The Exchange Programme Institute is a unique yearly cross cultural  skills building programme, which started in 1984 in Geneva, Switzerland that involves a diverse number of women leaders and women human rights activists from different parts of the world who use the space to learn from one another, share information, exchange ideas and acquire cross-cultural strategies and solidarity actions for addressing a diverse range of women’s issues, from the human rights perspective.

The opportunity enables the women to gain a broader understanding of the issues they are working on and to get exposed to new ideas for action.  The trained women acquire new skills that enable them to be more effective change agents in their communities. Since Isis-WICCE’s relocation to Africa in 1993, the International Exchange Programme Institutes have been held to address Violence against Women in Situations of Armed Conflict, as well as Peace Building and Conflict Transformation.

Isis-WICCE has been hosting institutes in multi-cultural settings in a number of countries that have in Burundi (2002, 2005), Kenya (2003, 2006), Tanzania (2003, 2004) and Uganda, Women in Peace building Network (WIPNET/WANEP) and Ministry of Gender and Development in Liberia.  Isis-WICCE has also run Women to Women Solidarity visits in Burundi (2003, 2005), Eritrea (2003), Kenya (2003, 2004, 2006), Sudan (1999, 2003, 2006), and Uganda.

Since the inception of the Exchange Programme Institutes, over 1200 women from various countries[1] who have benefited from this Institute have been able to reach out to over 10,000 people through: documenting specific experiences of women in situations of armed conflict; conducting solidarity actions; conducting sensitisations seminars, performing theatre for development; carrying out fact-finding and peace missions; presentation of position papers and engaging in advocacy events.