Former President of Costa Rica opens UNODA Women Scholarship for Peace training course

On 13 March 2017, Ms. Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica, opened the fourth training course of the Women Scholarship for Peace (WSP) at the University for Peace in San José (Costa Rica).

An initiative of the Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Vienna Office, the scholarship provides in-person and on-line training modules on disarmament and non-proliferation (DNP) and related topics, including development issues. The training modules are developed by scholarship partners, thus delivering first-hand knowledge from major international organizations and from practitioners in the field to participants.

The scholarship is jointly implemented with the University for Peace (UPEACE). The DNP Education partners are UN System agencies such as the IAEA or UNHCR, international organizations such as CTBTO and OPCW, regional organizations such the League of Arab States, and civil society.

Thanks to the financial support of Germany to this scholarship since its inception in 2016, the Women Scholarship for Peace has trained around 140 young professional women from 77 countries of the Global South. They were granted a full scholarship to participate in the training.

The Women Scholarship for Peace aims to promote the full and equal participation of women in disarmament and non-proliferation, including at decision-making levels, through the transformative role of education. This training programme has deepened participants’ knowledge and understanding of these issues and inspired them with fresh, impact-focused ideas and concepts.