Bemba Diarra’s Post

🌟 Celebrating Women’s Vital Role in HDP Processes 🌟 In the realm of conflict resolution and peacebuilding, women have long been unsung heroes. Today, we shine a spotlight on their invaluable contributions to the Humanitarian, Development, and Peacebuilding (HDP) processes. From mediation to community mobilization, women have been at the forefront, driving positive change and fostering sustainable peace. Their unique perspectives, empathy, and resilience have proven instrumental in navigating complex challenges and fostering inclusive, lasting solutions. Let’s acknowledge and uplift the voices of women who are breaking barriers, advocating for peace, and championing meaningful dialogue. Together, let’s ensure that women are not just participants but leaders in shaping a more peaceful and prosperous world. #WomenInHDP #Peacebuilding #GenderEquality #EmpowerWomen #InclusiveLeadership #HumanitarianDevelopmentPeacebuilding

Women's role as peacemakers is often overlooked but they play vital roles in fostering peace. Read here to learn 5 ways in which they made a difference in 2023.

🌍📅 𝗛𝗡𝗣𝗪 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 - 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟳, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 🌍📅 Missed our insightful session we co-facilitated with IOM’s Women's Participation Project on "Participation and Community Engagement in Displacement"? We’ve made the full recording available for you! 🔍 Explore What You’ll Discover: 🌐 Enhancing Engagement: Learn from the CCCM Cluster’s strategies to increase community involvement within humanitarian contexts. 🔄 🗣️ Empowering Voices: Understand the vital roles that women and youth play in strengthening community resilience and leadership across different regions. 💪 🌏 Global Perspectives: Key reflections from various countries, by Ingrid Daba Eminenur Çınar, Sofia Kovalova and Emmanuel William Misake, including: Bangladesh (Cox’s Bazar): The empowerment of women through leadership roles to mitigate gender-based violence. 🎥 A powerful video presentation showcased the stories of women from Cox's Bazar, highlighting their daily struggles and their leadership in displacement settings. This segment brought attention to the unique challenges they face, such as safety, resource access, and governance participation, underlining the necessity for tailored interventions and celebrating successful empowerment initiatives. 🇧🇩 Ukraine: The ongoing conflict has led to significant displacement, stressing the importance of including youth and women in decision-making processes to ensure effective and relevant humanitarian responses. 🇺🇦 Ethiopia: Insights from refugees on the challenges of restricted job opportunities and limited free movement, emphasizing the need for microfinancial support and collaborative efforts to enhance livelihood opportunities and better integrate into host communities. 🇪🇹 Watch the recording to gain critical insights and practical strategies for fostering more impactful and inclusive community engagement. 🎬 Thank you to all the participants who joined us and contributed their insights and experiences and stay tuned for our upcoming events. 👉 Watch Now: #HumanitarianInnovation #CommunityEngagement #HNPW2024 https://lnkd.in/e5gutNfy

To address systemic issues, we must see systematic change 🌏 Development projects which empower rural women in their local communities can only succeed when local, national, and international processes recognise the human rights and needs of rural women. That's why our work focuses on four key values: 🌍 Partnership & Friendship - by building capacity, facilitating cooperation, and collaborating with like-minded partners, we are strengthening our network of support 🌎 Advocacy - We are committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and use our Consultative Status with the United Nations to amplify the voices of our members and platform them whenever possible 🌏 Sharing of Knowledge and Local Activities - local area conferences, our Triennial conferences, meetings, seminars, webinars, and training programmes help build capacity within our membership 🌏 Community Transformation and Grassroots Projects - our programme of development projects ensures greater community impact for women most at risk of being left behind #Communty #Grassroots #Rural #Women #SystemicChange #RuralDevelopment #GlobalDevelopment

According to Women's International League for Peace and Freedom - WILPF 90 per cent of the casualties in conflicts and wars are non-combatants, of whom 70 per cent are women and children. In #Gaza, #Sudan, #Yemen, #Syria,#Mynmar, #Haiti, #Lebanon and many other places around the world, they bear the brunt of war amid food insecurity, severe medicine shortages and sexual violence. Armed conflicts are often started, led and perpetrated by men. Women bear the brunt disproportionately. They are left out of peacemaking, stabilization and reconstruction processes. They often see themselves like the world want to see them: victims! Untill this is changed, by women themselves first, and by #humanitarianactors, #policymakers and #developmentpartners, we will miss many opportunities to save lives and advance peace. So lets do all what it takes to stop the madness and move the narrative. ✅ Show trust in women as leaders! It would empower them to come out. ✅ Invest in them. They are often willing to move the lines. ✅ Bring them to the tables where systems are designed and decisions are made. In most cases they will do better than men. ✅ and be bold enough to seat them at the head. In most cases, they will make a difference. Women are your best partners to restore and preserve families, societies and #peace.

EMPOWERING VULNERABLE WOMEN: THE ROLE OF HUMANITARIANISM IN TRANSFORMING LIVES In a world grappling with inequality and social injustice, the spirit of humanitarianism must shine as a beacon of hope, particularly for less privileged women and widows. These vulnerable groups often face insurmountable challenges, from economic hardship to social exclusion, making targeted humanitarian efforts necessary and imperative for fostering inclusive development and empowerment. Please click on the link below to read the full article 👇👇👇 https://lnkd.in/dS2QaxSB

Collaboration is key for transformative change. Addressing deeply entrenched social challenges—including housing and homelessness, climate change, and substance use and mental health—requires solutions that go beyond what any single organization can achieve on their own: it demands cooperation across sectors, especially between governments and communities. But what does meaningful community engagement look like in practice? And what conditions are needed to overcome barriers to collaboration? This week, Blueprint is thrilled to be attending the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) Annual Conference for a panel discussion: Tackling Social Challenges Together: Lessons from the Frontlines of Community and Government Collaboration. Nadine Smith (Government of Manitoba- Women and Gender Equity Manitoba), Cynthia Drebot (North End Womens Centre), and Cordella Friesen (YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg) will join Blueprint’s Karen Myers and Emily Colpitts to share insights from a recent gender-based violence initiative in Manitoba and explore what it takes to enable transformative, sustainable, and evidence-informed collaboration between community and government. #BetterEvidence #PuttingDataToWork https://bit.ly/3XPiztH

#EmpoweringWomen4Peace means #EmpoweringChange Peace…what does it mean? If I asked each of you, what does peace mean, what would you say? Peace is a dynamic, ongoing process; it includes citizens, organizations, educational institutions, businesses, governments, and communities to work together to build strong communities where all can flourish. Peace can be defined as both negative and positive; negative peace is the absence of war or lack of fear of war. Positive peace has eight pillars that work together to resolve or prevent underlying issues/causes of conflit that could lead to war and violence. So what are theses eight pillars? ·        Free flow of information ·        Good relations with neighbors ·        High levels of human capitol ·        Acceptance of the rights of others ·        Low levels of corruption ·        Sound business environment ·        Well functioning government ·        Equitable distribution of resources Today we are living in a global economy; we have become global citizens living in a world where local and international communities are becoming increasingly connected. In conflict, women are the first to step up to safeguard what matters most; their families, their homes, their children’s education, well being, health care and necessities yet women and children are disproportionally impacted by war and violence. Despite the increasing prevalence of gender strategies within the peace and security architecture, women remain hugely under-represented; yet, women’s voices remain critical to achieving sustained peace. There has been overwhelming evidence that when women are involved in peace building, it leads to lasting positive peace. Women are impacted by the indirect consequences of war; social and societal break down, human rights abuses, gender based violence, infectious diseases, and economic devastation. Having this lived experience, women are better able to voice the issues needed to rebuild a lasting, peaceful society. 💠 Women have a more inclusive approach to resolving conflict 💠 Women promote dialogue and build trust as they are often working in informal roles rather than formal power structures 💠 Women build bridges and more likely to create coalitions of race, ethnicity and class structures, advocating for excluded groups 💠 Women bring social and humanitarian needs to the forefront 💠 Women raise issues that are vital for positive peace: health care, education, food security, and employment Together, let's create #safespaces and build sustainable cultures of #positivepeace leaving no one behind. #changemaker #upstander #actionscount #humanrights #sdg5 #sheleads4peace #peacetalk Tamara C Larson Grow Leaders United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Christina D'Asaro UNESCO UN Women Megan Karsh Lesa Mueller Laura M. Learn Peace Canada Brian Edwards-Rotary Canadian Museum for Human Rights Wellness Works Canada Karissa Schlaht

In conflict zones like Gaza, Ukraine, and Ethiopia, women have been pivotal in stepping back from battle to seek compromise and lasting peace. Yet despite their critical role, support for organizations serving women and girls remains strikingly low. WomenStrong International's work across Asia, Africa, and the Americas showcases the immense impact women-led organizations can make toward advancing gender justice and community welfare — when the organizations are trusted to make the right decisions for their constituents and communities. This International Women’s Day, let's challenge those critiquing trust-based philanthropy by committing to supporting the real experts – local women leading the way toward peace and progress. Read about trust-based funding in action: https://lnkd.in/ejqXVuij #PhilanthropyWomen Kiersten Marek Women's Funding Network Effective Altruism Women's Philanthropy at Indiana University Stanford Social Innovation Review Alliance magazine The Conversation US Dom Kelly Susan Blaustein #IWD2024 #WomenLeaders #TrustBasedPhilanthropy

My journey into humanitarian work, particularly in supporting women in Somaliland, began in a rather unexpected way. I had always been aware of the inequalities faced by women in different parts of the world, but it wasn’t until a chance encounter with a Somali activist (Anab Ali) at an international conference in Washington DC that I felt compelled to take direct action. Her stories of the struggles women face in Somaliland, ranging from lack of education to limited economic opportunities, deeply moved me. It was then that I knew I wanted to be part of the solution. My work in Somaliland taught me that supporting women is not just about providing resources or training; it’s about empowering them to take control of their own lives and futures. On this World Humanitarian Day, as I reflect on the beginning of my journey, I am reminded of the strength and resilience of the women I have had the privilege to work with. Their courage and determination continue to inspire me to this day. As we honor the spirit of humanitarian work globally, I encourage others to take that first step, however uncertain it may seem. The impact of supporting women, particularly in regions like Somaliland, goes far beyond individual lives; it has the potential to uplift entire communities and generations to come. My journey began with a simple desire to help, but it has grown into a lifelong commitment to standing with these incredible women as they carve out better futures for themselves and their families. #WorldHumanitarianDay #HumanitarianWork #EmpowerWomen #Somaliland #WomenEmpowerment #CommunityDevelopment #GlobalImpact #GenderEquality #SocialChange