War and Peace:
a woman's perspective

This edition of the Université de la paix will adopt a distinctly interdisciplinary approach, bringing together perspectives from political leaders, diplomats, legal experts, artists, writers, researchers, architects, heritage professionals, representatives of international organizations, and grassroots practitioners. Its aim is to move beyond an institutional understanding of peace and to highlight the many ways in which women contribute to building peace in societies affected by war.

Peace is not merely the absence of violence. It is also forged in schools, community organizations, cultural institutions, public spaces, artistic creation, commemorative practices, tangible and intangible heritage, everyday acts of solidarity, and civic initiatives. Women play a vital role in these often-overlooked processes that enable societies to rebuild trust, preserve knowledge and memory, and restore the conditions for peaceful coexistence.

Beyond conflict prevention and peace negotiations, the 2027 edition will therefore shine a light on a dimension that remains insufficiently explored: women’s contribution to the reconstruction of societies in the aftermath of war. Reconstruction is not only about rebuilding physical infrastructure; it also means restoring social ties, transmitting collective memory, reinventing cultural practices, safeguarding tangible and intangible heritage, healing symbolic fractures, and creating the conditions for communities to become livable once again. Women play a central role in these often discreet yet essential processes, which are fundamental to achieving lasting peace.

By exploring the connections between justice, culture, memory, and reparation, this edition will foster an international dialogue on new approaches to peacebuilding while giving greater visibility to the experiences of women who, across the world, are helping to rebuild societies after conflict.

Women, restorative justice and peacebuilding

Peace agreements continue to be negotiated predominantly by men, even though women are among those most profoundly affected by the consequences of conflict. Despite significant advances in the international normative framework, women’s participation in peace negotiations, transitional justice processes, and institutional reconstruction mechanisms remains limited. Yet a growing body of research demonstrates that peace processes involving women are more inclusive and lead to more sustainable outcomes.

This theme will explore the many ways in which women contribute to conflict prevention, mediation, peace negotiations, transitional justice, and restorative justice. It will examine the work of political leaders, diplomats, judges, lawyers, representatives of international organizations, and civil society actors who play a daily role in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

Particular attention will be given to conflict-related sexual violence, reparations mechanisms, international tribunals, truth and reconciliation commissions, and community-based approaches to justice. Discussions will also address the institutional barriers that continue to restrict women’s access to decision-making processes and consider the conditions necessary to build genuinely inclusive systems of peace governance.

Women as architects of a culture of peace

Peace is built far beyond formal institutions. It is sustained through local initiatives, everyday solidarity, artistic creation, educational projects, economic activities, and civic engagement that help rebuild the social fabric weakened by conflict.

This theme will focus on the women who cultivate a culture of peace within their communities. Artists, writers, musicians, educators, social entrepreneurs, community leaders, journalists, and ordinary citizens all develop practices that foster dialogue, cooperation, knowledge-sharing, and the renewal of collective imaginaries.

In the aftermath of conflict, reconstruction also depends on the ordinary acts that enable communities to recover a shared social life. Women play a crucial role in reopening schools, organizing local solidarity networks, reviving cultural practices, supporting artistic creation, promoting social entrepreneurship, and transmitting knowledge across generations. Through these actions, they recreate spaces of trust and dialogue that allow societies to move beyond the logic of war.

The discussions will highlight women’s contributions to peace education, support for displaced populations, intercultural initiatives, and networks of economic solidarity. By bringing greater visibility to these often-overlooked experiences, this theme will demonstrate that peace is shaped not only through diplomatic agreements but also through the daily work of transforming human relationships and collective imaginaries.

Women’s heritage, memory and reconstruction

Wars destroy monuments, cities, and landscapes, but they also disrupt intangible heritage, traditional knowledge, cultural practices, family narratives, and collective memory. Rebuilding after conflict therefore extends far beyond physical reconstruction. It also requires restoring the connections between people, places, and cultures, enabling societies to reclaim meaning, transmit their histories, and rebuild forms of collective life.

Women play a decisive role in these processes. They are often the custodians of languages, cultural practices, rituals, artisanal skills, family memories, and the everyday heritage that enables societies to recover historical continuity. They also contribute directly to the restoration of built heritage as architects, archaeologists, conservators, restorers, museum professionals, and cultural heritage specialists. Together, these forms of reconstruction constitute essential acts of social and political repair that are fundamental to rebuilding societies.

This theme will examine matrimony, understood as the body of women’s memories, knowledge, practices, and creative achievements that have long been marginalized in official narratives of reconstruction. It will also explore the restoration of tangible heritage in conflict-affected regions, with particular attention to the work of architects, archaeologists, conservators, museum professionals, and heritage practitioners.

Finally, the discussions will investigate the relationships between heritage, memory, justice, and reconciliation, demonstrating how the restoration of historic sites, collections, cultural practices, and living heritage contributes to rebuilding societies themselves. Heritage reconstruction thus emerges as a form of cultural and political reparation that lies at the heart of sustainable peacebuilding.