Middle East & North Africa
IWPR programming in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region strengthen local voices of journalists, women activists, minority communities and others to help achieve positive change. IWPR maintains regional programming as well as a number of extensive and long-standing country projects.
Highlights include basic skills and security training and mentoring, supporting social media champions, strengthening women’s civil society groups and impacting public discourse through social media champions. IWPR’s has worked in the region since launching Iraq programming in 2003.
Bahrain
IWPR’s Women on the Frontline (WoF) programme was developed in the euphoric year 2011 as a powerful response to the justifiable demands of women in the MENA region. It captured this momentum by supporting and strengthening mostly new, emerging women’s organisations.
The aim of the programme was to promote women's active participation in political processes on several levels by providing diverse kinds of support, empowering them to make a vital contribution towards achieving peace, security and equality in the region.
In response to the threats against women and activists in the digital sphere, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) implemented SAWA: Safety Awareness and Action, a project designed to build digital security skills among human rights defenders and strengthen the institutional resilience of some of the most important human rights organizations in the MENA and Latin America against acute digital threats, data loss and privacy breaches. The program included a pilot sub-project targeting at-risk women's rights organisations in the MENA region and in Latin America, with the goal of increasing the resilience of women activists to avoid or mitigate gender-specific, technology-based violence and threats.
Years active:
- 2014-2016
Iraq
IWPR’s longest-standing programming in the region supports women’s economic and social empowerment, sustainable business models for media outlets, advertising, elections, security and legal support for journalists and civil society, freedom of expression policy and advocacy, content production, civil society development and communications, university capacity-building, internet policy, government transparency, and reform of media policy and regulatory frameworks.
Years active:
- 2003-present
Related outputs:
Project focus pages:
Satellite sites:
- Cyber Arabs: cyber-arabs.com
- Cyber Women: cyber-women.com
Social media pages:
Kuwait
The Women on the Frontline (WoF) programme was developed in the euphoric year 2011 as a powerful response to the justifiable demands of women in the MENA region. It captured this momentum by supporting and strengthening mostly new, emerging women’s organisations.
The aim of the programme was to promote women's active participation in political processes on several levels by providing diverse kinds of support, empowering them to make a vital contribution towards achieving peace, security and equality in the region.
In response to the threats against women and activists in the digital sphere, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) implemented SAWA: Safety Awareness and Action, a project designed to build digital security skills among human rights defenders and strengthen the institutional resilience of some of the most important human rights organisations in the MENA and Latin America against acute digital threats, data loss and privacy breaches. The program included a pilot sub-project targeting at-risk women's rights organisations in the MENA region and in Latin America, with the goal of increasing the resilience of women activists to avoid or mitigate gender-specific, technology-based violence and threats.
Years active:
- 2014-2016
Libya
IWPR continues to support Libya during this difficult period of political transition through programming that reaches a broad array of media and civil society sector actors, women, and young people. Program focuses included editorial skills training, security and first aid courses for frontline journalists, content production that gives communities a stronger voice in local issues, and mentoring university students who will become the first generation of post-revolution media professionals.
Current projects feature a strong focus on supporting Libyan civil society partners advocating for gender equality, Freedom of Expression, and greater engagement for marginalised groups in the social and political spheres. IWPR also continues to work with Libya journalist partners to improve their ability to deliver credible media content to their communities, while also building bridges between those communities and local governments through programming that enables direct dialogues between citizens and local elected officials.
Years active:
- 2012-present
Related outputs:
Project focus pages:
Oman
The Women on the Frontline (WoF) programme was developed in the euphoric year 2011 as a powerful response to the justifiable demands of women in the MENA region. It captured this momentum by supporting and strengthening mostly new, emerging women’s organisations.
The aim of the programme was to promote women's active participation in political processes on several levels by providing diverse kinds of support, empowering them to make a vital contribution towards achieving peace, security and equality in the region.
Years active:
- 2014-2016
Syria
IWPR works with Syrian reporters, bloggers and activists to support freedom of expression, human rights and democracy. The work focuses on strengthening independent media, civil society and human rights groups, and on helping them sustain their efforts in an extreme environment.
Previous projects include efforts to strengthen the ability of Syrian civil society organisations (CSOs) to communicate and advocate collaboratively, effectively, and securely as well as work that demonstrated that violent, extremist narratives do not represent the viewpoints of the majority of Syrian citizens.
Current work includes: partnerships with the Syrian Civil Administration Center, Syria Bright Future, Basmeh and Zaintooneh, and PEL-Civil Waves, Women Now, and Justice for Life the Women, youth, and marginalised groups’ Empowerment for Peacebuilding in Syria program’s goal to increase the participation of Syrian women, youth, and marginalised groups in public and political life as positive change agents and promoters of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society that respects the rights of all people in order to build a sustainable foundation for post-conflict peace-building, coexistence, and democratic governance in Syria; empowering Syrian civil society to advance justice and accountability efforts in the MENA region through documentation of human rights abuses, linkages with international accountability mechanisms, community-level advocacy, and awareness-raising on transitional justice issues; and advancing the goal of building accountability and aiding the pursuit of justice in Syria through civil society-driven documentation efforts, advocacy at the grassroots and international levels, and creative media initiatives utilising advanced technologies to relay untold stories in new ways.
Years active:
- 2007-present
Related outputs:
Project focus pages:
- 2020-present: Peacebuilding in Syria
- 2015-2018: Speaking Out: Women's Voices from Syria
- 2011-2012: The Arab Spring
- 2009-2010: A Window on Syria
Satellite sites:
- Syria Stories: syriastories.net
Social media pages:
Tunisia
IWPR works with Tunisia reporters, bloggers, CSOs and activists to support freedom of expression, human rights, and democracy promotion in pre-and-post-revolution Tunisia. IWPR Tunisia’s work focuses on strengthening independent media, civil society and human rights groups, and on helping them sustain their efforts.
Projects included increasing access to information around Tunisian elections and judicial reform efforts, as well as developing the professional abilities of journalists by supporting small radio stations in the country’s interior to produce more accurate, objective, and relevant content for community audiences.
Years active:
- 2012-present
Related outputs:
Project focus pages:
Yemen
The Women on the Frontline (WoF) programme was developed in the euphoric year 2011 as a powerful response to the justifiable demands of women in the MENA region. It captured this momentum by supporting and strengthening mostly new, emerging women’s organisations.
The aim of the programme was to promote women's active participation in political processes on several levels by providing diverse kinds of support. The WoF programme enabled women to take their message to a wider audience, including decision- makers, both at home and abroad. This empowered women to make a vital contribution towards achieving peace, security and equality in the region.
Years active:
- 2014-2016