"Women Led World Peace" ·· IWPG 2024 World Women's Peace Conference a Great Success

- Held in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do (South Korea) with the theme "Women's Leadership in Peaceful Practices"

- Women leaders gather to share examples of peace activities and develop action plans

IWPG CEO Yoon Hyun-sook urges, "Each individual's 'action' is important to realize peace"

With wars continuing around the world, women who wish for world peace gathered together to share examples of peace activities and resolve to participate.

The International Women's Peace Group (IWPG, CEO Yoon Hyun-sook) held the 2024 International Women's Peace Conference at the Kensington Resort in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do on the 19th.

The theme of this conference was "Women's Leadership in Peace Practices," and it was organized as a place for women leaders who wish to end wars in the global village to gather and share the latest examples of peace activities. Based on the progress made in peace since last year, the IWPG introduced the peace practice campaign and encouraged participation.

In her opening remarks, Director Yoon Hyun-sook said, "For peace to be realized in practical systems and culture, 'action' is extremely important. Peace can become a reality if everyone from all walks of life and at all levels carries out their own role. I want everyone to always think about what they can do now for peace."

The conference was broadly divided into two sessions entitled "Why should women be involved in peace activities?" and "Practicing peace: women becoming agents of peace."

Ms. Sarah Chong, director of PAM Solidarity Australia, cited increased female education and participation in decision-making processes as challenges to "reclaiming the right to peace as women." She emphasized, "Women of immigrant and refugee backgrounds have faced many obstacles in building peace and security, but we have seen many cases where they have overcome them through solidarity. Women's participation in decision-making is not just an issue of gender equality, but is essential to achieving sustainable peace."

She also asserted that "empowering women through education is also essential to building sustainable peace. Ms. Sarah Chong said, "Empowering women goes beyond simple personal benefits; it has a positive impact on families, communities, and society as a whole, and it also promotes the movement toward world peace."

The importance of peace education for women was also emphasized, given the importance of accepting diverse cultures. Jeong Ji-yoon, director of the Korea Immigration and Multicultural Policy Institute, said, "The transition to a multicultural society is inevitable, but there is a lack of attention to it. We are at a point where we desperately need education about multiculturalism in order to go beyond the limitations of existing methods and build a sustainable peaceful society."

She continued, "The problems arising from globalization cannot be solved by my own or 'single' our own method. I hope that the IWPG Women's Peace Education, which deals with inclusion and respect through the power of peace citizens, will become a cornerstone of a true multicultural era as a tool for social integration and the realization of peace."

The experiences of women leaders who encountered IWPG and participated in the peace movement were also introduced. Municipal Mayor of Kapalong, Davao del Norte, Philippines, Maria Theresa Royo-Timbol, who dedicated the third IWPG peace activity monument in the Philippines last month, spoke emphatically about "the path women must take to end war."

She said she erected the monument with the hope that it would become a concrete symbol for future generations, adding, "It will definitely have a ripple effect on the next generation, women and young people. Women's participation in peace activities plays an important role in spreading the culture of peace, so I hope that more women will get involved in the peace movement."

Ms. Sanem Arikan, Director General of Services at the Copyright Directorate of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye, shared various examples of her efforts to realize world peace. She has been involved in various social projects such as promoting the human rights of women and children, preventing violence, and eradicating drugs, and after receiving peace education from IWPG, she said she has begun to spread and raise awareness of the culture of peace in solidarity with the media, parliament, and academia.

Ms. Sanem Arikan emphasized, "In spreading the culture of peace, women are important in the process of building sustainable peace through media, social media, politicians, artists, and community leaders. Even at this very moment, we must step up for the children and women who lose their lives in war."

The Hon. Dr. Joyelle Trizia Clarke, Secretary of State for Sustainable Development Policy, Environment and Climate Change Response and Community Empowerment for St. Kitts and Nevis, said: "Including women as decision makers facilitates a more inclusive approach to social issues."

▲Increasing women's participation in decision-making

▲ Promoting gender equality and women's empowerment

▲ Encourage peacekeeping on a personal and professional level

▲ Ensuring women's participation in the policy-making process

▲ Support for vulnerable groups

He made the following suggestions:

In addition, the Merit Award Ceremony (Ms. Rania Alam) and the Public Relations Ambassador Appointment Ceremony (Ms. Sanem Arikan and Ms. Thandar Aung) were held on the same day.

Participants also had the opportunity to create a peace action plan called "Peace Promise." The results of their efforts will be shared at next year's World Women's Peace Conference. The IWPG plans to actively carry out peace activities in various fields so that peace activities themselves can become teaching materials for peace education.

Meanwhile, this conference was held as part of the 10th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony of the September 18 World Peace Summit held by Heavenly Culture for World Peace and Liberation (HWPL), a peace cooperation organization of the IWPG.

Introduction of IWPG

IWPG is a global women's NGO registered with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Department of Global Communications (DGC).

There are 114 chapters and members in 122 countries, and over 730 cooperating organizations in 66 countries. With the vision of "realizing sustainable world peace," the organization is actively working to spread the solidarity needed around the world, spread the culture of peace, provide peace education for women, and support and encourage the enactment of the "Declaration for a Peaceful End to Global Village War (DPCW)."