UN Women and Issam Fares Institute convene young women peacebuilders from across the Arab States to strengthen leadership and advance inclusive peace efforts

[Press release]

Cairo, Egypt - UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States, in partnership with the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Regional Hub at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut, is hosting a two-day regional workshop in Cairo on 12-13 May 2026, bringing together young women peacebuilders from across the Arab States.

The workshop convenes members of the Young Women Peacebuilders Network (YWPN), a community of emerging and established women leaders advancing peace, governance and social transformation. Participants are alumni of the Young Women Peacebuilders Programme, a regional initiative launched in 2021 to strengthen young women’s capacity, leadership and engagement in peace and security processes.

Held in the context of key global milestones, including the anniversaries of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250, the workshop reinforces the importance of linking the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas to advance more inclusive and sustainable peace.

“Across the Arab States, young women are playing a critical role in shaping pathways to peace and societal cohesion - often in the most complex and challenging contexts,” said Dr. Moez Doraid, UN Women Regional Director for the Arab States. “Yet their participation remains constrained by structural, political, social and cultural barriers. This initiative is about investing in their leadership, strengthening their influence, and ensuring their voices inform peace and political processes at community, local, national and international levels.”

Over two days, participants will engage in interactive sessions designed to strengthen skills, deepen knowledge and foster collaboration. The workshop focuses on thematic areas like advancing young women’s leadership in local peacebuilding, displacement and refugee settings, and climate security. It will also include skills building sessions on public speaking and mental health that are core to building young women’s peacebuilding capacities.

“The impact of investing in young women’s peacebuilding capacities is rarely immediate; meaningful change often unfolds over years, even generations. That is why we must remain patient and steadfast, resisting discouragement when progress is slow. Sustained faith in young women’s leadership is essential to building pathways toward more peaceful societies”, says Karma Ekmekji, Associate Fellow and Lead Advisor for the Women, Peace, and Security Regional Hub at IFI.

The programme brings together expert-led thematic discussions, practical training sessions and intergenerational dialogue with UN representatives and senior practitioners. It also provides opportunities for participants to develop joint initiatives, partnerships and research that advance peacebuilding in their respective contexts.

“Investing in spaces for young women peacebuilders to connect within the region matters. Many of them lead important work in difficult and often isolated contexts. When they come together, connections turn into collaboration, ideas continue to grow beyond the programme itself, and individual efforts become part of a stronger collective voice,” said Asuda M. Amin, Advisor for Women4Peace Regional Project in the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The workshop includes a networking activity hosted by the Embassy of New Zealand in Egypt, providing the young women peacebuilders an opportunity to network and engage with Member States representatives.

Approximately 20 young women from across the Arab States region are participating in the workshop, which forms part of UN Women’s broader efforts to advance inclusive peace processes and strengthen young women’s leadership.

The initiative is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented with support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH.