September 6, 2021 (GAROWE, Somalia): The Strategic Thinking for Somali Women Workshop in Garowe under the Mediation Support Unit (MSU) of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) kicked off.
The participants of the three-day workshop were from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Ministry of Women Human Rights Development of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Member of Parliament of Puntland, CSO Representatives from South West, Galmudug, Jubaland, and Puntland Regional States, Women Group of Hirshabele, Action Peace for Human Development Organization, and the Somali Women Journalists Organization.
Officially, the Head of Mission to the Republic of South Sudan, Dr Aleu Garang, opened the meeting with the following remarks. “This workshop comes as the second in the series of training after the basic training for Somali women in Juba, South Sudan. We are happy how enthusiastic Somali women were when conducting the basic training on Capacity Building, Peace Building and Mediation. Today your commitment to be in this room and to turn out in numbers with this diversity indicates how serious you take this important training. We would like to see this platform as an opportunity for women to advocate for further representation in decision making, conflict prevention, and more representation in governance. On behalf of H.E the IGAD Executive Secretary, and on my own behalf, I welcome you and thank you very much for attending this workshop, and I declare it open.”
The workshop’s agenda comprised of:
- Introduction and definition of Negotiation and Mediation;
- Introduction and key concepts in Peace and Conflict Studies (Peace-making, Peace-keeping Peace-enforcement and Peacebuilding);
- Conflict triggers, Conflict Analysis, Conflict Mapping focusing on actors and their interrelationships;
- Conflict Resolution;
- Developing a strategy for women in conflict areas through a joint action plan; and
- SWOT analysis on the women in Peace Building.
Participants engaged with enthusiasm during the workshop through:
- Active participation in asking and answering questions;
- Panel discussion on The Role of Women in Peace & Conflict Prevention;
- Facilitated discussion on the roles of the different implementation mechanisms, the best practices/successes and way forward.
The workshop aims at pushing the Women Peace and Security Agenda and in the end Strategic Planning and Developing an Action Plan and Roadmap towards Implementation of the Strategy for Women in Somalia.
