Elissa Shamma is a passionate activist from Lebanon who strives to be an advocate for human rights, and specifically women’s rights throughout her work and her life. She is currently a Programme Officer for Syria Programme at The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, which promotes women’s rights in over 20 conflict-affected countries across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the South Caucasus. Prior to this, Elissa worked with several civil society organisations in Lebanon and Syria, and worked in the fields of social justice, women’s rights, conflict transformation, peacebuilding and empowerment. She is always keen to utilize participatory and feminist approaches in her work and uses the theory of change of working with people and not for them. Her interest in research, particularly on the topics of women’s rights, peacebuilding and non-violence brought her to study at the Academic University for Non-violence and Human Rights in the Arab World (AUNOHR) in Beirut, Lebanon, where she is now finalising her master’s thesis.

March/April 2022 Fellowship: Peacebuilding and Women’s Meaningful Participation in Peacebuilding Processes