola de Cultura de Pau. At the international level, highlights include initiatives from swisspeace, WILPF, Perú por el Desarme, Sudan Memory Project, and Fundación Corona.
There will also be space for artistic expressions, including exhibitions, documentary screenings, movement-based activities, and guided tours.
Coinciding with the conference, on Friday, November 21, at 6:30 p.m., the Sagarra Theatre in Santa Coloma de Gramenet will host the opening event of the campaign “Municipalities, Seeds of Peace,” promoted by the Catalan Fund for Development Cooperation.
On Monday, June 30, the participatory process of the Catalan Forum for Peace officially came to a close. Over the past three months, this initiative has taken place across Catalonia intending to gather public input for the development of the new Pla Director País de Pau (Peace Country Master Plan).
Between April and June, ten deliberative sessions were held, bringing together over 180 participants and generating approximately 300 proposals. In parallel, nearly twenty self-managed sessions were organised by a wide range of organisations and institutions, including the ICIP, the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation, FundiPau, the Delàs Centre, Girona Friends of UNESCO, the Peace Journalism Group of the Catalan Association of Journalists, the Network of Educators for Global Citizenship in Tarragona, the Departments of Interior and Justice, the Catalan Youth Agency, UGT, CCOO, the Technical Cooperation, Volunteering and Refugee Network of Catalan Universities, and Mujer Diáspora.
Among them, the ICIP hosted two self-managed sessions in June: one with members of the African diaspora in Catalonia (June 19), and another with migrant women from diverse backgrounds (June 27).
Throughout the process, additional contributions—both individual and collective—were submitted via the Catalan Government’s Participa platform. While the final tally is still being compiled, early estimates indicate that over 500 proposals have been received.
With the participatory phase now complete, the Catalan Council for the Promotion of Peace, which led the Forum, will analyse the proposals and submit them to the Government. All contributions will be made publicly available on the Participa portal.
The Governing Board of the ICIP has awarded the 2025 ICIP Peace in Progress Award to the Syrian organisation Women Now for Development for its work in “supporting, protecting, and empowering Syrian women, both inside and outside the country, as a symbol of feminist resistance and solidarity in the face of violence.”
The award recognises Women Now for Development’s outstanding contribution to peace, justice, and dignity in Syria—a country deeply affected by repression, armed conflict, and forced exile. The organisation was selected from among twenty international nominations for its transformative and resilient work over the past decade.
Founded in 2012 by Syrian writer and journalist Samar Yazbek, Women Now for Development was established as a grassroots initiative to support women and girls during the early stages of the Syrian uprising. Its initial goal was to create safe spaces where women could gather, share knowledge and experiences, and collectively explore ways to support their communities. Since then, it has evolved into a leading feminist organisation working in both war zones and conflict-affected contexts, inside and outside Syria.
Over the past thirteen years, the organisation has developed a model rooted in feminist values and community solidarity. Women Now for Development has strengthened the role of women in both public and private spheres by providing tools, resources, and knowledge. In doing so, the organisation has helped shape a generation of women who continue to resist violence and build hope in the face of destruction.
A Survivor-Centred Approach
Through its presence in Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey, Women Now for Development has accompanied communities facing severe human rights violations such as sieges, forced displacement, and chemical attacks. The organisation’s work is defined by its survivor-centred approach, emphasis on protection, participation, empowerment, and strong belief in community organising. It also leads international advocacy efforts to amplify the voices of Syrian women, often marginalized in mainstream political discourse, and to push for justice and accountability.
Guided by feminist principles and staffed by activists deeply rooted in their communities, Women Now for Development continues to imagine and work toward a more just and inclusive future for Syria.
Upon receiving the award, the organisation’s Executive Director, Lubna Alkanawati, shared a powerful memory: “In 2014, during one of the harshest periods of siege imposed by the Assad regime on Eastern Ghouta, we were deprived of almost everything. My 65-year-old neighbour Mariam, the head of a twenty-member household living in unimaginable conditions, always made sure to share a small portion of her food with me. That single bite—offered with care and solidarity—helped me hold on to my humanity when war showed me its ugliest face. It reminded me what it means to remain human in inhumane times.”
Alkanawati dedicated the award “to Mariam, to the team at Women Now for Development, who continue to show the world how women can lead change with determination, will, and passion; and to all Syrian women who, through care, resilience, compassion, and courage, continue to resist destruction and create hope.” She also stated that receiving the ICIP Award “is a powerful acknowledgment of the unwavering commitment of Syrian women, who have resisted violence, built alternatives, and imagined justice even in the darkest of times. It is also a tribute to feminist solidarity, which crosses borders and strengthens us.”
Women Now for Development has consistently worked to ensure that women’s voices are central to all peacebuilding, justice, and accountability processes. The organisation believes that there can be no sustainable peace without justice—and no justice or peace without women.
Rooted in community-based efforts, its work has led to key milestones: the formation of the Adala Network in 2016; participation in local civilian negotiations through the Civil Block in Eastern Ghouta in 2018; and most recently, support for survivor-led movements advocating for the creation of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic (IIMP).
The ICIP Peace in Progress Award
Since 2011, the ICIP Peace in Progress Award has been granted annually to publicly recognise individuals, organisations, or institutions that have made an outstanding and long-standing contribution to promoting peace.
The award includes public recognition, a sculpture entitled “Porta del Sol” (Gateway to the Sun), created by Nobel Peace Prize laureate, artist, and activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, and a monetary prize of € 6,000. The award ceremony will take place in September 2025 at the Parliament of Catalonia, coinciding with the International Day of Peace.
