Empowerment, Engagement, Equality – these are the driving forces behind the Young WILPF Network. As a global platform, WILPF unites individuals from different backgrounds under the age of 35, to create a powerful voice for peace, justice, and gender equality. In a world that yearns for transformation, the energy and perspective of young activists are indispensable. The Young WILPF Network celebrates the vital role that youth engagement plays in advancing peace and justice. Through fresh insights and innovative approaches, young activists ignite change, dismantling barriers, and pioneering new solutions.
The WILPF Youth Network is a space for people under the age of 35 to network, organise and advance the goals of WILPF’s younger members. The WILPF Youth Network includes young people from Asia Pacific, Europe, the Americas, Africa and South Asia; geographically diverse, but united by the goals of gender equality, peace and disarmament.
Young WILPF is led by Global Convenors, which seeks to strengthen the network, connect young activists from all over the world and organise meetings and conferences to bring the youth perspective into the debate.
We are always looking for young people who want to join the movement to promote and advocate for feminist peace, human rights, disarmament and the environment! If you would like to join the Young WILPF network, please fill up the form below.
We can be contacted at young.wilpf@wilpf.org.
Marta is an activist in the field of humanitarian and nuclear disarmament. She is passionate about social communication and human rights protection. In particular, she believes that the way we tell the story shapes the future and the way we act, and she wants to take part in this process by telling about those who every day defend human rights and strive for a more peaceful and just world with fewer weapons. In her free time she is a crystal therapist, reads tarot cards and experiments with Reiki energy.
Pauline is a digital activist dedicated to youth empowerment. She is passionate about communication, graphic design, and research, and aims to demonstrate the commitment of young leaders by sharing awareness content on social media. She is concerned about addressing the proliferation of weapons and promoting the protection of human rights. In her free time, she enjoys reading, drawing, and exploring new cultures through tourism.
Daniela Philipson García is a Ph.D. candidate in Politics and International Relations at Monash University. Her research focuses on the effects of militarization on gender-based violence in Mexico from a feminist political economy lens. Daniela has several years of experience as a feminist mixed-methods researcher focusing on reducing gender-based violence and racial disparities in policing. In 2019, she was a Women, Peace and Security Fellow at the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom headquarters in New York City. In her free time, Daniela enjoys running, playing tennis and walking her dog, Perri.
Join the Young WILPF Network to unlock worldwide prospects for personal and professional growth through networking, mentorship, and collaborative youth initiatives.
Gain access to tailored information, resources, and representation opportunities as a Young WILPF member, ensuring you stay informed and impactful in your activism journey.
Connect with like minded individuals globally, breaking barriers to collaborate on impactful youth driven initiatives through the Young WILPF network’s Slack channel.
Any paid member of WILPF, seeking to channel their enthusiasm into constructive change, can join the Young WILPF Network. Not a member yet? Join us now and be part of the transformation! If your country hosts a WILPF Section or Group, you can play a pivotal role in establishing your own national Young WILPF Network, nurturing change wherever you’re located!
Ready to make your mark? Joining the Young WILPF Network is easy. Express your interest by filling out our online membership application form or reaching out through our contact email. Your journey towards empowerment begins here.
Interested in joining the network? Fill up the form below and we’ll get back to you shortly!
Youth Corner is your space, our space, everyone’s space! In a world where so much is happening every day in every country in the world, we decided to create this space to tell what it means to be a youth activist in today’s society! Young WILPFers from all over the world talk about what it means for them to be activists in their country, what the challenges and possibilities are.
Are you interested in joining a Working Group? Or do you want to start another working group? Email young.wilpf@wilpf.org we are happy to welcome you and hear your ideas!
We envision the Young WILPF Network as a formidable global movement, embracing diversity and inclusivity as its guiding principles. With members hailing from different continents and speaking various languages, we aim to gain deeper insights into the membership of the Network, including its size, geographical distribution, and the unique ideas, needs, and concerns of our diverse community. In order to facilitate the regional exchange, Young WILPF Regional Liaisons collaborate closely with WILPF Regional Representatives to strengthen young WILPF engagement at the regional level. Discover our regional liaisons!
🌎 Americas (coming soon)
🌍 Europe (coming soon)
🌍 Africa (coming soon)
🌏 MENA (coming soon)
🌏 South-Asia (coming soon)
🌏 Asia-Pacific (coming soon)
Host: Young WILPF Network Open to: WILPF members only When: Friday, 11 October 2024 from 10:00-12:00 New York, 16:00-18:00 Geneva, 17:00-19:00 Baghdad, 18:30-20:30 Kabul (convert your time zone here). Event type: Global […]
The Young WILPF Network, in collaboration with the WILPF Environment Working Group, organised the Young WILPF Forum to celebrate International Youth Day 2023. The forum aimed to recognise and lift […]
Joining the Young WILPF Network is easy. Express your interest by filling out our online membership application form or reaching out through our contact email. Your journey towards empowerment begins here. Fill up the form below and we’ll get back to you shortly!
Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.
Your donation isn’t just a financial transaction; it’s a step toward a more compassionate and equitable world. With your support, we’re poised to achieve lasting change that echoes through generations. Thank you!
Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.
Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.
Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.
In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region.
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WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.
Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.
Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.
WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.
In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.
In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.
