AFRI CONVERSE 2026 #4 From Participation to Leadership: Women Shaping Governance and Peacebuilding

Day：2026.10.14

event ｜

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Time: 18:30–20:00 (JST) / 12:30–14:00 (EAT)
Venue: JICA Kansai Centre, 2F Auditorium ( Zoom Online Streaming Available)

Across Africa, structural inequalities continue to shape who participates in governance and peacebuilding and, importantly, who has the power to influence decisions. Women play critical roles in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, community mobilization and social cohesion, yet they remain significantly underrepresented in formal political and decision-making processes, including peace negotiations, transitional governance and political leadership. More than 25 years after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which established the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, a persistent gap remains between political commitments and their implementation.

At the same time, important momentum is emerging across Africa. A new generation of women leaders is taking on roles in parliaments, local governments, peace mediation, civil society and other spheres of public life, and African-led institutions are investing in leadership development and creating pathways for women to assume greater roles in political decision-making. The issue is equally relevant to Japan, where women remain significantly underrepresented in political leadership and other senior decision-making positions, creating an opportunity for Africa and Japan to learn from one another.

At TICAD9, held in Yokohama in August 2025, the Yokohama Declaration reaffirmed the importance of peace, stability and good governance in Africa, and emphasized the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas. UNDP is also supporting women's political leadership in Africa through the newly launched African Academy for Women in Political Leadership, established with the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) and the African School of Governance (ASG). In addition, JICA promotes WPS through developing women leaders, supporting women’s livelihood improvement, promoting women’s participation in communities, and training 500 personnel in medical and administrative fields for preventing gender-based violence (GBV) and protecting and ensuring the safety of GBV survivors.

Against this backdrop, AFRI CONVERSE 2026 #4 will bring together perspectives from Africa and Japan to explore how women can move from participation to leadership in governance and peacebuilding, and to identify practical approaches to strengthening women's leadership and building more inclusive, effective and sustainable governance and peacebuilding processes.

Overview

  • Date & Time: 21 October 2026 (Wednesday), 18:30–20:00 (JST) / 12:30–14:00 (EAT)
  • Co-organizers: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  • Format: Hybrid
  • In-person venue: JICA Kansai Centre, 2F Auditorium
  • Address: 1-5-2 Wakinohama-kaigandori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0073
  • Map: https://www.jica.go.jp/domestic/kansai/office/access.html
  • Online participation: Zoom
    *Zoom links will be sent to registered online participants by the day before the event.
  • Participation Fee: Free
  • Languages: Japanese, English, French (simultaneous interpretation available)
  • Registration
  • In-person Registration
  • Online Registration

Programme

18:30 ～ 18:35　Opening
18:35 ～ 19:55　Panel Discussion and Audience Q&A
19:55 ～ 20:00　Closing

Speakers (Titles Omitted)

  • Misako Takahashi, Director-General, African Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
  • Aissata De, Regional Director a.i., Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP
  • Makiko Kubota, Senior Advisor on Gender and Development, JICA
  • Tomohiro Hosoi, Assistant Professor, Osaka School of International Public Policy, the University of Osaka
  • Marie Claire Mukasine, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Rwanda to Japan
  • Minako Shiotsuka, Deputy Director General, Africa Department, JICA

Moderator:

  • Kana Hoshino, UNDP Student Ambassador (Kwansei Gakuin University)

What is AFRI CONVERSE

AFRI CONVERSE is a dialogue series launched by UNDP in 2018 in connection with the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). Since 2020, the series has been co-organized by UNDP and JICA to share insights on Africa's development challenges and the responses led by Japan and partner institutions. The dialogues are held quarterly and are open to audiences in both Japan and Africa.

In 2025, a series of sessions were convened in conjunction with TICAD9 in Yokohama, with events hosted at venues including Hiroshima University, Expo 2025 Osaka–Kansai, TICAD9, and the United Nations University. In 2026, the series continues to foster dialogue and knowledge-sharing. The last session of 2026 will focus on women's leadership in governance and peacebuilding, bringing together insights and experiences from Japan and Africa to explore how women can move from participation to leadership and identify opportunities for Africa–Japan cooperation.

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