Lama, a Middle Eastern peacebuilding leader across Africa, Asia, and Europe, is an advocate for women and their leadership globally. She is using mountain climbing to promote women in peacebuilding: having climbed Mount Lobuche and Mount Elbrus this year, she is looking to be the first Middle Eastern woman to summit Everest, which she will climb in Spring 2019. All donations will be given to Jordan's leading NGO, Generations For Peace, whose global programs empower women to lead peacebuilding.
Peacebuilding is largely response-oriented and male-dominated. Yet for every US dollar spent on conflict prevention through peacebuilding, the future cost of conflict is reduced by 16 USD - saving $2.94 trillion over 10 years. In many areas where peacebuilding most needed, women are not seen as capable of contributing the necessary elements to make peacebuilding progress. However, we know that women play an important role not only in their communities, but also in bringing peace to them.
It's time to make it widely known that women can and must play prominent roles in peacebuilding if we want to achieve sustainable peace. In climbing Mount Everest, Lama is representing the "mountains" women must summit in order to prove their worth and contribute meaningfully to fields like peacebuilding. All proceeds will go toward programmes that empower women at the grassroots around the globe, instilling in them the hope and sharing with them the skills they need to lead peacebuilding.
By highlighting the "mountains" women must climb and their ability to overcome them, Lama will help give voice and recognition to women looking to leave their mark in peacebuilding. Both Lama and Generations For Peace recognise the presence of women in the field as vital for a range of reasons, and work to ensure that their involvement in peacebuilding manifests at all levels - from the grassroots to the mountaintops!
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
