See this list for more examples of digital inclusion of women in peacebuilding / peacemaking processes, and add your own at the bottom!
All-women Facebook groups, Sudan
During the 2019 anti-government protests, Sudanese women set up women-only Facebook groups to support the spread of information about intelligence officials. These groups became safe spaces for women to participate and raise their voice, and later became an important part of the mobilisation of protests. Read more here
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Virtual mapping of women’s expertise and influence, Myanmar
In Myanmar, USAID, in collaboration with various actors, developed a virtual mapping of women’s expertise and influence, primarily relating to policy issues in the formal political dialogue. The objective was to refute the oft-cited claim that there are ‘no qualified women’. The project provided donors and implementing partners better information about whom to include in negotiations, training and other initiatives as participants and as resource persons. Read more here
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Harrassmap, Egypt (and beyond)
HarassMap is a crowdsourcing initiative founded in late 2010. HarassMap runs an online reporting and mapping system for anyone in Egypt to anonymously share their stories of experiencing, witnessing, or intervening against sexual harassment. They use the data collected to run campaigns and produce resources. Read more here
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WhatsApp Consultations, Yemen
In March 2021, in partnership with the Office of the Special Envoy for the Secretary General in Yemen (OSESGY), Build Up held ten focus group consultations over WhatsApp with 93 women from different governorates across the country. The aim was to field opinions, perspectives, and insights about several headlines relating to peace and conflict in Yemen, and how they affect women’s daily lives. (See more in the following case study)
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United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, #WhyNot
In 2018, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq launched the #WhyNot campaign calling for stronger representation of women in the Iraqi Government and National institutions. The effort was to highlight the significance of women’s participation in electoral and political processes. The #WhyNot (#Shakobeha) campaign was widely shared and was supported by Iraqi religious leaders and tribal leaders, civil society and women activists who ran with the campaign, including after the elections and during the government formation advocating for women representation in high level positions.
#BringBackOurGirls campaign, Nigeria
The #BringBackOurGirls social media campaign was formed after the 2014 abduction of 200 girls by Boko Haram. It provided an avenue for political expression for a community previously reluctant to engage in political discussions and unheard of in the broader discourse. Led by women using Twitter and Facebook together with regular offline demonstrations, the campaign succeeded in gaining the attention of both the Nigerian government and the international community. Read more here
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Participatory video, South Sudan
In 2015, the VISTAS program and Build Up ran a project on the South Sudan – Sudan border that used participatory video to work with women and youth to create and disseminate peace messages along a portion of the border. The messages supported the work of the Dinka-Misseriya Joint Border Peace Committee that convenes cross-border peace conferences, supports negotiation of migration and trade agreements, and then disseminates these agreements among local people. Read more here
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My Red Lines, Afghanistan
MyRedLines is a Twitter hashtag used by Afghan women to share their red lines for peace talks on Twitter. #MyRedLine was launched in March by Farahnaz Forotan, who says she wanted to let Afghan decision-makers know that peace cannot be achieved at the expense of the rights, freedoms, and happiness of the nation’s women. The campaign gained traction amid U.S. efforts to negotiate peace with the Taliban. Read more here
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Intentional outreach, United Nations Support Mission in Libya
In Libya, initial Libyan delegations to the political dialogue track in early 2020 were almost entirely composed of men. Through engagement with Libyan stakeholders including multi-stakeholder women’s consultations and dialogue meetings with mayors and youth, UNSMIL promoted increased participation of women in the subsequent meetings of the political track launched in October 2020. As a result of such efforts, the October meeting of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum included 17 women (out of 75 delegates, i.e., 23 per cent).
