Advocacy and Leadership

Creating a Voice for WOMEN in Gulu (Kikopo Pa Mon Gulu)
To address the structural, social, and political issues, including gender based violence, and other issues facing women in northern Uganda,  VAC-NET with partners created and is  hosting a drama competition, Kikopo Pa Mon.  Women in our program create original plays highlighting their stories using music, drama, and dance.

By encouraging the idea of traditional music, dance, and drama in the local language, the culture of the area would be revitalized and preserved, and the relevance of these issues to the community would be elevated. Due to the positive response and overwhelming success of the event, we continue to host Kikopo Pa Mon every year.

Our goal is to work for social justice, increased human security and women’s empowerment. We believe our program is relevant, provocative, and meaningful, creating unique opportunities for development and transformation in a region that has experienced much violence and loss. We hosted our 5^th Annual Event last year 2012 which at rated 300 participates and brought together 96 political, religious and cultural leaders to a round table to debate the theme: the role of women in promoting peace and development in a post conflict environment.

Women4 Peace Awards

In spite of all the trauma and displacement, women have always been the stabilizing factor in their families and communities. Women struggle to create stability in the lives of their families, promote reconciliation and peace even under very difficult and traumatic situations. However, women's peace building capabilities are many times undervalued and underrepresented. Women's voices need to be elevated and valued.

VAC-NET publicly recognize women who are working in their communities to improve the lives of women and their children, contributed to peace and still sustaining these efforts, who are the movers and shakers of the communities in which they live and are challenging communities to do better and elevating issues critical to improving the lives of women and families in post conflict Northern Uganda.

Women 4 Peace Award is part of creating a Voice for WOMEN Annual festivals which is an advocacy campaign that engages multiple contributors with a diversity of experiences and perspectives to create a momentum to shift the dominant cultural assumptions about women’s rights. This event involves large competition in the areas of music, dance, drama, and public dialogues.

Women’s contribution to peace and reconciliation, demand for justice, rebuilding what has been destroyed, working on the front during and after conflict all these efforts needs to be recognized. The Women 4 Peace Award’s goal is to draw every ones attention to these efforts which are thus far nearly invisible, but highly important work.  Recognizing them will foster advocacy for women’s rights and empowerment. Every VAC-NET awards grassroots women who are heros, awarding them motivates their efforts and inspires the communities young generation to do more about promoting peace and Development.