From Classrooms to Global Conversations: Students Showcase Stories at PeaceCon 2024
On September 12, 2024, members of the Student Consortium on Women, Peace, and Security participated in PeaceCon 2024, presenting stories and research on gender equality, peacebuilding, and the role of marginalized communities in international security. Representing George Washington University, Consortium members Barrett Liebermann, Daniela Herrera, Sanjana Nihalani, and Elina Salian shared TED-style talks that aligned with this year’s conference theme, “Status Quo No More: Building Peace in the Time of Rising Violent Conflict.” Guided by the Director of the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs at the Elliott School GWU, Dr. Shirley Graham, the students’ participation embodied the Consortium’s unwavering commitment to amplify the voices of young leaders committed to global gender equality and peace.
PeaceCon, hosted annually by the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), is a global conference platform dedicated to bringing together “senior officials, thought leaders, policymakers, and practitioners from around the globe to explore and tackle the challenges facing the peacebuilding community.” Amidst the war in Ukraine, rising conflict in the Middle East, and global trends of democratic backsliding, AfP facilitated discussions and presentations on how to address and combat these phenomena. This year, the Consortium was honored to take part and provide a young professional lens to the conference.
Dr. Graham opened the afternoon concurrent session by introducing the speakers she has mentored within the Student Consortium on Women, Peace and Security, showcasing their diverse stories that all encompass peacebuilding. Liebermann used her background in gender and refugee advocacy with the Kurdish Peace Institute to highlight the role of Kurdish women in peace work. Herrera built upon her coursework in Gender and Contemporary Cultures and Societies to present a story on LGBTQ+ voices in peacebuilding in Latin America. As a lifelong dancer, Nihalani shared her perspective on art as a means for peace, drawing on her culture and upbringing in a South Asian family. Finally, Salian spoke about the rise in gender-based violence in India and emphasized the importance of bringing women into the prevention and participation of peace.
The Student Consortium on Women, Peace and Security was created in 2020 to provide a space for students at George Washington University to promote awareness of the implications of women and gender in international security and foreign policy. With guidance from founder and faculty mentor Dr. Shirley Graham, Director of the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs, students use the WPS agenda. In collaboration with the US Civil Society Working Group on WPS (U.S. CSWG), the Consortium holds speaker events, networking sessions, and celebrations to support the WPS Agenda and its four pillars – Participation, Protection, Prevention, and Relief and Recovery.
To learn more about the Consortium, please click here.