Syrian women training for meaningful participation

Active support to women and civil society actors’ meaningful participation in the Syrian political process is one of the main objectives of the inclusion mechanisms of the UN-led peace efforts. The process is currently characterised by much frustration and slow progress at the political level, as the Constitutional Committee’s latest round in February this year did not bring any substantive outcomes. At the same time, the work to strengthen civil society and women actors continues. 

Starting 1 March, NOREF and partner swisspeace are implementing a second edition of a virtual training programme for Syrian women peacebuilding actors. Building on a successful pilot from October 2020, the training continues on topics such as mediation, negotiation, and advocacy skills enhancement. Aimed at women from various political leanings and backgrounds, the training programme seeks to contribute to increasing the quality and mode of their engagement in political processes and the various tracks of involvement. Together with the training team, the participants take part in exercises on topics of relevance. The effort represents an opportunity to build initial trust and interaction among participants in a digital space. True equality is unattainable if knowledge and digital gaps are not addressed.