On 30 June 2026, the Women’s Peacebuilding Network in Lebanon (WPNL) and Syria’s Space for Collaboration (SfC) organized a joint online webinar entitled “Local Peacebuilding Initiatives: Women’s Experiences from Lebanon and Syria.” The webinar brought together members of the two platforms to exchange experiences and lessons learned from women-led local peacebuilding initiatives. The Women’s Peacebuilding Network in Lebanon is hosted by UN Women Lebanon, while Syria’s Space for Collaboration is hosted by the Civil Society and Democracy Centre (CCSD) in Syria.
The webinar opened with welcoming remarks by Ms. Gielan El Messiri, UN Women Representative in Lebanon, while the discussion was moderated by Ms. Khawla Dunya from Syria’s Space for Collaboration. Around 60 participants attended the webinar, including representatives of civil society organizations, women’s rights organizations, peacebuilding actors, researchers, development partners, and other interested participants from Lebanon, Syria, and the wider region.
The webinar provided a platform for women peacebuilders from Lebanon and Syria to exchange experiences and lessons learned by showcasing local initiatives implemented in the different contexts of the two countries. The Women’s Peacebuilding Network in Lebanon was represented by Suha Fleifel and Ruba Baydoun, while Space for Collaboration in Syria was represented by Nagham Ghadri and Salam Al-Ghadeer.
The speakers presented practical examples of women-led local initiatives and highlighted their contributions to facilitating dialogue, preventing conflict, humanitarian response, strengthening social cohesion, and building community resilience during periods of conflict, displacement, and political instability. The Women’s Peacebuilding Network in Lebanon presented its experience in developing and launching the Seven Unifying Messages, an advocacy initiative launched by the network during the escalation in Lebanon to highlight the shared values that unite the Lebanese people and promote a discourse that calls for dialogue, social cohesion, and peace.
For its part, Syria’s Space for Collaboration presented its approach to engaging Syrian women leaders across all sectors, as well as its vision, which was developed through an inclusive and participatory process with a diverse group of Syrian women and focuses on the transitional phase toward building a democratic and pluralistic state. It also presented its initiative on the protection of women and girls by emphasizing the need to reduce child marriage during crises, highlighting advocacy and awareness-raising efforts aimed at protecting girls and reducing the worsening of this phenomenon in conflict settings.
The discussions highlighted that, despite the different political contexts and conflict dynamics in Lebanon and Syria, women peacebuilders face many common challenges and have developed complementary approaches that can enrich one another’s experiences. Participants also emphasized the importance of continuing cross-border dialogue, strengthening mutual learning, and expanding opportunities for collaboration to support local peacebuilding efforts and strengthen women’s role and leadership in this field.
The webinar concluded with a number of key recommendations, including:
• Integrating the concepts of peacebuilding, dialogue, and social cohesion into educational curricula and school and university activities to promote a culture of dialogue, tolerance, and acceptance of others among younger generations.
• Strengthening coordination and the exchange of experiences among local initiatives in Lebanon and Syria to facilitate the sharing of successful practices, avoid duplication of efforts, and build sustainable partnerships.
• Supporting the documentation of successful local initiatives and the dissemination of lessons learned to enable their adaptation and replication in other contexts and regions.
• Expanding partnerships with educational institutions, municipalities, media outlets, and civil society organizations to enhance the impact and sustainability of local peacebuilding initiatives.
• Encouraging initiatives that promote dialogue among different groups within society, reduce polarization, and build trust by providing safe and inclusive spaces for communication and collaboration.
Watch the full webinar here.