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Barbara Sangare

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Barbara Sangare

Barbara Sangare

Barbara Sangare is an experienced peacebuilder and mediator with over 20 years of commitment to empowering women and advancing peace processes globally. She is a member of the Women Mediators across the Commonwealth (WMC), a network that connects women with mediation expertise across the Commonwealth’s 54 member states. As a member of the WMC, Barbara advocates for the increased recognition and participation of women mediators and their pivotal role in peacebuilding efforts worldwide. She serves on the WMC Steering Committee, the network’s main governance body. She is an expert on setting up and coordinating Elections Situation Rooms to ensure elections remain peaceful.

She has been working in the field of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) since 1998 when she set up a women’s NGO called Grassroots Empowerment for Self-Reliance (GEMS) in Sierra Leone. Barbara’s pioneering work in women’s peacebuilding is perhaps best exemplified through her role as the International Coordinator of the Women’s Situation Room (WSR), a transformative initiative by women, designed to mitigate electoral conflict and foster peaceful, democratic elections in Africa. Under her leadership, the WSR was successfully replicated across several African nations, including Senegal (2012), Sierra Leone (2012), Kenya (2013), Nigeria (2015), Uganda (2016), Ghana (2016), Liberia, and Sierra Leone (2018). This mechanism mobilizes women to play an active role in ensuring peace and security in elections, in line with UNSCR 1325. She continues to use her skills and expertise to set up and coordinate elections Situation Rooms including the Peace Situation Room that she set up in May 2024 for the Sierra Leone Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion (ICPNC) in pas part of its elections preparedness for the country’s June 2024 presidential and general elections.

With extensive training as a Facilitator, Trainer, Coordinator, and Mediator, Barbara has worked on various peace and electoral processes across Africa. Her training and expertise has led her to serve as a long-term elections observer and supervisor for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in various countries including Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cape Verde, Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana. Notably, she coordinated the Core Team of Experts recruited by German based GIZ in Abuja to provide technical support to the ECOWAS Elections Administration Department.

She was also Founder and National Coordinator of Grassroots Empowerment for Self-Reliance (GEMS), a women’s organization founded in 1998 with a focus on women’s peace and security. Under her leadership, GEMS empowered grassroots women through capacity strengthening and economic empowerment initiatives. Her advocacy for women's rights has led to significant legal reforms in Sierra Leone, including the Domestic Violence, Registration of Customary Marriage and Divorce, and Devolution of Estates laws, all of which were passed into law in 2007.

Barbara’s work continues to inspire and impact communities, strengthening women’s leadership and participation in building peace and driving global peace efforts.