GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (July 26, 2024) – The Partnership for Peace Consortium (PfPC) held a workshop in Gdynia, Poland on July 22-25 titled “Mainstreaming Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in Professional Military Education (PME): Understanding the Military Roles and the Use of Student-Centered Learning.” It was hosted at the Polish Naval Academy and included participants from 19 nations across Europe, Canada, the United States, and from as far as Australia. 

Polish Naval Academy’s Vice-Rector for Military Affairs, Navy Capt. Sławomir Dorotyn opened the conference. Among the topics discussed were the scope and impact of WPS, considerations for incorporating WPS into PME institutions and curricula, and methods for active learning and student-centered learning activities. Various subject-matter experts with personal WPS experience, such as serving as Gender Advisors in active military operations, provided lessons learned.

Air Commodore Ruth Elsley, Commandant of the Australian War College, reflected on her experiences in Afghanistan as Senior Gender Advisor for NATO’s Resolute Support mission.

“Environmental and cultural analysis and understanding is crucial in achieving meaningful participation. Without this there is a risk of the WPS initiatives being counterproductive,” she said. “Aligned with these reflections is the clear requirement for militaries to have a better understanding of all aspects of WPS.”

Much of the workshop focused on how to best integrate WPS themes into PME, so that security sector professionals learn to integrate culturally sensitive gender into military planning and operations. WPS as a policy framework recognizes women as critical actors in all efforts to achieve sustainable international peace and security. It promotes consideration of gender and the meaningful participation of women in peacebuilding and security. 

Björn Lagerlöf, Senior Advisor at the Canadian Defense Academy, chairs the PfPC WPS in PME working group and led the multinational planning team who developed the Gdynia workshop. 

“In Afghanistan, we encountered IEDs, and in six months we had counter-IED doctrine,” said Björn. “U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 has existed for 25 years, and it’s still not implemented consistently in allied doctrine – even though WPS is arguably even more important for lasting peace and stability.”

The WPS Agenda evolved from the U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, which was unanimously adopted on October 31, 2000. During the workshop, attendees reviewed a Concept Note designed to translate UNSCR 1325 and recent NATO policy into PME-relevant guidance. Developed by Lagerlöf and the PfPC WPS in PME team, the Concept Note is expected to be released to the public in 2025. The overall aim of the Concept Note, as well as other workshop activities, is to help participants identify ways to practically integrate WPS into defense and security education. 

Dora Musa, Political Advisor to the President of the Republic of Kosovo, who participated in the workshop, talked about the growing importance of WPS concepts in the ever-changing global security architecture. She says that ensuring the participation of women in high ranking and military decision-making roles is crucial for delivering sustainable security and lasting peace. 

“To this day, women remain underrepresented in uniformed senior leadership positions, which undermines the potential for their direct contribution to addressing security challenges,” said Musa. “Women, Peace, and Security must be integrated across the spectrum of Professional Military Education to address gender biases and stereotypes with a deliberate, equitable, and representative understanding of our collective potential.”

The WPS in PME group is an ad-hoc PfPC working group. It was originally approved for a three-year term from 2023–2025. That means 2025 will be its final year unless the SAC approves additional work in this area. In addition to being a culminating year for the working group, 2025 also marks the 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325. As a result, we can expect to see a number of WPS-related activities in 2025, including at least one additional PfPC WPS in PME working group event.

Poland, who hosted this iteration of the WPS working group workshop serves as one of nine national/NATO governance stakeholders on the Senior Advisory Council (SAC) that guides the PfPC.

The Partnership for Peace Consortium Secretariat, overseen by the Marshall Center’s U.S. Executive Director and German Deputy Executive Director, directs a multinational team comprising six international program managers and operations specialists. Collectively, they manage the allocation of organizational and financial support to eight multinational working and study groups, ensuring their efficient operation. The PfPC is a multinational network of defense academies and security studies institutes united by the core principles of the Partnership for Peace program. Its mission is to promote defense education and facilitate multinational solutions to security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic community. The George C. Marshall European Center plays a pivotal role by hosting the Secretariat, which is central to the Consortium's operations.