The Norwegian Embassy in Manila and UN Women continue to build peace in the southern Philippine region of Bangsamoro through a one-year program launched recently by UN Women Philippines, with funding from the Government of Norway.
According to a statement by the Norwegian Embassy in Manila, peacebuilding efforts are made using both online and offline tools while training, education in digital literacy, and communications are used to spread the peace-building messages.
Women of the Bangsamoro region in Mindanao in the southern Philippines have long led the way in efforts to resolve conflict and build peace. But the COVID-19 pandemic has made it harder for them to gather with their communities so they have moved much of this critical work online.
According to Carla Silbert, Officer-in-Charge for UN Women Philippines, it is critical to ensure women’s agency and the promotion and protection of their rights is at the center of these efforts. “This program will focus on women’s empowerment and agency to safely promote peace, security, resilience, and human rights in their communities on- and offline,” she says.
Commenting on the matter, Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines, Bjørn Jahnsen says, “Norway promotes an integrated approach to peace and security in our foreign policy. In the Philippines, we support various local grassroots-level initiatives. Conflict resolution requires social cohesion, and women in the Bangsamoro region are at the forefront of this important work. We are very pleased to support this through UN Women.”
Read more about the program here
