![](/globalassets/forskning/oversvamning-drk-angaza-research-group.jpg?width=802&height=505&mode=crop&quality=85&format=webp)
Photo: Angaza Research Group
In December 2015, the FBA launched the Swedish Women Mediation Network, aiming to increase the number of women as mediators and as part of mediation teams, both Swedish women and women from conflict-ridden countries. After a profound probing and selection process, nine members with extensive experience of political missions and work in conflict environments were selected.
Several of them have already begun commitments linked to ongoing peace processes. During the network meeting in Stockholm on September 12, the members planned for the networks’ upcoming activities, together with staff from the FBA and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
– Women’s meaningful role in peace processes is crucial to achieving sustainable peace. The FBA’s work with the mediation network is a concrete contribution to this and we have laid a solid foundation for this work, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Sven-Eric Söder in connection to the meeting.
The Swedish network is part of a broader Nordic Women Mediation Network, which gathers women mediators from all the Nordic countries. FBA will host a meeting of the Nordic network later this autumn.
– The network is not only a way to create a platform for our identified Swedish mediators, but also a way to support women from conflict-ridden countries as participants in peace-building efforts. We cooperate with both researchers and civil society actors in these efforts, says Camilla Riesenfeld, project manager for the mediation network at the FBA.
The network's current members are Ann Dismorr, Head of the MFA’s Department for Middle East and North Africa, Marika Fahlén, former Ambassador, Birgitta Holst Alani, former Ambassador, Marie Jacobsson, Legal Adviser at the MFA, Karin Landgren, former UN Secretary General's Special Representative to Liberia, Lena Nordstrom, Ambassador to Liberia, Helena Rietz, Head of the MFA’s Africa Department, Lena Sundh, Ambassador to the Great Lakes Region, and Margareta Wahlström, former UN Secretary General's Special Representative and Head of the UN’s Office for Disaster Reduction.
Read more about the mediation network here.
MORE FROM HOME
International organizations such as the UN, EU, and OECD have highlighted the intensified connection between environmental change and conflict. Rapid environmental changes have severe consequences for countries at war or in post-conflict phases. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his New Agenda for Peace, noted that climate change creates social dynamics that heighten tensions and escalate violent conflicts. "Maria Martin de Almagro Iniesta is a member of FBA's International Research Working Group and studies the impact of climate change on local communities in the conflict-affected eastern DR Congo.
2024-08-13 10:02FBA has both increased and adapted its work in Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion.
FBA in UkraineKlara Grenhagen works as a specialist at FBA's Africa unit with a focus on dialogue, reconciliation and peace processes.
More about our expertsFBA is part of Sweden’s development aid within the area of peace and security
Read more about the countries where we work