Outreach & buy-in

Widening reach of communication:

Outreach & buy-in

Women peacebuilders and activists also use ICTs as a tool for outreach to their communities, to build broad-based support for peace processes, and promote a culture of peace. This can contribute to more effective conflict prevention since communities understand the benefits of peace and are less likely to engage in violent behaviors. Women also use ICTs to build empathy and trust between conflicting communities, and create greater social cohesion. For examples, women peacebuilders interviewed by GNWP and ICT4Peace in Armenia and Azerbaijan shared that ICTs allow them to connect to each other in a context where offline meetings are not possible or carry security risks. A participant from Moldova shared similar sentiments on using ICTs to connect women from different regions in the country. The use of ICTs for this purpose is not a new phenomenon; women in Northern Ireland used a similar approach with ICTs available in the 1960s and 1970s to communicate across peace lines.