The world over the past 10 years has been marked by various conflict fronts around the globe, with a rising trend towards violent extremism. In the last decade, the world's major conflicts included the civil war in Syria, tensions between Iran and Western countries over the Iranian nuclear program, and conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Other war fronts throughout the years are Yemen, Ukraine and Gaza that has been ongoing for many years with various escalations.

Africa was marked by instability in Egypt and Libya following the Arab revolutions of 2011, political tensions in Côte d'Ivoire, clashes between government and rebels in South Sudan, war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali, and repeated attacks by the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria, Cameroon and the Lake Chad Basin in general. Factors such as ethnic, political, religious and economic tensions have contributed and till today to the escalation of these conflicts.

In this context, World BEYOND War (WBW), a global nonviolent movement, was founded by David Swanson and David Hartsough on January 1st, 2014 to abolish the institution of war and establish a just and sustainable peace. The heart of WBW is to find a way to transition to a global security system that is supported by international law, diplomacy, collaboration, and human rights, and defending those things with nonviolent action rather than the threat of violence. The work of WBW includes education that dispels myths, like “War is natural” or “We have always had war,” and shows people not only that war should be abolished, but also that it actually can be. This work includes all variety of nonviolent activism that moves the world in the direction of ending all wars.

On January 31, 2014, the Cameroon section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF Cameroon) was established. It is a section of the world's oldest women's peace organization, WILPF, founded in 1915. The story of WILPF Cameroon began in 2012 in Istanbul-Turkey at the AWID forum, where the founder Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo met WILPF. She was very impressed by the work carried out by WILPF all over the world to promote peace, and above all, by the data provided on militarism, peacekeeping operations, and countries' military spending disproportionate to the efforts made in promoting human rights and in particular women's rights, to name just a few. She could clearly see the link between women's rights and the proliferation of weapons and was very surprised to see how countries vote huge budgets for the acquisition of weapons to the detriment of other sectors, including the promotion of women. She felt a moral obligation to ensure that Cameroonian women became more involved in this global quest for social justice, especially as the country was facing growing security problems.

This year, 2024, World BEYOND War (WBW) and WILPF Cameroon celebrate 10 years of building peace through nonviolent means. To mark this anniversary, WBW and WILPF Cameroon are co-hosting a webinar to share their experiences of 10 years of anti-war activism and peacebuilding. Join us for a panel discussion with the following:

Moderator: Amy Banda

Amy Banda is a renowned journalist, an anchor lady who has made major and significant contributions to broadcast Journalism in Cameroon. She is a multiple-award winning, Vice Chair of Phenomenal African Woman – Cameroon, a Peace Activist and Concept Initiator of the online campaign "Target Peace".

Speakers

Nathalie Wokam Foko

Nathalie Wokam Foko, President of WILPF Cameroon, is a jurist and activist committed to defending the rights of women and children. She advocates on issues relating to women, peace and security in Cameroon and within the framework of UN human rights mechanisms. An avid traveler, she enjoys being in contact with people from different cultures in order to live new experiences and discover the richness of the world's diversity.

David Swanson

David Swanson is Co-Founder, Executive Director, and a Board Member of World BEYOND War. He is based in Virginia in the United States. David is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk World Radio. He is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and was awarded the 2018 Peace Prize by the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation. Longer bio and photos and videos here. Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook. Sample videos.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo, the founder of WILPF Cameroon, is a long-time human rights and peace leader with 28 years’ experience and strong passion for promoting equality and inclusion in Africa and in the world at large. On July 24th 2022, Sylvie was elected WILPF’s International President for a three year mandate. As a teacher by profession and an AU Trainer in peace support operations, she has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide. She has an impressive track record on development projects to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions.

Tove Ivergård

Tove Ivergård is the Head of International Cooperation at WILPF Sweden. She started working for WILPF Sweden 12 years ago after her Peace and Conflict studies at Uppsala University. Tove is also a member of the Swedish Women’s Mediation Network and part of Sweden’s working group on Women, Peace and Security. She has worked together with WILPF Cameroon since the section was founded in 2014.

Guy Feugap

Guy Feugap is the Africa Organizer of World BEYOND War. He is a teacher, writer and peace activist based in Cameroon. His overall job is to educate youth for peace and non-violence. His work puts young girls in particular at the heart of crisis resolution, awareness raising on several issues in their communities. He joined WILPF Cameroon when it was established in 2014 and founded the Cameroon Chapter of World BEYOND War in 2020.

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