Call for Applications to 2024 Sister-to-Sister Program

Women are indispensable in peacebuilding though historically overlooked and marginalized in formal peace processes. This understanding, coupled with NWI’s Nobel Peace Prize laureates firsthand experiences of facing and overcoming challenges through collective action, underpins our commitment to empowering women peacebuilders.

For over a decade, the Sister-to-Sister Mentorship Program has been a cornerstone of NWI's strategy to foster a world where feminist peace and security prevail.

The Sister-to-Sister program brings together young feminist leaders – sisters - in an intensive virtual program which fosters crucial solidarity, support, sisterhood, and skills-building to better equip activists for the challenges ahead. 

This year's program theme is “Peace Needs Women". 

Twenty new, young, feminist peace activists will take part in an 8-week intensive virtual learning program from 30 September, 2024, to 18 November, 2024. The program is designed to: 

• Broaden understanding of feminist leadership, philosophy, and practice. 

• Strengthen tools for challenging and changing public narratives and policies related to gender, peace, social and environmental justice.

• Enhance collective understanding of the different ways feminist leaders are affecting social change through feminist principles, practices, methodologies, and innovations.

• Deepen feminist networks for support and collective action, and through this network build resilience. 

Sister-to-Sister is designed and delivered by NWI and Coady International Institute.  

To ensure selected Sisters are able to fully participate, a small honorarium will be provided to selected applicants at the end of the program.  This honorarium is intended to contribute to internet access, work space, transportation, care responsibilities and other potential barriers to participation. *In order to receive the honorarium, selected applicants must supply full, valid bank details.

Criteria for applicants: 

• Passion for and some experience in supporting feminist peacebuilding, women’s rights and/or feminist social and environmental justice movements as volunteers, professionals, or activists. 

• Drive and potential to be an impactful feminist leader within local contexts. 

• Able to effectively engage in a primarily English language program. 

• Willing and able to commit to full participation in at least 80% of live, cohort-wide sessions.        

• Candidates must be between 18-35 years old. 

• Trans and non-binary activists are encouraged to apply. 

Criteria for selection: 

• Global representation.

Applicants from the following countries are highly encouraged to apply: Liberia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iran, Iraq, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Colombia, Haiti, and Ukraine.

• Diversity of socio-political contexts.

• Diversity of backgrounds.

• Previous involvement in peace processes, particularly in YPS and WPS agendas, UN Security Council Resolution 2250 and UN Security Council Resolution 1325 implementation, and peace negotiations/mediation is preferred but not mandatory.

• Experience working on demilitarization efforts, (feminist) foreign policy, and/or gender apartheid is an advantage.

• Candidates who aspire to become a leader / become a strengthened leader as a result of engagement in this experience and growth of their support and solidarity network.

Individuals with ambitions to broaden or elevate their political leadership capabilities are highly encouraged to apply. 

Application Process: 

To be considered, candidate applications are due before 11:59pm ET, on 21 June, 2024.  Applications should include 

• A personal letter or video (max 2 minutes or 1 page) outlining how the candidate has been contributing to feminist peace, social and/or environmental justice; the primary challenges in their context (contextually / personally / professionally); and how they hope the program will benefit them and their work.  

• Current resume, with up to date, detailed experience (paid, volunteer, academic). 

• Reference letter from a feminist peace, social or environmental activist or organization, with contact details for follow up.  

The full application form is available here:

Selection process and next steps:  

• Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. 

• All candidates must have a working and reliable email address to facilitate correspondence. 

• Shortlisted candidates will participate in a group interview via Zoom.

• Selected candidates will be notified by email and will receive Zoom invitation to the group interview.

• If participants require accommodation, please note this in your reply to the Zoom group interview invitation. 

• Feedback during the selection process is not provided.

• Selected candidates must accept the offer of acceptance by email and return requested documentation to the Nobel Women’s Initiative by the given deadline. Late returns or non-responses may forfeit the offer to participate.

• Selected candidates are responsible for providing NWI full, valid bank details to receive the honorarium.   

For more information about the program, see here. 

With questions, please reach out to [email protected]