USIP recently announced the fifth annual Women Building Peace Award laureate.
Follow USIP on social media for information on the opening of nominations for the 2025 award.
USIP Announces Visaka Dharmadasa the Fifth Annual Women Building Peace Award Laureate
Visaka Dharmadasa is the founder and chair of the Association of War Affected Women as well as the Parents of Servicemen Missing in Action in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Dharmadasa has been working for sustainable peace in Sri Lanka for three decades.
The only child of a mixed marriage — her mother was a Catholic Burgher (persons of mixed Portuguese and Sri Lankan descent) and her father a Sinhalese Buddhist — Dharmadasa began her career in social work with women affected by Sri Lanka’s 30-year-old civil war.
In September 1998, her son Achinta, a young military officer, was reported missing in action after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked his unit of the Sri Lankan army. Dharmadasa established Parents of Servicemen Missing in Action as a mechanism for families to investigate loved ones who had been reported as missing. She quickly realized that until there was sustainable peace in the country, there would be many more mothers like her. To address this problem Visaka founded the Association of War Affected Women (AWAW), which brought women from both sides of the conflict together to work toward peace and later expanded to include important dialogues not only among women but also with men and those who were influential in the Sri Lanka government.
In 2001, AWAW launched its signature campaign to broker a cease-fire between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. On Mother’s Day 2001, Dharmadasa led a delegation of seven women into the jungle to meet with the LTTE directly. Dharmadasa was able to establish trust with the LTTE through meetings and open dialogue, and then facilitated communication between the government and LTTE when negotiations faltered.
Dharmadasa’s consistent mediation and shuttle diplomacy paved the pathway to a cease-fire agreement between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. Later, Dharmadasa brought together civil society leaders across the conflict line to discuss core issues in a process parallel to the official peace talks and successfully lobbied the government for the release of ten LTTE soldiers and civilians.
Dharmadasa continued to mobilize cross-community dialogues in which women from each side of the conflict could come together to express grievances and share strategies to stop the war. She also organized the Mobilizing Mothers for Peace petition project of AWAW, which resulted in nearly 100,000 signatures on a petition calling upon both the government and the LTTE to end the war.
In 2023, Dharmadasa was able to bring Buddhist monks and the Tamil Diaspora to a facilitated dialogue, which resulted in a six-point Himalaya Declaration that has received acceptance from the highest office of the country. Dharmadasa currently trains women to run for political office and engage in power sharing and continues to educate soldiers and community leaders about international standards of conduct of war, specifically to raise awareness about the importance of soldier’s identification tags and treatment of prisoners of war.
USIP's Women Building Peace Council, comprised of distinguished experts and advisers, selected the laureate and two finalists, Lilly BeSoer of Papua New Guinea and Mairo Mandara of Nigeria. The three women were selected from over 170 nominations received from 52 countries.
About the Award
The Women Building Peace Award reflects the Institute’s commitment women’s empowerment and peacebuilding. The award honors an international woman peacebuilder who has made a substantial contribution to the pursuit of peace and security in her community or region.
USIP has long been engaged in supporting women peacebuilders in countries affected by conflict including:
- Women mediators in Colombia;
- Women-led organizations preventing violent extremism in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel;
- Women leaders of nonviolent efforts around the globe; and
- Community educators addressing violence against women in Papua New Guinea.
Each year, USIP’s Women Building Peace Council reviews a shortlist of the top nominations and annually selects the two finalists and award laureate. The Council is a brain trust of distinguished experts and leaders in the fields of Women, Peace and Security and peacebuilding who offer their guidance and support to USIP as we elevate the voices of women peacebuilders.
USIP’s award is different from other prominent awards for women in several ways: First, the Women Building Peace Award focuses on women in civil society who are working on the front lines of conflict. Second, the award recognizes women at the grassroots level who have not previously received global recognition for their peacebuilding efforts. USIP has previously honored peacebuilders from Sri Lanka, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Colombia, Kenya, and South Sudan as award recipients since establishing the award in 2019. USIP has recognized 30 women from 17 countries as finalists and five women as award laureates.
Read the stories of all award recipients and finalists here.
Award Selection Criteria
Commitment to Peace
The nominee shows a commitment to peace through her work to prevent or resolve conflict nonviolently. She has persisted in the face of profound barriers and personal risk. She inspires others through her personal courage.
Exceptional Leadership
The nominee demonstrates exceptional leadership through her vision, integrity, and collaboration, and has earned the respect of others in the pursuit of peace. She raises and legitimizes the views of marginalized communities. She is a catalyst for change.
Outstanding Practitioner
The nominee has a coherent focus on peacebuilding and grounds her work in practical experiences. She has adapted her peacebuilding work to changing conflict dynamics. She is exceptionally skilled and innovative in her use of the tools of peacebuilding. Her work serves as a model for others.
Substantial Impact
The nominee’s work has demonstrated significance in a conflict context of strategic importance and has led to tangible, quantifiable results. She has developed her peacebuilding efforts from local origins (grassroots, bottom-up). Her efforts strengthen civil society and make a positive impact on community resilience, cultural norms and attitudes.
Award FAQs
Who can submit nominations?
While all Women Building Peace Award nominees must be women, both men and women can act as nominators. Nominators should be familiar with the nominee’s peacebuilding work and be able to speak specifically to ways in which the nominee meets the selection criteria.
Does the woman I am nominating need to know I have nominated her?
Yes. Nomination applications should be completed in consultation with the nominee. Nominators should be certain that their nominee is willing and able to travel to the United States and speak publicly about her work.
Can more than one person nominate the same individual?
Only one nomination application will be accepted for each woman peacebuilder. If more than one nomination is received for a nominee, the first nomination submitted will be considered for the award.
Can I nominate myself for the award?
No. Self-nominations are not accepted. We encourage you to find a colleague or another individual who is willing to nominate you for the award.
Can an individual be nominated posthumously?
No. The Women Building Peace Award does not accept posthumous nominations.
What happens to a nomination application if the nominee does not meet the Eligibility Requirements for the award?
All nomination applications are reviewed to ensure that the nominee meets the Eligibility Requirements. If a nominee does not meet the Eligibility Requirements, the nomination application will not be accepted.
Will the nominee be notified once the nominator has submitted the nomination application?
No. It is the responsibility of the nominator to inform the woman peacebuilder that she was nominated for the award.
If the nominee is not chosen as a Finalist for the Women Building Peace Award, is she eligible to apply for another USIP grant or fellowship competition?
Yes. A nominee may apply for a USIP grant or fellowship opportunity.
What is a fragile or conflict-affected country or region?
A fragile or conflict-affected country or region is a place where the social compact between people and the state is weak or absent and where violent conflict is ongoing or recently subsided.
What is peacebuilding?
Peacebuilding involves a transformation toward more manageable, peaceful relationships and governance structures. It is the long-term process of addressing root causes and effects, reconciling differences, normalizing relations, and building institutions that can manage conflict without resorting to violence.
If you have questions about the Women Building Peace Award, please email womenbuildingpeace@usip.org.