Women Lead to Peace Summit




"Without women there is no table. Everyone knows this."- Alice Walker

Join CODEPINK & Partners in Switzerland on
January 20-22, 2014!

As we call for a cease-fire, humanitarian aid in Syria and an active participation of women during the peace talks, we mobilized all peace-lovers and organized three days of constructive events and beautiful trouble in Geneva and Montreux.

The Peace Summit was held at the Graduate Institute Maison de la Paix on January 20 and 21.

You can watch a recording of the Peace Summit at the following link.

January 20

Gathering of the Women (Graduate Institute, Room S8 (second basement) - Geneva)

  • 12:30 to 14:00
    Lunch at the Graduate Institute Cafeteria
  • 14:00 to 17:00
    Creating the Summit: Participants share their ideas, learning about each other and ways of peace. Final planning for the 22nd day of action
  • 18:30 to 20:30
    Peace Film Festival at the Maison des Associations (15 rue des Savoises, 1205 Geneva)
    • 18:30: "Beyond Right and Wrong" By Lekha Singh
    • 20:00: "Suffering Grasses" by Iara Lee
    • 21:00: "Pray the Devil Back to Hell"by Gini Reticker

January 21

Women Lead to Peace Summit (Geneva)

From Liberia to the Balkans, to Colombia and Sri Lanka as well as Northern Ireland, and of course, Syria. Nobel Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Maguire, and renowned writer on gender and militarism Cynthia Enloe, will speak.

  • 10:00 to 11:15
    From war to a treaty and holding on to peace, moderated by Yifat Susskin, Executive Director of MADRE
  • Participants will include Luz Mendez (Guatemala), Visaka Dharmadasa (Sri Lanka), Chaba Siny (Western Sahara), Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland), Ann Patterson (Northern Ireland).
  • 11:30 to 12:45
    The realities of war: experiences of conflict and its gendered assumptions, moderated by Caroline Ayoub.
  • The panel will include Rim Turkmani, Wafa Khouri, Hala Kutaish and Lina Toutoungi.
  • 13:30 to 15:00
    The participation of women in Geneva II peace talks and beyond: Modalities of how to break the confrontational narrative, moderated by Cynthia Enloe.
  • The participants will include Madeleine Rees (WILPF), Lena Ag (Kvinna till Kvinna), Ann Wright (CODEPINK), Marie-Aude Carrier (Femmes Internationales - Murs Brises), Cigdem Yorgancioglu.

January 22

Women at the Table (Montreux)

A bus took participants from Geneva to Montreux to demonstrate in front of the Fairmont Hotel where the negotiations started on January 22.

  • Street theater
  • Banner drop
  • Demonstration outside of the official negotiations