The Peace Corner Podcast

We see gender relations play out everyday in our own contexts and societies: how the military is considered masculine; how care jobs are considered feminine; how we expect something else from fathers than we do from mothers; how positions of power are often held by men, but the consequences are often felt by women and gender diverse people. Every day we learn about gender relations and how they form us and our society. We become gender experts by looking at those gender relations we have always considered to be natural or logical, and to scrutinise them.

In this episode of the Peace Corner Podcast, Yvet Voppen and Henri Myrttinen talk about how local peacebuilders are those gender experts that we need to listen to if we want to create meaningful and sustainable peace, for everyone, regardless of gender. And while gender is often associated with girls and women, in this episode we shine a light on masculinity and diverse sexual orientations and gender identities in relation to peacebuilding. Learn how to listen to your own expertise on gender in your own context and how this relates to the bigger peacebuilding sector.

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.

In South Sudan, harmful cultural practices lock women and girls into roles where they are expected to have certain responsibilities. They face many challenges and are deprived of basic human rights, which they are not even aware of. There is an urgent need to raise awareness and create a safe space for women to be able to speak up on the many challenges they face and how they wish to see change happen in their communities. This includes their participation in decision-making and peacebuilding processes.

Nyachangkuoth Tai—peace activist, human rights defender, and co-founder of The Mother Care Organization, and Gender and Social Justice Manager at Assistance Mission for Africa (AMA)—sees gender equality and peace as a right, not a privilege. Women’s inclusion is absolutely necessary if peace is to be reached. Nyachangkuoth has been advocating for the inclusion and conducting training on mentorship programs, for women to understand their rights and capabilities and thus educate the coming generations. In her work, she has also been reaching out to men and boys to educate them on gender issues and on power relations for them to understand that empowering women does not reduce men’s rights. Tune in to learn more about her initiatives.

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.

In Yemen, the violence of the war tearing the country apart since late 2014 has amplified the already deeply entrenched gender inequalities. Child marriage and domestic violence cases are recorded in climbing numbers. In spite of this, women on the ground are showing us the power of advocacy to challenge discriminatory practices in their country. Alaa Al-Eryani is a prominent Yemeni gender equality activist, raising awareness on the need for more equal rights and opportunities for women in Yemen.

In this episode, Clémentine Dupont from UNOY sits down with Alaa Al-Eryani, the founder of the first Yemeni feminist online platform, to discuss the power of feminist advocacy to challenge norms, the intersections of gender with peace and security issues, and the contributions of art to peace.

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.

While gender and climate change are often viewed as independent fields with isolated challenges, the relationship between them are in fact more deeply intertwined than ever before. With the acceleration of climate change, the rise of climate-induced conflict and environmental insecurity have also begun to rear their heads. It’s no secret that conflict, scarcity, and instability often more heavily affect women and marginalised communities. Now, with the urgency of climate change, how are the threads of gender dynamics woven throughout this pressing global crisis?

Cambria Khayat is a young advocate for the reversal of climate change and is currently a student of economics, international studies, and peace and conflict studies. In this episode, Cambria breaks down the straightforward yet multifaceted ways in which gender and climate change intersect, using highly relevant examples to show that these challenges are not separate fights but instead two sides of the same coin. Cambria speaks of how climate change impact can pose threats to peace and security, and classifies climate change as a form of invisible violence with a generational impact that worsens over time. This episode shows us that the time for change is now, and that, if already existing forms of resistance, resilience, and climate mitigation strategies are harnessed, we can turn this crisis around!

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.

After a tumultuous decade, marked by two civil wars, a permanent ceasefire was signed in Libya in October 2020. In early 2021, the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum assigned a new interim government, the Government of National Unity, in an attempt to stabilise the political scene and to organise parliamentary and presidential elections on the 24th December 2021.

In preparation for the elections, we sat down with Inas Miloud, an indigenous feminist activist from the Amazigh community in Libya. Inas is the co-founder and currently Co-Executive Director of Tamazight Women’s Movement, an intersectional organization that works to address gender, youth and indigenous people’s inequalities in Libya. Her work has been particularly focused on gender, peace and security, militarization, indigenous issues, and intersectionality. In this episode, we discuss how Inas became involved in peacebuilding and what needs to be demystified in this field. We hear about Inas’ stories as an indigenous activist, her work with the Tamazight Women’s Movement, and her hopes for the future of Libya.

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.

Five years after the historic adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR)2250 on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS), where are we on the implementation of the agenda? In this pod, Gwedolyn Myers discusses the Liberian youth-led initiatives and the work of Messengers of Peace-Liberia to generate conducive environments for youth inclusion at the local level, as well as the challenges they have been facing.

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.

[English text below!]

Le maintien de la sécurité environnementale et de la paix est le plus important défi auquel l’humanité n’a jamais fait face. Or, ils sont tous deux inextricablement liés. Cette double conjoncture aggrave les difficultés de manière quotidienne dans la région du Sahel. Les changements climatiques sont l'une des causes de la Guerre du Sahel ainsi que de la recrudescence du terrorisme. Ils provoquent aussi des conflits autour de ressources naturelles, génèrent des maladies tuant des milliers de personnes chaque année, affectent de manière critique la sécurité nutritionnelle, la pauvreté et les sources d’énergie. Au milieu de cette situation très complexe, l’ONG Espaces Verts du Sahel (EVS - du Tchad, mais aussi au Cameroun, Burkina Faso, Mali et Niger) a accompli un impressionnant travail de formation de centaines de (très) jeunes-experts à répondre de manière proactive aux problématiques environnementales. Avec eux, l’ONG a réussi à conduire d’impressionnants efforts de plaidoyer auprès de hautes sphères politiques nationales et internationales, stimulant du changement vers la préservation de l’environnement et une paix durable.

Joël Yodoyman, coordinateur de l’ONG et membre de l’Équipe-Pays de la CSPPS au Tchad, souhaite vous parler, auditeurs du Podcast, alors écoutez cet épisode pour recevoir son important message !

PS : Nous sommes heureux de présenter un premier épisode en français, pour un Peace Corner Podcast plus inclusif !

***

Environment and Peace Relations in the Sahel: Youth Leading Change

The safeguarding of environmental security and peace is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. More importantly, they are inextricably bound together. This dual predicament intensifies the struggle in the Sahel region daily. Climate change is one of the causes of both the Sahel War as well as a surge in terrorism. It also causes conflicts over natural resources, generates disease outbreaks, which kill thousands of people every year and critically affects nutritional security, poverty and access to energy. Amid this highly challenging situation, the NGO Espaces Verts du Sahel (EVS - based in Chad, but also in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) has accomplished the outstanding work of training hundreds of (very) young experts to respond proactively to environmental challenges. The NGO has succeeded in conducting impressive advocacy efforts at the highest national and international political levels, stimulating change towards a sustainable environment and peace.

Joel Yodoyman, coordinator of the NGO and member of the CSPPS Country Team in Chad, is looking forward to talking to you, so tune in to catch his powerful message!

P.S.: We are happy to present this first French-speaking episode in a bid to diversify towards the Peace Corner Podcast!

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.

For centuries, the transgender community across India has been battling for basic livelihood, dignity and social acceptance. In 2014, the Supreme Court of India finally recognised the transgender community’s civil rights in the country. Kalki Subramaniam was one of the most prominent activists behind this milestone.

In this episode of the Peace Corner Podcast, Mori Plaschinski from UNOY sits down with transgender activist and artist Kalki Subramaniam to discuss how art can help to advocate for gender diversity and trans rights in India and worldwide.

Through Kalki’s “artivism” we learn about the role of trans people as changemakers and their journeys to achieving equality, safety, peace and well-being for their communities.

Tune in to discover how performance and art have been key pieces for LGBT+ peacebuilding in Tamilnadu-India, and beyond!

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.

We know the same-old story. A violent conflict breaks out and international interveners come rushing to support peace in the country. But oftentimes, this leads to a short term ‘fix’ and even more chaos returns with monstrous damage to the people. What we often tend to forget, is that locals know best. Local peacebuilders and ordinary citizens know best what the root causes and solutions are to the violence that is affecting them. But why then are they systematically pushed aside in offering solutions? And why do youth and women have to try so hard to reach the decision-making level in spite of seemingly global consensus on the importance of their voices?

In this live launch episode of a fresh Peace Corner season, we are starting our journey with award-winning peacebuilding author and researcher, Séverine Autesserre, and powerhouse changemaker, Shadi Rouhshahbaz. Make sure to tune in and subscribe!

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.

We know the same-old story. A violent conflict breaks out and international interveners come rushing to support peace in the country. But oftentimes, this leads to a short term ‘fix’ and even more chaos returns with monstrous damage to the people. What we often tend to forget, is that locals know best. Local peacebuilders and ordinary citizens know best what the root causes and solutions are to the violence that is affecting them. But why then are they systematically pushed aside in offering solutions? And why do youth and women have to try so hard to reach the decision-making level in spite of seemingly global consensus on the importance of their voices?

In this live launch episode of a fresh Peace Corner season, we are starting our journey with award-winning peacebuilding author and researcher Séverine Autesserre and a young changemaker. Make sure to tune in and subscribe!

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.