December 6, 2018

GIWPS Co-sponsors Conference on Women in Peacebuilding with Jesuit Universidad Iberoamericana, Global Research Institutions

On November 13-15, Ambassador Melanne Verveer, executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS), traveled to Universidad Iberoamericana (IBERO) in Mexico City, Mexico, for the Second Conference on Peacebuilding with a Gender Perspective (Congreso de Construcción de Paz con Perspectiva de Género).

Melanne Verveer (left) on a panel about women, peace, and security during the conference at Universidad Iberoamericana.
Melanne Verveer (left) on a panel about women, peace, and security during the conference at Universidad Iberoamericana.

IBERO, a Jesuit university in Mexico City, as well as other Jesuit and research organizations in Spain, Colombia, and the United States, co-sponsored the event with GIWPS. 

Verveer’s remarks focused on the institute’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index, the first initiative of its kind to rank women’s well-being in 153 countries by comprehensive measures of peace and security, inclusion, and justice.

“It is important for Jesuit universities around the world to play a leading role not only in spotlighting how women are affected by conflict—but also how women make important contributions to peace,” said Verveer. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with IBERO.”

Jesuit Collaboration

The collaboration between GIWPS and IBERO is an instructive example of how cooperation among Jesuit institutions can advance the common good. 

“This conference on peacebuilding is one of our best examples of Georgetown’s active collaboration with a Jesuit university on a key global issue,” said Thomas Banchoff, vice president for global engagement.

Last year, GIWPS participated as a co-sponsor in IBERO’s first conference on peacebuilding with a gender perspective.

IBERO and Georgetown also partner on a study abroad program, and published a binational research project about migration from Mexico to the United States with Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of International Migration.

Women, Peace and Security Index

At the conference, Verveer, the first U.S. ambassador for global women’s issues, spoke on a panel about the international focus on women, peace, and security. Verveer discussed the WPS Index’s key insights into the state of women’s rights and opportunities around the world.

The index was first published by GIWPS and the Peace Research Institute of Oslo in 2017, and will be updated with new data every two years.

GIWPS consultant Mariana Viollaz also presented at the conference on new GIWPS research about the nature of gang violence in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

Viollaz discussed classifying gang-violence as a form of conflict and the subsequent measurement implications.

“Many of the conference attendees have experienced violence first-hand and are courageously working in their communities to find solutions,” said Verveer. “They could attest to the critical role that women play in conflict resolution—a subject which we research here at Georgetown.”

More information about the conference, including a full list of co-sponsors, can be found on the GIWPS website.