Global South Voices: Reclaiming Women, Peace and Security National Action Plans
A Collective Advocacy and Mobilisation Initiative
In 2025- Adapt Localisation Nexus (ALN) partnered with the IMatter Women’s Rights Campaign to launch the Global South Voices initiative, building on their commitment to amplifying women’s voices and supporting locally led peacebuilding. This project responds to concerns from women-led organisations that Women, Peace and Security (WPS) National Action Plans often do not reflect the realities, priorities, or experiences of the women they aim to serve.
Across Yemen, Nigeria, and Kenya, ALN provided technical leadership and coordination to women-led civil society organisations, supporting the development of advocacy and mobilisation initiatives rooted in national contexts. The initiative reframed National Action Plans as tools for collective action, accountability, and civic engagement, rather than as technical policy documents.
Through locally led campaigns, public dialogue, stakeholder engagement, and intergenerational platforms, partners enabled women, girls, and grassroots organisations to shape national discussions on peace and security, advocate for accountability, and increase women’s influence in decision-making spaces.
PARTNER SHOWCASES
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From Policy Text to Public Understanding
With technical support from ALN and IMatter, SOS Foundation for Development launched a public awareness campaign to make Yemen’s Women, Peace and Security agenda more accessible. By producing Know the WPS Agenda, a short awareness film, the organisation translated national policy commitments into relatable stories based on women’s experiences in mediation, community protection, and leadership.
The initiative improved public understanding of Yemen’s National Action Plan, raised the profile of the Technical Working Groups responsible for implementation, and created new opportunities for civil society engagement and public dialogue on Women, Peace and Security.
To learn more; watch their documentary on WPS here.
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Strengthening Women’s Influence in National WPS Processes
In Nigeria, ALN and IMatter partnered with LEGASI to facilitate national stakeholder dialogues, bringing together civil society organisations, government representatives, faith leaders, security actors, and grassroots women’s groups. The initiative provided a platform for critical reflection on the progress, challenges, and future direction of Nigeria’s Women, Peace and Security commitments.
Through consultations and engagement forums, participants identified practical recommendations to strengthen implementation. These included increased investment in grassroots women’s leadership, improved coordination mechanisms, greater inclusion of marginalised groups, and more sustainable financing for Women, Peace and Security efforts.
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Intergenerational Leadership for Peace and Security
In Kenya, ALN and IMatter supported Daraja Letu Foundation and Polycom Girls in convening a national Women, Peace and Security forum alongside the Fifth Girls and Young Women Assembly in Nairobi. The initiative brought together girls, young women, feminist leaders, and civil society actors to discuss leadership, participation, safety, and wellbeing in peace and security processes.
By fostering intergenerational dialogue and collective advocacy, the project increased young women’s engagement in national Women, Peace and Security discussions and reinforced the importance of youth leadership in advancing peace, protection, and gender equality.