Horn Center for Democracy

01/04/2026

🌍 Join Us Today!

We’re excited to invite you to “Women at the Peace Table: Regional Learning, Solidarity, and Advocacy in the Horn of Africa”-happening today!

🗓 Date: April 1, 2026
⏰ Time: 02:30 – 04:00 PM (EAT)
💻 Platform: Zoom
🔗 Join here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88242429032?pwd=gi9stbsIuhWfyfBiaRDcayPCxIIvNI.1

🗣 Language: English (with Arabic translation)
Be part of a conversation bringing together voices from across the region to share knowledge, build solidarity, and advance advocacy for women in peace processes.

📄 Learn more: https://horn-center.org/events/upcoming-events/
✨ We look forward to your participation-don’t miss it!

30/03/2026

📍 Mombasa, Kenya | March 27–29, 2026

The Horn Center for Democracy (HCD) was pleased to join the Agency for Peacebuilding (AP) and the Muslim Women Advancement of Rights and Protection (MWARP) for a regional training that brought together inspiring women mediators and peacebuilders from across the Horn of Africa .

The two-day session created space for sharing experiences, learning, and reflection among platform members. Women who have participated in mediation processes across all Track levels shared their insights, strategies, and lessons learned.

Together, participants also discussed the future of the platform; mapping women’s mediation initiatives at global, continental, and regional levels (including within IGAD) and identifying key opportunities for engagement and influence.

In her closing remarks, Yemisrach Kebede highlighted the importance of collaboration and solidarity in strengthening impact, and shared HCD’s ongoing efforts to support the platform, and advance the agenda through regional webinars, including the upcoming April 1 session.

We also appreciated the opportunity to further strengthen our partnership with AP and MWARP and look forward to continued collaboration.

24/03/2026

📢New on our Blog📰

As part of our commitment to shaping knowledge on cross-cutting issues in the Horn of Africa (HoA), we recently launched our blog-Horn Prospects- “Where Vision Meets Policy.”

We’re excited to share our third blog: “Geopolitics in Motion: External Interventions in the Horn of Africa and the Escalation of Conflict in Sudan.”

This is the first piece in a three-part series on Sudan. Stay tuned for the upcoming pieces in the series!
📖 Read Now:

Situated along the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean, the Horn of Africa is widely regarded as one of the most geo-strategically significant regions in the world. This strategic importance and pivotal position in global geopolitics and geoeconomics, due to its proximity to the Middle E...

18/03/2026

Upcoming Webinar | Join the Conversation!

The Horn Center for Democracy (HCD), in partnership with Agency for Peacebuilding (AP) and the Muslim Women Advancement of Rights and Protection (MWARP), invites you to the third session of our regional webinar series:

Women at the Peace Table: Regional Learning, Solidarity, and Advocacy in the Horn of Africa

📅 Date: April 1, 2026
⏰ Time: 02:30 – 4:00 PM (EAT)
💻 Platform: Zoom
🗣 Language: English (with Arabic interpretation)
👉 Visit our website’s upcoming events page to read more and register. https://horn-center.org/events/upcoming-events/

10/02/2026

How can grassroots women mediators and peacebuilding practitioners engage with regional peace architectures?

On 18 February 2026, at the margins of the HCD, AP, and MWARP will convene a regional webinar titled:
“Navigating Regional Peace Architectures: AU and IGAD Mechanisms for Women in Mediation and Peacebuilding.”

The session will connect women in mediation and peacebuilding with regional mechanisms such as FemWise-Africa, the AU and the IGAD Mediation Support Units.
It will expand practical knowledge on entry points, engagement pathways, and opportunities for women’s participation in formal and informal peace processes across the .

🗓️ 18 Feb 2026 | 2:30–4:00 PM EAT (Zoom)
🔗 Visit our website to read more and register to attend the Webinar: https://horn-center.org/events/upcoming-events/

06/02/2026

On February 2, 2026, HCD welcomed to our office, Professor Mohammed Salih, a Sudanese scholar of Political Science currently an Emeritus Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam and, formerly, Special Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Leiden University, The Hague.

During his visit, the Center shared updates on its ongoing programs across the Horn of Africa , including plans to establish a Regional Policy Reference Group. The group will bring together scholars and practitioners to support knowledge generation and inform policy dialogue on peacebuilding, human rights, climate justice, and democracy.

28/01/2026

Today on the International Day of Peaceful Coexistence, HCD Calls for mutual respect, dialogue across different nations and cultures, inclusive and democratic participation as a foundation for just societies.
Peaceful coexistence thrives on respect, mutual understanding, and inclusive participation. These values deepen democratic culture and protect human rights.

12/01/2026

🎉 Milestone Achievement for HCD

HCD is pleased to announce that it has received an Equivalency Determination Certificate from NGOsource, recognizing HCD as the equivalent of a U.S. Certified Public Charity for international grantmaking.

This recognition affirms HCD’s commitment to strong governance, transparency, accountability, and sound financial management; enabling partners and donors to support our work with confidence.

It also strengthens our ability to expand collaborations and deepen our efforts to promote democracy and governance, human rights, peace, and security across the Horn of Africa.

We extend our sincere appreciation to our partners, donors, and communities for their continued trust and support in nurturing the culture of democracy and democratic governance across the region.

Read More about the Badge using the Link.
https://www.ngosource.org/about-equivalency-determination-on-file-badge

09/01/2026

📌 Looking Back at a Year of Engagement for Peace & Democracy in the Horn of Africa

In 2025, HCD has been actively engaged across the HoA contributing to advance peace, democratic governance, and inclusive justice. Among these: -

Our work included engagement in key regional platforms such as the IGAD Governance Forum and the launch of the IGAD Civil Society Forum for Peace, promoting civil society perspectives on peace, security, and democratic institutions.

We also launched a regional project to strengthen women’s roles in mediation and peacebuilding, in partnership with AP and MWARP, advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. This project is a continuation of our learning webinar session conducted in Apr. 2025 on South Sudan and Sudan.

At the grassroots level, HCD supported victim-centered transitional justice consultations in Afar and Tigray regions of Ethiopia, empowering victims’ voices and establishing Victims’ Advisory Groups to inform Ethiopia’s transitional justice process. This is conducted as part of our founding membership in the Transitional Justice Consortium Ethiopia (TJC-E).

Together, these efforts reaffirm our commitment to people-centered governance, inclusive peacebuilding, and contributing towards sustainable peace and democracy in the region.
Visit our website for more details. https://horn-center.org/

17/09/2024

HCD is participating in the Roundtable marking the and the Global State of Democracy Report Regional Launch by International IDEA - Africa & West Asia. Our ED Frew Demeke emphasized "the need to build people's bargaining power to strengthen Democracy."

16/09/2024

🎉 Celebrating ! Join HCD as we call for a renewed vision of democracy in the Horn of Africa. Let’s reframe and institutionalize homegrown solutions rooted in local context that advances human development, peace, security, rule of law and human rights in the region.

30/08/2024

We’re pleased to announce a new partnership between the Horn Center for Democracy (HCD) and the African Inter-Party Dialogue Network (AIPDN), through a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MoU).
These two organizations are joining forces to advance democratic governance and inter-party dialogue in the Horn of Africa (HoA).

This collaboration aims to enhance capacity building, support policy development, and promote constructive dialogue among political and governance stakeholders in the region.

We look forward to seeing the positive impact of this partnership on democratic practices and policymaking in the HoA.

Please visit our website for detail on the news.
https://horn-center.org/