The MWPN was launched in 2002, by Oxfam Novib, Women for Peace Netherlands, Alternatives to Violence (NEAG) and Women for Peace in Maluku (VvVM).

Nearly all organizations affiliated with the MWPN were founded by women who themselves have had to flee from war, and are now working from a new homeland to secure peace in their country of origin. The focus of their activities is on the position of women in protracted war situations and their role in building sustainable peace. Another binding theme is diaspora; the effects of (forced) migration of peoples on society and individuals.

The MWPN and its members operate at all levels: international, national, local; in the political arena and in the field.

The visual identity of the MWPN has to function in very diverse conditions—during a political conference in Brussels and during a village meeting in Rwanda.

The following starting points were important:
– Applicability in situations with varying visual frames of reference and political sensitivities;
– Representation of the diverse, multipart identity and ethnicity of refugees;
– Representation of diversity, peaceful assembly and creative opposition;
– Recognizability for non-English speakers and illiterates;
– Communication of the organization's name, which is relatively hard to remember;
– Divergence of a stereotypical visual style which is widely used in the sector.

The identity is based on flags, as bearers of a common identity (national flags), as a markation of territory and victory (to plant a flag), as an expression of joy (party flags).

The logo consists of four elements with the name of the organization underneath. The four elements are composed of abstract color fields that form the abstracted letters M, W, P and N. The colors are not fixed but variable, using a color system. The elements are used in combination, in a pattern and on real flags.

The appearance of all deliverables in this commission refers to flags that are distributed or scattered. Each block of content is marked with a little flag.

The layout of website and printed material follows a modular grid with four columns, each having a distinct function in dividing the content.

An image concept was formulated to assist in creating and gathering documentation.

The website consists of roughly four types of pages:
–  Overviews in which multiple articles are presented e.g. the blog;
–  Interactive maps on which projects can be marked;
–  List views in which all documents of a certain type are summarized e.g. the Projects-page;
–  Detail pages containing text, galleries, videos and maps e.g. this project page.