(London, United Kingdom) – Ahead of this year’s International Day of Peace on 21 September, the United Nations Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) launched its new “Peace Is” Global Campaign at the inaugural “Peace is All of Us” Summit in London, hosted in partnership with the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
Convening civil society leaders, students, academics, feminist organizations, and global changemakers, the event underscored the vital role women and their allies play in advancing peace and shaping solutions where they are needed most. It also delivered a powerful reminder: peace begins with all of us, and building it requires collective action and accountability.
“In these choppy, aggressive waters filled with hate, today’s event is a gentle reset, a reminder that peace is in our hands, in our everyday decisions,” said Joanna Lewis, Director of the LSE Center for WPS. “For every one of us here, there are thousands more – that’s what makes this movement so powerful.”
At a moment when conflict, authoritarianism, and militarization are reshaping the global landscape, the “Peace Is” Campaign seeks to reignite a global movement to redefine peace not merely as the absence of war, but as the active presence of justice, accountability, feminist leadership, and collective action. It calls on governments, civil society, and individuals alike to step forward, support women-led initiatives, and ensure women’s voices are central in shaping sustainable solutions, particularly in conflict and crisis-affected countries.
“WPHF exists because civil society demanded it — and because they knew then, as they know now, that women hold communities together in fragile settings,” said Tonni Brodber, Head of the WPHF Secretariat. “When all seems lost, women deliver peace. This campaign is their movement — our movement — and will be louder than any noise that tries to silence it.”
Through strategic policy advocacy, storytelling rooted in grassroots realities, dynamic public engagement, and powerful global partnerships, the “Peace Is” Campaign bridges historic milestones with today’s urgent moment, celebrating the gains of global gender equality frameworks – such as the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – while advancing the work still left undone to make peace a reality for all.
“Peace is not abstract: it is embodied in the emotions and struggles shared by women around the world. Our task – and what this campaign is about – is to carry those feelings forward, to turn them into action and solidarity,” said Amrita Kapur, Secretary General of WILPF. “The challenge is making sure feminist knowledge shapes the decisions that determine our future.”
Platforming the voices of women activists from Colombia and Palestine, the “Peace Is All of Us” Intergenerational Dialogue and Summit Event at LSE highlighted how women across diverse contexts are driving solutions to conflict and crisis — from leading community reconciliation and advancing gender justice, to strengthening climate resilience and shaping humanitarian responses.
“The world must have the courage to act on peace frameworks before more lives are lost,” said Shahd Sataria, a WPHF local civil society partner from Palestine. “Stop sidelining women, and in this case Palestinian women. Amplifying our voices is not an act of charity — it is the only path to justice and lasting peace.”
The next “Peace Is All of Us” summit will be held on the margins of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in NY, a week that will culminate in WPHF Global Advocate Kristen Bell echoing the “Peace Is” campaign call to action at the Global Citizen Festival stage in Central Park. WPHF will continue through its flagship campaign to ensure the impact and voices of women peacebuilders are centered at key global moments shaping the future of our planet.
