On November 23, 2024, ten peace activists from the International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG) arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and began their scheduled activities in cooperation with the local Ministry of Women, Family, and Children (MFFE). Beginning November 25, they held meetings with government officials, affiliated institutions, and local women’s organizations to discuss concrete ways to nurture female peace leaders.

And on November 27.

Ivorian women gathered in a classroom in Abidjan. It was the moment when peace education, which had previously been conducted online, began for the first time as an in-person, face-to-face program in the local community.

Beyond the Screen, Facing Each Other

For three days, from November 27 to 29, the Peace Lecturer Training Education (PLTE) was conducted at the Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny Women’s Training Center.

Approximately 70 participants, including leaders of local women’s organizations and activists, attended the training. Through a curriculum consisting of ten modules in total, the participants learned about the meaning of peace, different perspectives on conflict, and ways to practice peace in daily life and share it within their local communities.

In the classroom, rather than simply listening to lectures, participants took part in sessions where they shared their own experiences and thoughts.

Cedia Yao Christelle, Representative of the Ivorian NGO ‘Women’s Voice’, stated that through the training, she learned how to resolve conflicts peacefully at the family, community, and national levels.

She particularly emphasized the role of women in light of the upcoming presidential election. She said, “Our women must unite and call for peace so that not a single person loses their life in the upcoming presidential election.”

Annie Elizabeth Krizoa, President of the International Women’s-Friendly Business Federation (CIFEF), also highlighted the role of women. She said, “When war and conflict occur in Côte d’Ivoire, women and children are the first to suffer, yet women also possess the power to mediate conflict and bring about peace.”

The recognition that women who have experienced harm can simultaneously become active agents of peace was shared throughout the training.

Training 59 Peace Lecturers

As the three-day training drew to a close, changes began to emerge among the participants.

Fifty-nine participants who completed the course graduated from the Peace Lecturer Training Education (PLTE), becoming Côte d’Ivoire’s first female peace lecturers.

They will now share what they have learned with their own families and local communities.

This training delivered the message that peace is not someone else’s responsibility, but something that can be built through small actions starting in one’s own community.

On the final day of training, the classroom became a broader space for dialogue.

Promising Peace as One

On November 29, the ‘World Women Peace Conference – Côte d’Ivoire’ was held alongside the PLTE graduation ceremony.

At the conference, presentations were given on topics including:

▲ The reasons women should engage in peace activities

▲ Côte d’Ivoire and women’s peace

▲ Women’s peace education as the answer to peace

▲ Communities transformed by peace

Participants shared their experiences and discussed together the roles women could play in building peace in Côte d’Ivoire.

Konan Gwladys, President of the Cocody Women’s Association, emphasized the need to pass peace on to the next generation.

Cisse Kone Massandje, President of the NGO ‘Vivre Ensemble’, also delivered a message expressing her hope that all citizens could move forward together in a country where war would never happen again. She urged them to put the peace and well-being of the people ahead of political interests.

At the end of the conference, participants signed a ‘Peace Pledge.’

It was a promise to begin practicing peace with oneself and share the values of peace they had learned with those around them.

The scenes of that day were broadcast nationwide through Côte d’Ivoire’s national broadcaster, RTI. It was the moment when the women’s peace education initiated in Abidjan reached a wider audience in Ivorian society.

Though the three-day training concluded, a new role now began for the 59 peace lecturers.

And by their side stood a French lecturer who had traveled a long distance to spend three days teaching alongside them.

“Initially, I came to teach, but in the end, it felt as though I was leaving a piece of my heart behind here.”

In the next article, we will hear the story of Femy Orianne, the IWPG lecturer from France who traveled to Côte d’Ivoire and taught peace face-to-face with Ivorian women.

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