Inaugural Women Building Peace Award Celebration

Courage. Commitment. Change.

Every day, women around the world are leading movements to create enduring, peaceful societies. Yet all too often, women’s roles in ending and preventing conflict go unnoticed. The U.S. Institute of Peace is committed to changing that. With the inaugural Women Building Peace Award, USIP honors the inspiring work of women peacebuilders whose courage, leadership, and commitment to peace stand out as beacons of strength and hope.

From Africa and the Middle East to Southeast Asia and South America, USIP’s 10 Women Building Peace Award finalists have overcome conflict and violence to forge hope for a brighter future. Individually, they have transformed themselves, their communities, and their countries through their relentless and creative approaches to building peace. Together, their stories reveal the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming odds and the power of women to mold lasting peace from seemingly endless conflict.

USIP held the inaugural Women Building Peace Award ceremony where audiences heard from these inspiring women, whose collective work stretches across continents and spans generations, as they share how they made their communities and the world a better, more peaceful place.

The event concluded with the announcement of the sole 2020 Women Building Peace Award recipient, Rita Lopidia of South Sudan.

Speakers:

Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, MBE

Founder & CEO, International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)

Director, Centre for Women, Peace and Security, London School of Economics and Political Science

Megan C. Beyer

Co-chair, Women Building Peace Council

Marcia Myers Carlucci

Co-chair, Women Building Peace Council

Ambassador Johnnie Carson

Senior Advisor, U.S. Institute of Peace

Ambassador Kelley E. Currie

Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State

Geena Davis

Founder, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Leymah Gbowee

2011 Nobel Peace Laureate

Founder/President, Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa (GPFA)

Michelle J. Howard

Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Nancy Lindborg

Former President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace

Honorary Women Building Peace Council Chair

USIP thanks the members of the Women Building Peace Council for their leadership and support

Jacqueline Adams

Sanam Naraghi Anderlini

Cynda Collins Arsenault

Gary Barker

Megan Beyer, Co-chair

Marcia Myers Carlucci, Co-chair

Amb. Johnnie Carson

Abigail E. Disney

Amb. Laurie S. Fulton

Adm. Michelle J. Howard

Amb. Bonnie Jenkins

Nancy Lindborg, Honorary Chair

Shaista Mahmood

Anita McBride

Dina Powell McCormick

Pat Mitchell

Michelle Nunn

Maya Soetoro

Amb. Melanne Verveer

For more information about this event, please visit

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The United States Institute of Peace is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical, and essential for U.S. and global security. In conflict zones abroad, the Institute works with local partners to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict. To reduce future crises and the need for costly interventions, USIP works with governments and civil societies to help their countries solve their own problems peacefully. The Institute provides expertise, training, analysis, and support to those who are working to build a more peaceful, inclusive world.