ICAN is thrilled to announce that we are collaborating with UNA-NCA and Global Classrooms DC to create a curriculum on the Women, Peace and Security agenda for the Spring 2019 Model UN Conference in Washington, D.C.

The International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) works for women’s international equality.  One crucial aspect of this is to promote the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda: women’s inclusion in all levels of peace processes to end conflict, from pre-talks to the implementation phase.  To encourage this agenda, the United Nations Security Council has passed eight resolutions, beginning with UNSCR 1325, adopted in 2000.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 18th birthday of the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 than launching this first ever Women, Peace, and Security curriculum for Model UN and Global Classroom programs here in the DC area and hopefully everywhere,” says ICAN’s founder and Executive Director, Sanam Naraghi Anderlini.

War affects women differently, and by including them in negotiations, they are able to voice their concerns and priorities, which are often different from men’s.  When women are included at the table, an agreement is 20% more likely to last two years, and 35% more likely to last at least 15 years.  However, in peace processes from 1992-2011, women made up only 2% of Chief Mediators, 4% of witnesses and signatories, and 9% of negotiators.  Of the 504 agreements signed from 2000 (when UNSCR 1325 was adopted) to 2015, only 138 (27%) included references to women.

Part of ICAN’s work in promoting women’s inclusion in peace processes is to teach youth about its importance.  They are the future of the world, and as such we need to engage them in women’s issues and teach them about gender equality.  This includes youth from all over the world, both in the United States and abroad.

In keeping with this, ICAN is partnering with Global Classrooms DC (GCDC), the education program of the United Nations Association for the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA), to develop a Model UN curriculum to introduce students to the Women, Peace and Security agenda.  Over the past few months, they have been writing a curriculum for the Spring 2019 Model UN Conference, to be held at the U.S. Department of State.

Titled “Promoting Women in Peace and Security,” this simulation will expose local students to the WPS agenda.  Through the Model UN program, hundreds of middle and high school students from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. will learn about gender equality, women’s rights, and the importance of including women in all levels of peacemaking and peacebuilding.

The nature of the conference requires students to delve further into these topics, conducting research on specific subjects within the WPS agenda to inform their positions at the conference.  Each small group of students represents a specific country in UN Women.  As such, they will have to learn about the viewpoints of nations as far-ranging and with such diverse perspectives as China and Chile, and Norway and Namibia.  They will consider how women can be included in peacemaking and peacebuilding, and how the UN and UN Women can help their country increase women’s involvement.

We are incredibly excited to be part of this endeavor, and can’t wait to see what the students will decide on as their final resolution after learning all about the WPS agenda!