By: Yitbarek Tekalign

Yesterday, amid the refreshing highland breeze and golden sunshine of Fiche town in North Shewa Zone, Oromia regional State, Gudina Tumsa Foundation (GTF), in collaboration with Advocacy Center for Democracy and Development (ACDD), successfully launched its new pilot project titled “Enhancing Women’s Leadership, Participation, and Representation in Peacebuilding Initiatives.” The project will be implemented in Wachale District of North Shewa Zone, Oromia Regional State.

The launching workshop was held at Girum Hotel, Tadesse Biru Hall, where the atmosphere was vibrant, engaging, and full of meaningful conversations. While the calm wind of the Fiche highlands flowed gently outside, inside the hall participants passionately exchanged ideas and reflections focused on strengthening women’s leadership and participation in peacebuilding and community decision making processes.

The event officially commenced with elders’ traditional blessings followed by opening remarks delivered by Mrs. Shitaye Abebe, North Shewa Zone Finance Department CSO Coordinator, and Mr. Mesay Girma, representative of the North Shewa Zone Women and Social Affairs Office. In their remarks, both speakers emphasized the importance of strengthening women’s meaningful participation in conflict prevention, social harmony, and inclusive community leadership structures to ensure sustainable peace and stronger social cohesion.

Participants attending the workshop included government officials, Aba Gadaa and Hadha Siinqee leaders, religious leaders, women and youth representatives, community elders, civil society actors, and peacebuilding stakeholders from across the zone.

Presenting the project overview, objectives, and implementation strategies, Mr. Deme Debela, GTF Livelihood Development Program Manager, highlighted the urgency of strengthening women’s voices and leadership in peace and security structures.

“Our project aims to strengthen women’s meaningful participation, leadership, and representation in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and decision making processes through inclusive community engagement mechanisms,” Mr. Deme stated during his presentation.

Mr. Deme further explained that the initiative seeks to enhance awareness and positive social attitudes toward the Women, Peace and Security agenda, strengthen women’s engagement in both formal and informal peacebuilding structures, and promote stronger advocacy, coordination, and stakeholder collaboration for the effective implementation of Ethiopia’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. He also noted that the project will establish Women’s Peace Forums to create sustainable platforms for dialogue, advocacy, and community initiatives while strengthening collaboration among traditional leaders, faith institutions, women’s groups, youth, and government sectors to foster social cohesion and inclusive community engagement.

Mr. Deme also noted that the discussion among participants was highly vibrant and promising, reflecting strong commitment and shared responsibility toward advancing women’s leadership in peacebuilding initiatives.

Participants also raised key recommendations including strengthening institutional coordination, ensuring sustainability, building women’s leadership capacities, and integrating the initiative within local government systems for long term impact.

Representatives from zonal and district offices expressed strong commitment to closely support the implementation of the pilot initiative. Participants further noted that if successfully implemented in Wachale District, the initiative could serve as a model for broader replication across other areas.