VOICES
OF PEACE
Invisible No More.
Women as Architects of Peace.
Why we COME TOGETHER
The International Forum brings together people from different countries, cultures, and fields.
Together, we seek answers to the question of how peace, justice, and social change can be shaped today.
We listen. We discuss. We come up with new ideas.
LEARN MORE
The 2026 forum highlights the role of women as architects of peace. They belong to those powerful agents of peace who too often go unseen, are not listened to or rest underscored in their crucial transformative roles.
The forum will explore not only the role of women as peacemakers, but also how gendered power relations influence whose voices are heard, who is excluded, and whose contributions to peace are recognized.
Learning from the experiences of women peacemakers will provide inspiration and practical insights for peacebuilders of all genders and generations
Two days.
Many perspectives.
An international forum featuring keynote speeches, discussions, and interactive sessions on gender-equitable peacebuilding.
Thursday
November 19, 2026
Fragile? Powerful?
Perceptions, Realities, and the Gaps in Between.
View Details
Although women play a key role in peacebuilding, their participation is often overlooked and they struggle for recognition. A common perception is that women and even more young women and intersectional discriminated women in conflicts are primarily seen as affected by violence: fragile, vulnerable and on the receiving end of harm. How does this assumption hold up in reality? While violence against women is undeniably a growing global crisis, we will challenge the simplified view and shed light on women’s agencies and powers in peacebuilding. At the same time, we will not lose sight of the framework realities, discussing how structural powers, gendered norms, violence, age hierarchies, and unequal access to resources shape both vulnerability and agency of women in peacebuilding.
Powerful Masculinities?
Gender Norms, Violence, and Paths to Peace.
View Details
This session discusses which role dominant forms of masculinity play in sustaining violence, conflict dynamics and exclusion of women from peace processes. At the same time, it asks how alternative, non-violent masculinities can contribute to more just and sustainable pathways to peace. A reflection on the ways in which masculinities can both reinforce and challenge violence, and how engaging especially young men can support gender‑just peacebuilding.
Women’s powerful contributions
Women's Roles and Contributions to Peacebuilding.
View Details
This session will explore the contributions of women at different social contexts: family level, community level, state level, international level. In bridging grassroots action with formal dialogue spaces, it explores diverse approaches to change: healing, guiding, leading, strategic thinking, empowering, advocating, educating, preventing, or negotiating.
Share experiences. Exchange ideas. Find inspiration.
Participants will present their own projects and initiatives. Are you involved in a gender-sensitive peace project or a women’s peace initiative and would you like to briefly share your experiences? Find out more here.
View Details
Do you lead a gender-sensitive peace project or are you involved in a women’s peace initiative? Does your work demonstrate how gender equality, peacebuilding, and social, political, economic, or environmental issues are interconnected? If so, we look forward to hearing from you. Submit your project by August 16, 2026, via email to voicesofpeace@mission-21.org or check the corresponding box on the registration form. We will then contact you.
Friday
November 20, 2026
Your project. Your experience. Your voice.
In another session, participants will present their own projects and initiatives. Are you involved in a gender-sensitive peace project or a women’s peace initiative and would like to briefly share your experiences? Learn more here.
View Details
Do you lead or participate in a gender-sensitive peacebuilding project or women’s peace initiative? If your work illustrates how either intergenerational exchange or faith-based peace engagement as well as the integration of spirituality is supporting peacebuilding, we would love to hear from you. Submit your project by August 16 2026 to voicesofpeace@mission-21.org or check the corresponding box in the registration form and we will contact you.
The Intergenerational Power of Women
A dialogue between pioneers and future changemakers.
View Details
This session creates space for dialogue between pioneers and emerging changemakers, integrating a flow of wisdom as well as reflecting critically on intergenerational power relations and how knowledge and responsibility are negotiated across generations. We will discuss how social media, AI and the digital world impact conflicts and peacebuilding.
The Spiritual Power of Women
Spirituality, Faith, and Religious Practice in Peacebuilding.
View Details
This session explores how spiritualities and religious practices can support engagement in peacebuilding, while also acknowledging that religious traditions and institutions as well as other worldviews and ethical values can both enable and constrain women’s peace working, participation and leadership. It asks how faith-based resources, feminist theological perspectives, and interreligious cooperation can contribute to peacebuilding in ways that are inclusive and transformative.
A Review and an Outlook
Key Findings, Next Steps, and Follow-up.
Peace Begins
when people
lists.
Taty Purwati Suandi, a psychologist at the Pasundan Durebang Center, provides support to women who have experienced gender-based violence. Photo: Mission 21 / Indonesia
Why join?
Learning.
Learn from women who are shaping peace around the world and opening up new perspectives.
Networking.
Connect with people from different countries, generations, and fields.
Take action.
Take away new ideas, inspiration, and concrete suggestions for your own involvement.
The most important
Information.
November 2026
via Zoom
Simultaneous translation into Spanish, as well as AI-powered translations into other languages.
Participation in the International Forum is free of charge.
Be there.
Participation is free. We look forward to welcoming you to the International Forum. The forum will take place online and will be conducted in English.
After you register, you'll receive a confirmation email with all the details.
info@mission-21.org
