Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP).
Established in 1999, by the Dalai Lama’s Foundation for Universal Responsibility, the main objective of Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP) is to promote women to positions of leadership in all aspects of peace, security and international affairs, and to work with young people to empower a new generation of peacebuilders. Based in India, WISCOMP works in conflict areas across South Asia. As well as its India-based projects, WISCOMP works in Pakistan, Nepal, and Afghanistan.
WISCOMP works in both high-level policy making and grassroots level community relations. For example, they promote good relations between India and Pakistan in government and academia, but also have an active youth project that is building a generation of networked young people committed to building peace in their communities. In Kashmir, WISCOMP established Athwaas, which is building a powerful network for promoting peace and campaigning for political change. The organisation provides a link between high-level policymakers, academics, and grassroots peace activists through its numerous events, seminars, and workshops, where it reinforces the importance of having a gendered perspective in the peace and security field.
A key aspect of the organisation’s work is peace education. It believes bringing peace education into the mainstream, making it a key part of the national curriculum, is vital to realising its dream of a South Asia free from violent conflict. To this end WISCOMP has set up the Peacebuilding Diploma Program in the University of Dehli; oversees an comprehensive mentoring program that gives students the opportunity to work closely with leading people in the field; and has developed the Scholar of Peace Fellowship Program to support academic research into peace and conflict issues.
