OWEN – Mobile Academy for Gender Democracy and Peacebuilding. A feminist peace organization based in Berlin.

OWEN was established as “East West European Women’s Network” in 1992 by women activists from the peace movement in East Germany. The general idea was to promote cooperation between civil society and politically active women, movements and organizations in Eastern and Western Europe.

OWEN’s vision is to establish a peaceful, democratic, social and just society in which men and women are able to identify, articulate and negotiate their interests and needs and participate in political decision-making processes, regardless of their national, cultural and ethnic background; their social status; or their world view. The organization’s goal is as follows:

Empowerment of women and men so that they can participate as actors in civic processes and work towards

• democratic changes;
• gender equality and justice;
• prevention and non-violent ways of conflict transformation;
• social justice and solidarity; and
• mutual trust and understanding.

Since 2016, OWEN has been coordinating the project “Women’s Initiatives for Peace in Donbas”.