Women for peace: the story of three African women inspiring the future generation of peacekeepers

UNESCO Africa week is the annual flagship event of the Africa Group at UNESCO, a body that brings together the Member States of the African continent. Africa week includes a kaleidoscope of cultural, scientific, artistic, and epicurean events in honor of Africa Day (25 May), when the Organization of African Unity (OAU), today the African Union (AU), was founded in 1963. 

On this occasion the UNESCO Campus program organized an online event with three inspirational women involved in peace-keeping activities in Africa. The debate was also enriched by the contributions of three schools who joined as panelists: the Ebedei secondary school at Ebedei Delta State, Nigeria, the Arakan Girls Secondary School at Lusaka, Zambia, and the Belbies Governmental Language School at Sharkia, Egypt. 
Moreover, 10 schools connected from United Kingdom, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Greece, and France joined the session as attendees. 

First panelist of the session was Loubna Benhayoune, who joined the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (or MINUSMA) in 2014. She is currently the Director of the Stabilization and Recovery Section, in Bamako, Mali. 

She discussed the role of international organizations in peace building, sharing her experience in the the UN.