1325 PEACEWOMEN E-newsLETTER: 50th Issue Comments
October 2004

I would like to extend my congratulations to you on the occasion of the 50th issue of 1325 PeaceWomen E-News. This newsletter is of immense value to women everywhere who are working for peace and security, underlining as it does that they are not working alone, but are part of a global endeavor. Good ideas and inspiration are able to reach around the world thanks to your dedication to highlighting these efforts. And your newsletter also helps women make a greater impact by putting them in contact with one another so they can work collectively.

I have watched the collaboration between PeaceWomen and UNIFEM grow stronger over the years and I am grateful to count such a dedicated and hardworking team among our partners. The outreach that PeaceWomen and UNIFEM have undertaken with our complementary portals on women, war and peace – WomenWarPeace.org and PeaceWomen.org – is an integral part of that partnership. And during the 48th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, UNIFEM was glad to participate in the roundtables you convened with women visiting from war-torn regions. I look forward to working together for many years to come.

Thank you for the crucial work you are doing to support and advocate for the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1325, and to forge links among all the women working towards this goal. I am certain that the next 50 issues of 1325 PeaceWomen E-News will be as valuable a resource as the first.

Noeleen Heyzer
Executive Director, UNIFEM

Congratulations on the 50th issue of Peace Women E-News! I should like to tell you how much the British government values the contribution of civil society to international efforts to create peace and security. I very much welcome the contribution that Peace Women E-News makes to raising awareness of UNSCR 1325. I hope that Peace Women E-News continues to provide the valuable service to all those who need to be made aware of this important resolution. Without initiatives like E-News, it would be difficult to reach those who are in a position to make a difference. I look forward to the next 50 issues, and to those beyond.

Joan Link
Head of Conflict Issues Group
UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Whenever I think about how I can in improve my efforts to create greater awareness about the experiences and work of women in the Pacific Island region, I know I can rely on women's media networks to help me get the stories out ...and that is what 1325 ENews means to me and the work of femLINKpacific (I sometimes wish we were already in our own women's community media centre so that we could contribute and share more ...but that is all part of the future);

1325 ENews has been a chance to share stories from the "not so peaceful" Pacific region, and it has also helped spread the word about our developments with women's community media here in Fiji - I was overwhelmed when the expert paper on the need for gender senstive ICTs referred to our own femTALK 89.2FM ...and where did they hear about it? Via 1325 Enews!!!

What is also great for more, is that 1325 ENews is not just about the 'soft stories' of women and peace efforts, but it looks beyond women's traditional roles as peacebuilders and with her roots in '1325' it is an inspiration to those of us who wish to strengthen and advance the role of women in the peace and security sector!

I feel so much more connected at a personal level with the developments around the implementation of 1325, as well as the women who stay in touch with us via the ENews and also on the implementation of 1325 and I wish more women in our network were able to access email and your Enews…maybe we can see how we could possibly start using the enews bulletins at THE NEWS on femTALK 89.2FM's future broadcasts...anyway, my sincere congratulations and deepest appreciation for all the efforts.

Sharon Bhagwan Rolls, Coordinator femLINKpacific: Media Initiatives for Women

In Africa, as elsewhere, women's bodies and their lives are the terrain on which cruel conflicts are fought. Recognition of the impact of armed conflict on women, as well as their powerful role in peace-building, has taken long to achieve. But paper recognition is one thing. 1325 PeaceWomen E-News and the PeaceWomen website has played an important role in ensuring that the issues are kept alive and understanding widely promoted. Your newsletter is an important source of information for Pambazuka News. Congratulations on reaching 50!"

Firoze Manji, Editor, Pambazuka News; Director, Fahamu