STORYTELLING FOR PEACEBUILDING: Capacity Building II – ASEAN-IPR Programme on Women in Peace Processes
“Stories have the power to open hearts, shift perspectives and create lasting change. They cross borders without passports, bridge divides without fear, and plant seeds of empathy where words alone might not take root. As storytellers and peacebuilders, we gather not only to share our journeys, but to listen deeply, learn generously, and imagine new possibilities together.”
The above is an excerpt of a letter from The Caravanserai Collective Team to participants of Storytelling for Peacebuilding. It was the final capacity building activity under the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) Programme on Women in Peace Processes. Building upon feedback from its first capacity building activity back in May 2025, ASEAN-IPR noted the critical importance of storytelling as a tool for peacebuilding.
This iteration of the Capacity Building brought twenty-two (22) women peacebuilders from ASEAN Member States, consisting of four Members of the ASEAN Women for Peace Registry (AWPR), and eighteen (18) grassroots women peacebuilders whose profiles are published in the ASEAN-IPR’s ‘Women in Peace’ digital database womeninpeace.asean-aipr.org.
Dr. Suphatmet Yunyasit, Member of AWPR from Thailand, viewed that “the Storytelling for Peacebuilding Workshop serves not only as a fun and lively ‘class’ where women peacebuilders from ASEAN learn skills for crafting their peacebuilding works into appealing public narratives, but also as an interactive platform for them to exchange their experiences and build connections for future collaborations.”
The initiative has been co-designed by the ASEAN-IPR Team in collaboration with Members of the AWPR. In addition, the capacity building was facilitated by Ms. Ima Abdulrahim, Dr. Rudi Sukandar, and Ms. Vierna T. Wensatama from The Caravanserai Collective.
“For me, storytelling is a way of opening hearts. When we share our stories, we allow others to see not just our struggles, but our hopes and dreams. In peacebuilding, it is often these simple, human stories that soften anger, heal wounds, and remind us that we belong to one another. Each story told and received with compassion becomes a small bridge toward peace. I love the design and facilitation of Caravanserai. They created an open space for expressing even our deepest fears and our sheer joys. And amidst all the exercised we heard from the women laughing. This is one Workshop that is liberating and left some heartprints,” as testified by Dr. Gloria Mercado, Member of AWPR from the Philippines.
In his opening remarks, Mr. I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, Executive Director of ASEAN-IPR underlined that the programme aims to support and enhance capacity of identified peacebuilders, where this second iteration specifically aimed to equip participants with skills to craft and deliver compelling narratives that can inspire, mobilise and create positive change. He further underlined, “we believe that stories are not only means of communication but also powerful tools for transformation. They connect people across cultures, foster empathy, and open door for dialogue and understanding – core elements of sustainable peace.”
The Programme was made possible by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) through the Norway-ASEAN Regional Integration Programme (NARIP). In his remarks, Mr. Knut Øyvind Granli, Deputy Head of Mission, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, reiterated that Norway’s commitment to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda is long-standing. “Guided by the fifth National Action Plan on WPS, we seek to ensure women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in all aspects of peace and security. This means supporting women as mediators, embedding gender perspectives into peace agreements, and protecting those who defend human rights in fragile contexts.”
Throughout the two-day programme, participants were equipped with various tools where storytelling could be a powerful strategy for advocacy and influencing policy – such as story circles, public narrative, story of self, story of us, culminating in a storytelling showcase by participants. The programme also included a session spearheaded by AWPR Members where participants reflected on the implementation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on WPS (RPA WPS) in their respective countries – namely on the four WPS pillars of participation, prevention, protection and relief and recovery.
Ms. Noor Azah Rahman, a peacebuilder participant from Malaysia, viewed that “this programme is very useful in the sense that we can share personal experiences in a meaningful way, upgrade our communication and listening skills, and also give us ideas for collective actions on related issues at ASEAN level.”
Another participant from Brunei Darussalam, Ms. Nurul Izyan binti Anver, remarked that “this Workshop actually helped me to be out there and be more confident to talk about myself, how I promote peace and security through my work, through storytelling.” She further recalled that “meeting the women who joins this workshop as well were a blessing, We share the same passion, same drive and despite different religions, we shared the same values and principles.”
Stay connected with ASEAN-IPR through our website www.asean-aipr.org and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube) for more activities on women, peace and security, peacebuilding and conflict resolution – and see where you could bring in your contribution to fostering peace in ASEAN