Celebrating women negotiators and mediators for International Women's Day
On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the (future) female negotiators and mediators we’ve had the privilege to work with, who contribute every day to a more just and equitable world.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by conflict and humanitarian crises, yet they remain underrepresented at the negotiation table. Strengthening women’s negotiation and mediation skills is not just about representation, but also leads to more inclusive, gender-sensitive and sustainable peace processes.
At Clingendael Academy, we proudly support women shaping diplomacy, humanitarianism, conflict resolution and peace efforts worldwide. Over the past decade, we have trained, engaged with and learned from inspiring women across numerous courses designed to strengthen their skills and enable meaningful participation in decision-making. Take a look at some of the programmes from last year!
Ambassadors for a Day receive Clingendael training on intercultural communication
For the third consecutive year, the Clingendael Academy has been invited by the British Embassy to deliver a training session on intercultural communication as part of their “Ambassador for a Day” programme. This initiative, organised around International Women’s Day, offers young women (between 15 and 18 years old) the opportunity to explore the world of diplomacy. Our training supports participants in understanding why intercultural communication is essential for effective diplomatic work, provides a glimpse into the nature of diplomatic training, and creates space for peer-to-peer learning. Through interactive exercises, the young women gain awareness of their own cultural backgrounds and how these shape their communication in diverse contexts.
Global voices of peace: Clingendael's first advanced alumni training for women
In July 2025, Clingendael hosted the first-ever global training for women alumni of Clingendael’s mediation training programmes, bringing together a group of women mediators from around the world, each previously trained by Clingendael and now engaged in mediation and dialogue at local, national, regional, or international levels.
Nina talks about her experience as a participant to the women alumni mediation training
Nina Asiimwe Byarugaba is member of FemWise-Africa and has enhanced her mediation and peace negotiation skills together with female peers at the Clingendael Academy.
Clingendael continues partnership with MSF OCA on ‘Women in Leadership’ initiative
The Clingendael Humanitarian Negotiation Team welcomed the second cohort of female negotiators working in operations from Médecins Sans Frontières Operational Centre Amsterdam. The negotiators participated in the online Foundation Course in Humanitarian Negotiation Skills. The 15 participants engaged in an interactive and practice-oriented training tailored to humanitarian work. The Clingendael Humanitarian Negotiation Team continues its partnership with MSF to increase the number of women in negotiation positions and processes, as well as their strengthen their negotiation and leadership capacity
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Clingendael Peace Negotiations Programmes
The Clingendael Peace Negotiations Programme has begun integrating mental health and psychosocial support into its training curricula. By acknowledging the mental and emotional dimensions of peacebuilding, CPNP aims to equip mediators, facilitators, and peace practitioners with the awareness and tools needed to engage with more resilience and thus more sustainably in their work.
What's next?
Clingendael Academy will continue to strengthen women negotiator's and mediator's skills and capacities to support their meaningful engagement in peace- and other decision-making processes.
