As part of ISOA’s commitment to the imperatives of WPS, ISOA has recently had the great honor to lead or facilitate several inspirational Women, Peace and Security events.

On June 9, ISOA co-hosted a congressional reception with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues and the WPS Focal Points Network. This reception closed a weeklong series of meetings of the WPS Focal Points Network. The WPS FPN brings together 95 UN member states that have been designated as official focal points for implementation of the WPS agenda under UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The meetings were co-hosted by the US. and Romania. Special guest speakers at the reception included U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Geeta R. Gupta; Chief of Romania’s Gender Management Office and Romanian Focal Point Lt. Colonel Manuela-Elena Bercea; Deputy Ana Catauta; and Ambassador Kelley Currie.

On June 6, ISOA partnered with the Romulus T. Weatherman Foundation to present a one-of-a-kind conversation with four courageous Ukrainian women warriors. These women soldiers are all part of the separate special purpose battalion “Dyke Pole.” Dyke Pole, which means “Wild Field” in Ukrainian, is part of the first separate special purpose brigade of the Ukraine fighting forces. Hearing these brave women discuss their experiences, challenges, and hopes was incredibly inspiring, and quite frankly, occasionally overwhelming. The conversation brought real voices and faces to the tenets of Women, Peace and Security.

We’d like to express our gratitude to Claire Russo from USAID, who adeptly and compassionately moderated the discussion, Tori Hill-Ross from the Romulus T. Weatherman Foundation, who worked closely with us to coordinate the event, the talented translators, and ISOA’s tenacious WPS lead Michelle Quinn. We’re especially grateful for the courageous front-line warriors who so thoughtfully and patiently told their stories.

We are honored to have been a small part of this event, and we stand with these women as they fight for their country’s freedom. To quote moderator Claire Russo: “The status of women is the status of your democracy.”

On May 25, ISOA hosted and broadcast the online graduation ceremony for Eagle Online Academy. Founded in 2019 by Mozhgan W Alokozai, EOA was originally designed to provide online educational opportunities for Afghan women and girls who were barred from the Afghan educational system by their government. The Academy has now expanded to incorporate Ukrainian women and girls who are unable to attend school in their country. Today EOA offers 209 online classes in topics ranging from English to business management to cyber security. Eagle Online Academy is an A+ example of the tenets of Women, Peace and Security in action. EOA believes that a good quality education can be life-changing for girls and young women, helping them develop to their full potential and putting them on a path toward successful careers. Education empowers these women and girls to become full participants in their communities and their nations, increasing their economic power, their government’s stability and ultimately world security.

The graduation ceremony celebrated the accomplishments of 383 Afghan and 52 Ukrainian women and girls who completed their coursework at EOA. Graduates and attendees were treated to inspiring speeches by educators, diplomats, former Afghan government officials and others committed to women’s education. At the conclusion of the speeches, Leslie Schweitzer, President and Founder of Friends of the American University of Afghanistan, awarded five AUA scholarships to graduating EOA students. We are proud that ISOA Advisory Council members Michelle Quinn (ISOA’s WPS Committee Chair) and Leslie Schweitzer are both board members of Eagle Online Academy, as is ISOA Board Member Darryle Conway.

Several of the graduation speakers used the metaphor of light to communicate the importance of education, especially during dark times. “You are light personified,” noted one. An EOA student described how she had “found a light in darkness” with her online classes. We are very honored to continue supporting the light provided by Eagle Online Academy and the tenets of Women, Peace and Security. Each of these WPS events confirmed the critical nature of WPS in stability operations.

We’re grateful for the commitment and tenacity of the WPS leaders and look forward to creating more programs with them in the future.

If you are interested in learning more about the tenets of WPS, ISOA has the only WPS-certification program for companies and individuals. We welcome ISOA member companies as well as non-member companies to participate in the Certification program. Learn more about the WPS Certification program.