By Blossom Ukoha When 26-year-old Angel Musiime wakes up for work in Uganda’s Kyegegwa Town Council, peacebuilding does not begin in a diplomatic conference room. As a local parish chief and trained peace mediator, her work can involve helping young people return to school, navigating difficult conversations around domestic abuse, and helping people resolve conflicts within their communities. Musiime describes her ambition simply: “I want to be a great woman of peace.” Through peace-mediation training, she developed skills in conflict resolution and leadership and began using them to support women, girls and others in her community. Her story is a reminder that some of the most important work of peace happens far from the rooms where governments negotiate agreements. That is precisely why this year’s International Day of Peace matters. Observed on 21 September 2026, the United Nations theme is “Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.” The…

By Blossom Ukoha A cooler world is not simply about turning on an air conditioner. Behind every refrigerator preserving food, every hospital storing vaccines, every cold room protecting agricultural produce and every building made safer during extreme heat is a rapidly evolving global industry — one that needs more women. As the world marks the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer on 16 September 2026, the focus is increasingly shifting from protecting the ozone layer to building a sustainable cooling economy. The 2026 theme, “Global action for a cooler planet,” marks ten years of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and its drive to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), powerful greenhouse gases used in cooling. For women, this transition represents more than an environmental agenda. It is an opportunity to participate in one of the world’s essential and expanding sectors, as engineers, technicians, entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers and business leaders. A…

By Blossom Ukoha Every year on 15 September, the world marks the International Day of Democracy, a day dedicated to one of the fundamental principles of modern governance: the right of people to participate in shaping the decisions that govern their lives. But democracy is more than elections, political parties and casting ballots. At its heart, it is about participation, representation, human rights, accountability and the ability of citizens to have a meaningful voice in public affairs. If half of the world’s population remains significantly underrepresented in positions where decisions are made, one question remains: Can democracy truly deliver for everyone when women are not equally represented? The United Nations established the International Day of Democracy through General Assembly Resolution A/RES/62/7, adopted by consensus on 8 November 2007, with the first observance taking place in 2008. The date also coincides with the anniversary of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Universal Declaration on…