Caecilia - podcast Women, Peace and Security

In this episode, we meet Caecilia Wijgers, a Dutch diplomat specialised in crisis and post-crisis contexts. From her very first posting in Pakistan, working on honour killings, she realised that supporting women in conflict is not just a file, it’s her mission. Cecilia moves between worlds: listening to women and communities in places like Afghanistan, Burundi and Mali, and then helping transform their realities into resolutions, policies and international action.

She believes that real peace starts at home and in communities: in families coming out of survival mode, learning to dream again, and deciding together what kind of future they want. Caecilia shares powerful examples of farmers in Burundi drawing their dreams for the future, of families slowly rebuilding trust, and of women stepping forward as entrepreneurs and changemakers even in the middle of conflict. For her, women are never just victims, they are central to solutions, as long as we listen and let processes grow from the ground up rather than imposing them from the outside.

Working in war and instability can be overwhelming, but Caecilia insists that even in the hardest contexts there is always “something possible”: a small opening, a connection, a conversation that shifts things. She sees her role as offering solidarity, clear information and practical support to those who keep working for peace, especially women.

Her hope in these turbulent times is simple but demanding: that people keep searching for the truth, recognise their own power, and each take their share of responsibility. Whether as diplomats, soldiers, nurses, activists or citizens. To move the world, step by step, toward greater peace and human security for all.