The International Republican Institute’s Middle East/North Africa Division and Women’s Democracy Network conducted training for twelve women political and civic leaders from Iraq, Bahrain and Lebanon from July 24 – 30, 2008. The seminar focused on conflict management and coalition building and offered participants the opportunity to network and build relationships for future solidarity in their advocacy work for women in their countries.

Over the course of the four day program, participants discussed women’s participation in conflict management and coalition building efforts in Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They reviewed topics such as planning for peace through Islamic teachings, working with public officials and opinion leaders, working with the press and developing a grassroots base.

Former Macedonian Minister of Culture and Ohrid Institute Board Member Ganka Cvetanova and Head of Macedonia’s Diplomatic Service Sector Adelina Marku offered the participants an insightful review of the 2001 conflict in Macedonia and the development and implementation of the Ohrid Peace Agreement signed on August 13, 2001. Ms. Cvetanova noted that she and a female Albanian counterpart were sent to administer the first post-conflict elections in an Albanian enclave decimated during the war, as none of their male counterparts were willing to take on the task. Bosnia and Herzegovina Central Election Committeewoman Irena Hadziabdic also offered a review of the conflict in her country that took place in the mid-1990s and discussed her first hand experience in administering elections in the post-conflict environment. She stressed the importance of conducting regular elections in helping society move on from conflict and return to normalcy.

In addition to the training topics, participants held informal roundtable talks on the status of women in their civic laws and women’s leadership in society. Iraqi participant Dr. Sundus Abbas told the group that she had attended several conferences in the past year and met many women from Europe and Latin America; however, this was the first time that she had the opportunity to network with women leaders in the Middle East.

Participants continue to share information with one another, specifically with regard to the civil laws on personal status. The Lebanese participants have held two follow-up meetings on the issues discussed at the Istanbul conference and have shared the minutes of their meetings with their counterparts in Iraq and Bahrain. Lebanese participant Rawan Yaghi stated that, “The conference itself was so enriching. I have never thought about myself in women's world maybe because of the failure of different women's organizations in Lebanon. I always felt that I belonged to the hard world of men…I learned a lot from the participants, I learned a lot about myself.”