On 18 September, IWPG Melbourne Branch marked an important milestone by signing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Sunrise Community Inc. and Daughters of Jerusalem, strengthening a shared commitment to empowering women and communities to take practical action for peace.

The partnerships bring together organisations working closely with Melbourne’s diverse communities, united by the belief that peace is not simply something to talk about, it is something that can be built through everyday leadership, education, connection and action.

Through this collaboration, IWPG Melbourne Branch, Sunrise Community Inc. and Daughters of Jerusalem will create opportunities for women and community members to develop their leadership, strengthen connections across cultures and backgrounds, and become active contributors to positive change within their communities.

A key part of this work will be Peace Leadership Training and Education (PLTE), which equips participants with the knowledge, skills and confidence to recognise challenges within their communities, encourage constructive dialogue and develop practical ways to promote understanding, cooperation and peace.

The partnership will also create opportunities for children and young people through the International Loving Peace Art Competition (ILPAC). Through art, young people are encouraged to imagine what peace means to them and creatively express the kind of world they hope to inherit. Their artwork can then become a starting point for wider conversations about peace within families, schools and communities.

For IWPG Melbourne Branch, the agreements represent more than a formal partnership. They are an opportunity to bring women and communities together around a shared purpose and provide pathways for individuals to become leaders for peace in their own spheres of influence.

Women are not simply beneficiaries of peace, they are leaders, decision-makers and changemakers with the experience and knowledge needed to shape it. This message was at the heart of an international women’s peace conference held in Cheongju, Republic of Korea, from 16–18 September 2026. Organised by the International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG) under the theme “Everyday Peace, Women’s Power: Shaping Global Governance,” IWPG President Jeon Na Yeong highlighted the importance of recognising women’s lived experiences as a valuable source of knowledge when developing approaches to peace.

Women are present in families and communities, workplaces and schools, as well as on the frontlines of conflict and crisis. In these spaces, women have brought people together, mediated tensions, rebuilt communities and created pathways towards peace. Her message reflected a central theme of the conference: women’s everyday experiences should not be separated from conversations about global peace and governance.

Ms Mampurane Kgomo, Deputy Director of Gender in the Republic of South Africa, focused on what is needed to transform women’s voices into lasting institutional change. She explained that meaningful participation requires more than simply giving women an opportunity to speak. Their concerns need a clear pathway through which they can become proposals, gain support and ultimately influence institutions.

Her presentation demonstrated how this process has been applied within South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).

Across three days of discussions and international exchange, one message remained clear: women already contribute to peace every day. The next step is ensuring that their knowledge is recognised, their voices have pathways into decision-making, and they are given the opportunities and conditions needed to lead.