Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security expired at the end of March 2016. After a year full of other, but related consultations and reviews (international assistance, defence), Global Affairs Canada (GAC) provided funding for a consultation process with civil society that was co-ordinated by WFMC and co-hosted by the Women, Peace and Security Network – Canada and GAC.

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Consultations on Canada’s National Action Plan has involved online components along with a two-day in-person consultation that was held in Ottawa on April 20 and 21.

The online consultation included a series of webinars, a survey, a Twitter conversation, and a website with background information and other resources. The webinars were recorded and are available on the website. Topics included the intersection of women, peace and security with defence policy, refugees, and feminist foreign policy/international aid.

The in-person consultation brought together more than 75 representatives of civil society and government to discuss the lessons learned from the previous C-NAP and the priorities and objectives moving forward through a combination of panels and working sessions. Additionally, international experts — Hannah Bond of GAPS-UK, Mavic Cabrera-Balleza of GNWP, and Jacqueline O’Neill of Inclusive Security — leant their expertise in two of the panels: Context and Opportunities for Canada and Lessons Learned on Building Effective WPS NAPs. Video of these two panels will be available soon.

A report summarizing the results and recommendations of the process is being prepared for submission to Global Affairs Canada. It will be made publicly available at a later date.