WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace), initiated in 1999 has been a pioneer in foregrounding the discourse on women, peace and security in South Asia. WISCOMP has built a robust network of women committed to gender justice and peace in South Asia and is unique in its approach in giving impetus to HH The Dalai Lama’s vision for women’s inclusion and leadership.

WISCOMP’s work has been focused on women’s participation in peacebuilding and forging partnerships for peace and security across borders and boundaries within South Asia and beyond. It uses innovative and experiential pedagogies that synergize research, training and practice across fields of education, gender studies, public policy, law and creative arts. Its practice is complemented with a body of research that covers over 200 scholarly publications, reflecting cutting-edge ideas from the areas of international relations, feminist ethnography, educational philosophy, and peace studies.

It works at local, regional and global levels to translate the normative imperatives of UN global compacts such as SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) and other UN resolutions that impact women’s role in building peace, justice and restoring rights. Over the period of more than 18 years, WISCOMP’s work in the core areas of Educating for Peace, Gender, Peace and Security and Conflict Transformation.

Educating for Peace

WISCOMP’s Educating for Peace initiative works with teacher trainers, school and college educators, youth, and their families to build capacities to prevent violence, practice empathy, and support processes of social justice, sustainable development, and pluralism. Read more

Gender, Peace and Security

This Programme foregrounds gender-sensitive voices of both women and men on issues of human security, governance, militarism and positive peace. The focus is on the transformation of gender relations at all levels of society—within the home, in the workplace, in the community, at the negotiation table, and at the level of wider social and political processes. Read more

Conflict Transformation

Conceptualized as part of WISCOMP’s efforts to facilitate peace dialogues and trainings for young men and women from across conflict divides, the Conflict Transformation Programme was designed as part of a decade-long vision to build the capacity of ‘future influentials’ in India and the countries of South Asia to engage with conflict in constructive ways and to create safe spaces for sustained dialogue. ‘The only game in town’ when launched in 2001, it was the first began as a sustained dialogue-cum-training initiative for young Indians and Pakistanis. WISCOMP has later extended the Programme to young and mid-career professionals from other South Asian countries and to parts of India where ethnic and regional identities have fomented mistrust, hate and violence. Read more

For more information, visit the WISCOMP website at www.wiscomp.org.