Pedagogy Symposium (2025)

Pedagogies for Peace

How is Women, Peace & Security Taught? 

Feb 5-7, 2025

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Training on women, peace, and security has been a key strategy for gender mainstreaming within international and national institutions since the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. In higher education, feminist scholars in international relations and related fields began teaching about women and war, peace & security in the late 1980s & 1990s. Civil society organizations have long engaged in popular education for empowerment and capacity building to support women’s participation in peace negotiations and transform conflict. And in the security sector, capacity building has been a key strategy for advancing the implementation of UNSCR1325, among other instruments.

Decades into this pedagogical undertaking, how is women, peace, and security being taught? This workshop brings together teachers and trainers who are actively engaged in teaching WPS within three sectors: higher education, security sector, and civil society. Presenters are encouraged to showcase pedagogical best practices, reflect on what does and does not work, and/or which models and teaching techniques have set optimal learning conditions across sectors.

The format of the workshop is interactive, as presenters are invited to “teach how you teach.” Traditional conference panels are interspersed with interactive “micro modules” led by innovative WPS educators. Each day concludes with a world café activity in which participants reflect and integrate our cross-sectoral learning about teaching WPS. What are the similarities and differences in WPS teaching and learning across sectors, and in diverse geographical locations? What works and why? What does not? Ultimately, what kind of feminist pedagogies for peace are we already practicing?

Objectives of the Symposium

  1. Reflect critically on how WPS is taught.

  2. Exchange best practices and lessons learned in WPS pedagogy.

  3. Develop conference outputs which can serve as teaching tools for network members.

  4. Provide space to deepen relationships and connections.

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Symposium Agenda

  • 9:00 – 9:30 am  Opening Remarks and Land Acknowledgement

    • Miriam Anderson and Allison Petrozziello, Toronto Metropolitan University

    • Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano, Provost and Vice-President Academic, TMU

    • Yolande Bouka, RN-WPS Network co-director

    • Vanessa Brown, workshop organizer and emcee

    9:30 - 10:30 am SESSION 1: HOW IS WPS TAUGHT IN THE SECURITY SECTOR INTERNATIONALLY?

    Chair: Amy Brosnan, New Zealand Defence Force

    • Integrating WPS and Analysis in the Professional Military Education Curriculum: A Micro Teaching Module  

      Claire Metelits, US Marine Corps University

    • Leading Towards Peace: Enhancing Leadership Skills for Women in Peace and Security Missions

      Nicola Popovic, Gender Associations 

    • Gender Training for UN Staff in Peacekeeping Contexts

      Tanni Mukhopadhyay, UN Advisor and Consultant

      Nisreen Hannoun, UN Senior Political Affairs Officer

    10:30 - 10:45 am Break

    10:45 - 11:45pm SESSION 2: HOW DOES CIVIL SOCIETY BUILD CAPACITY FOR WPS?

    Chair:Rebecca Tiessen, University of Ottawa, RN-WPS Network co-director

    • Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in Ukraine: Shifting Pedagogy to Meet the Moment

      Alexandra Alissa Novitchkova, Toronto Metropolitan University

    • Feminist Approaches to Peacebuilding in Yemen

      Rasha Jarhum, Peace Track Initiative 

    • “What’s the Point?” How to Move the WPS Agenda from Despair to Hope

      Jo Rodrigues, WPS Trainer and Consultant

    11:45 am - 12:00 pm Break

    12:00 - 12:45 pm SESSION 3: INTERACTIVE TEACHING MODULE

    • Inner Alliance: Contributing to WPS Momentum, One Game at a Time

      A transformative boardgame for advancing WPS and gender-responsive leadership

      Philippe Beaulieu-Brossard, Archipelago of Design and Canadian Forces College

    12:45 - 1:30pm   Lunch

    1:30 - 3:00 pm SESSION 4: HOW IS WPS TAUGHT IN HIGHER EDUCATION?

    Chair: Yolande Bouka, Queen’s University, RN-WPS Network co-director

    • Teaching Module: The Women, Peace and Security Agenda

      Colleen Bell, University of Saskatchewan 

    • Gendering Peace Education in Ethiopia: A Pedagogical Reflection

      Nancy Annan, Coventry University 

    • Learning and Understanding Critical Technology, Cybersecurity and Women, Peace and Security in the Classroom Settings 

      Luna KC, University of Northern British Columbia

    • Helping Students DREAM of a More Secure World: Insights from Simon Fraser's DREAM Lab

      Megan MacKenzie, Simon Fraser University, RN-WPS Network co-director

    3:00 - 3:30 pm Break

    3:30 - 5:00 pm SESSION 5: WORLD CAFÉ: CROSS-SECTORAL REFLECTION

    Facilitator: Allison Petrozziello, Toronto Metropolitan University

    This world café activity provides an opportunity for participants to reflect upon and integrate the cross-sectoral learning from the day. Reflections will serve as inputs for the workshop outputs.

  • 9:00 - 9:45 pm SESSION 6: INTERACTIVE TEACHING MODULE

    • My Way or the Highway: An Introduction to Negotiation Skills

      Kathy Porter, Toronto Metropolitan University

      Role plays are used in mediation and negotiation skills training to explore strategies and reflect on individual styles and approach. This interactive session introduces this teaching technique by involving everyone in a mock negotiation. Role plays will be provided and an outline for planning to mediate/negotiate for future reference.

    9:45 - 11:00 am SESSION 7: TRAINING TO TRANSFORM MILITARY CULTURE

    Chair: Megan MacKenzie, Simon Fraser University, RN-WPS Network co-director

    • Women, Peace, and Security in Defence, Operationalizing WPS Issues and Intersectional Perspectives: Update to RN WPS MINDS Network

      Shannon Lewis-Simpson, Canadian Armed Forces

    • Teaching Feminist Dilemmas and Debates: Applying WPS to the Canadian Armed Forces

      Leigh Spanner, Saint Mary’s University

    • Militarized Masculinities Subverting Change: Identifying a Gendered Hidden Curriculum within Military Learning in Canada

      Marshall Gerbrandt, University of New Brunswick 

    • Integrating Masculinity into WPS & Gender Training for Combat Units in New Zealand

      Amy Brosnan, New Zealand Defence Force & Massey University 

    11:00 - 11:15 am Break

    11:15 - 12:15pm SESSION 8: DESIGN LABORATORY - BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER 

    Facilitator: Vanessa Brown, CFC

    In this Design Laboratory, small groups will use the method of “Roses, Buds, Thorns” to identify successes in WPS pedagogy in their organizations, challenges to mainstreaming WPS and its transformative potential, and potential areas of growth & future collaboration. 

    12:15 – 12:30pm   Closing Remarks & Next Steps

    • Rebecca Tiessen, RN-WPS Network co-director

    • Vanessa Brown, Workshop organizer and emcee

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