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WILPF Costa Rica: Pictures of Peace

25 September 2013

Every year on the 21st of September, WILPF Costa Rica celebrates International Day of Peace by participating in Costa Rica’s Peace Festival.  Organized by the Peace Network and sponsored by Costa Rica’s Ministry of Justice and Peace, this festival promotes peace by hosting folk dances, songs, and various other activities for Costa Rica’s children.  Located in San José’s Plaza de la Cultura, organizations such as WILPF host booths designed to educate and engage children on the issue of peace.

Young girl holding a picture of a dove with the word peace written in spanish.
Schoolgirl with picture of peace from WILPF booth at the Peace Festival in San José, Costa Rica.
Drawing for Peace

This year, WILPF Costa Rica helped children articulate peace by having them draw pictures of what peace meant to them. Mitzi Stark, a member of WILPF Costa Rica, wrote that that a class of children came and made, “drawings of all kinds, some simple, some artistic, some very clever and all done with thought.” The children’s pictures ranged from the familiar to the abstract, with drawings of family members and pet cats to trashcans full of guns.

Once a child finished his or her drawing, WILPF members stored the picture under a plastic cover on top of the table to help inspire other children.  Even though heavy rain ended the day early, sixty-two boys and girls made pictures for WILPF’s Drawing for Peace project. In addition to organizing this project, WILPF members handed out both literature on WILPF and colouring books on a culture of peace.

A Quest for Potential New Peace Activists

WILPF Costa Rica also advocated for peace this International Peace Day by encouraging women leaders to join the organization as future peace activists. Mireya Gonzalez represented WILPF Heredia, a chapter of WILPF, at a meeting that included 90 women activists and leaders. In an effort to inspire potential new members to join WILPF as advocates for peace, Ms. Gonzalez spoke of the organization’s goals and activities.

Feel free to share what your section did to celebrate this day of peace, below! This International Day of Peace, the International President of WILPF, Adilia Caravaca, also wanted know, “What does it mean for you to be a peace builder?” Read the responses of peace activists on our Facebook page.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

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

VICE-PRESIDENT

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

PRESIDENT

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.

WILPF Afghanistan

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. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

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.

Militarised masculinity

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.

Feminist peace​

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.

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