USD's 2018 Women PeaceMakers Cohort Arrives in San Diego

Four bonafide global changemakers for peace have arrived at the University of San Diego campus.

Collectively, Rosa Emilia Salamanca of Colombia, Roxana Cristescu of Eurasia, Amira Abdulrahman Hussein Timan from Sudan and Mariam Yazdani of Pakistan comprise the 2018 cohort of Women PeaceMakers. They are involved in a Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies’ Institute for Peace and Justice program that, in its 16th year, continues to bring together and shine an important global spotlight on women leaders that can inspire female leaders-in-training.

This year's four PeaceMakers will reside on the USD campus through Nov. 17. During this time, each will share their life experiences, strengthen their relationships with each other while living on IPJ grounds, connect with the USD community and they’ll work together on a particular issue at the request of a surveyed Women PeaceMakers alumni base that spans more than 60 women from 35 different countries.

The working theme this year is to understand how Women PeaceMakers and international partners can build more effective local and global collaborations to support women's meaningful participation in peace negotiations.

The four women, in collaboration with two appointed Peace Researchers, will develop case studies that offer key insight into answering the question posed by WPM alumni. Once the case studies are formed, the hope is that they’ll be utilized by policy makers, practitioners and researchers to develop more gender-sensitive and effective peacebuilding programs.

The two peace researchers working with the PeaceMakers are Lela Akiashvili, who is from Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, and San Diego's Elizabeth Lacey. 

Women PeaceMaker Events

While the case study work is central to their time while in San Diego — this popular program underwent a reimagining of sorts in 2017 so that PeaceMakers are part of a 12-month fellowship — the campus community and public will have multiple opportunities to hear from the Women PeaceMakers.

In connection with USD's Changemaker Hub, the Women PeaceMakers will take part in My Story: Badass Women, on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m., in the Hahn University Center's Forum C. This event is a student-centric opportunity for the women to share a profound point in their lives and do so publicly. This event is free and is open to the public.

Another event is the Women PeaceMakers Panel. It will take place Wednesday, Nov. 7, 6 p.m., in the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Theatre. Together, the cohort will share their experiences and views on the importance of women's meaningful participation in peace negotiations. This event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are appreciated.

A third opportunity, albeit a paid event and for women only, occurs on Thursday, Nov. 8, 5:30 p.m., in the Kroc IPJ conference rooms, C and D. The Women for Social Impact will host the Women PeaceMakers for an interactive experience to share perspectives and explore new possibilities to create positive change locally and globally.

More Information

To learn more about the Women PeaceMakers Program and to connect with this year's cohort, please contact Jennifer Bradshaw, Kroc IPJ Women's PeaceMaker Program Officer, by email at jenniferbradshaw@sandiego.edu or phone, (619) 260-4189. Also, the Women PeaceMakers Program can be found on the social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook.

— Ryan T. Blystone

Women PeaceMaker photos courtesy of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice.