On 27 October 2025, MWMN took part in the EU Community of Practice on Peace Mediation in Brussels. The session, titled “What does the changing peace mediation landscape mean for the next stage of the Women, Peace and Security agenda?”, was co-organised together with the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks, the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU, and Conciliation Resources.
MWMN members Rida Al Tubuly and Magda Zenon contributed to the panel discussion. The exchange addressed the risks and opportunities posed by shifting mediation approaches, including the rise of transactional deal-making, multi-track processes and regionalised mediation efforts.
The Mediterranean Women Mediators Network (MWMN), together with the other networks of the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks, Conciliation Resources and the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU, co-promoted a panel discussion within the EU Community of Practice on Peace Mediation. The session, titled “What does the changing peace mediation landscape mean for the next stage of the Women, Peace and Security agenda?” took place on 27 October 2025 from 16:15 to 17:45 in Brussels.
The panel addressed the evolving dynamics of peace mediation and examined what these changes meant for advancing Women, Peace and Security (WPS) principles. Speakers noted with concern that women’s participation in peace processes is still very low and reflected on how new mediation trends, including the growing role of regional powers, increasingly fragmented processes, and more transactional negotiation models, risked further limiting women’s inclusion.
Women mediators from regional networks shared their experience in promoting inclusive mediation and mentoring young women peacebuilders. They discussed both risks and opportunities, highlighting how the skills, expertise and approaches of women mediators — particularly in community engagement and consensus-building — could strengthen emerging mediation models if properly recognised and supported.
MWMN members contributed to the panel discussion and bringing their own experience were: Rida Al Tubuly, Co-founder and Director of Together We Build It (TWBI), an intergenerational organisation dedicated to advocating for inclusive and sustainable peace in Libya, and Magda Zenon, founding member of Hands Across the Divide whose perspective has been influenced by having lived in both apartheid South Africa and divided Cyprus.
Through its contribution to the organisation and content of the panel, the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network reaffirmed its commitment to championing women’s leadership in mediation. The session also reinforced collaboration among WPS allies and underlined the importance of safeguarding gender-responsive peacebuilding in an increasingly complex mediation landscape.
