USD Welcomes Women Thought Leaders for PeaceMakers Fellowship, Two-Week Residency

The University of San Diego (USD) welcomes to campus the latest cohort of thought leaders selected for its Women PeaceMakers Fellowship. The program, organized by the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice (KIPJ), which is housed in the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, brings innovative peacebuilders from around the world to USD’s campus. Over the next two weeks, they’ll work with and learn from each other, and interact with students and faculty, before returning home to start a year-long research project.

The focus of this year’s cohort is on “peacebuilding from the diaspora.” The fellows will examine ways to empower people who have either been forced out or chosen to leave their home countries, giving them the tools to enact social change or reduce violence from afar.

The Women PeaceMakers Fellowship aims to elevate the voices of women in the peacebuilding field and, by bringing these leaders together, come up with actionable solutions that can impact policy around the world.

This year’s three Women PeaceMakers are:

• Sveto Muhammad Ishoq – An award-winning women’s rights activist and entrepreneur from Afghanistan. Her work has been instrumental in amplifying Afghan women’s voices during the Taliban regime.
• Shadi Rouhshahbaz – An activist and researcher from Iran, where she founded PeaceMentors, the country’s first-ever peacebuilding initiative led by young women.
• Kay Soe – A gender equality advocate who advises women’s rights groups in Myanmar. She specializes in policymaking, and her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals.

On November 8, the fellows will gather for a public panel, where they’ll discuss their experiences and work, and take questions from the audience. The panel, which is free and open to the public, will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., and the speakers will be available for interviews prior to the event.

If you would like to cover the event or speak to the PeaceMakers, please contact press@sandiego.edu.

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.