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TRAINING AND LEARNING
The training of individuals, and capacity building of peacebuilding organisations, strengthens the field as a whole. The furthering of skills, knowledge and personal qualities of peacebuilding practitioners ensures that the right people are there at the right time in the right position.
Alert’s dedicated Training and Learning Team is comprised of experienced training professionals drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, including peacebuilding, mediation, development, humanitarian response and election observation. The Team works directly with Alert field programs and uses training and learning methodologies to help maximize the impact of local peacebuilding efforts. For example the Team is working with local peace builders in the Eastern DRC, Liberia and Sierra Leone on a wider range of issues from land-law reform to increasing women’s political participation. Drawing on experiences from Alert’s field programs the Training and Learning Team also works with key policy makers and practitioners in government, UN missions and agencies, donor organisations and development and humanitarian agencies to support them in conflict sensitising their policies and interventions. In addition, the Training and Learning Team works to support knowledge management within Alert and to ensure that Alert’s own peacebuilding practice continues to evolve.
 BESPOKE TRAINING
Drawing on the strength of its experience in peacebuilding across the world, Alert is able to offer: Bespoke trainings on a range of conflict-related issuesAlert works closely with each client so as to be able to tailor trainings to the specific learning needs in a way that takes into account the realities in which the client agency is operating. Often these training courses combine elements of knowledge sharing and skills building with the opportunity to reflect and think strategically about the programming and approaches of the agency in question. Alert has dedicated training staff based in London as well as in field offices, enabling us to deliver trainings in different parts of the world drawing on local knowledge and expertise. Recent examples of bespoke trainings include:
Together with Saferworld, Alert also implements a regular Conflict Foundation Course for staff in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, DFID, and Ministry of Defence. International Alert works closely with a number of leading Universities in the UK, integrating practical training on how to work in conflict contexts into the academic curriculum of war studies, peace studies and development degree courses. Recent courses include:
In 2010 International Alert is partnering with the University of York to deliver two Chevening Fellow Courses for mid-career professionals in positions of leadership and influence from around the world. The Chevening Course on Conflict Prevention and Resolution seeks to equip the senior fellows with an advanced understanding of conflict causation, maintenance and amelioration. It is being implemented collaboratively between Alert, Responding to Conflict and the University of York The Chevening Course on Reforming the Security & Justice Sectors in Post-Conflict Countries explores how reform of the security and justice sectors can be used as a means of pursuing stabilisation, conflict prevention and peace building. Consultancy services in conflict analysis and conflict sensitivityAlert has vast experience in conducting and supporting conflict analyses and providing advice on conflict sensitivity issues in settings ranging from humanitarian emergencies, post-conflict stabilization and reconstruction and development interventions through to private sector engagements in conflict zones. Over the past twenty years Alert has developed, piloted and implemented different tools and guidance for analysis, planning and operations in conflict contexts. See, for example: Conflict Sensitivity Approaches to Development, Humanitarian Assistance and Peacebuilding: A Resource Pack Conflict-Sensitive Project Finance: Better Lending Practice in Conflict-Prone StatesFor enquiries relating to the private sector, please contact Diana Klein. For all other enquiries contact the Training and Learning team. PROJECTS
Training for peacebuilders is a relatively new field, and much has still to be developed and improved. We therefore aim to constantly research new practices, and improve our approach and understanding of training. This is why International Alert considers it essential to strengthen cooperation in the field of training. We work with a large number of partners, whether training organisations or employers across a range of peacebuilding activities.
Our partners are spread across the UK, Europe, and beyond. While some of our networking is institutionalised through established networks, we are also in contact with a large number of training organisations and would be happy to direct you to them if needed.
GOMA
The training team is working with our regional programmes to bring about the local capacities for peace. For people working in tumultuous environment, it is crucial to feel they possess the skills needed to maximise the impact of their activities, and to take the time to reflect and exchange on their experience. The training team brings the methodology and the expertise to accompany them in this work. The Great Lakes programme of International Alert together with the Training and Learning team are currently working in Eastern DRC to assist local organisations in South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri. This has given the opportunity to the training team to get involved in the medium to long term with these local organisations, to build capacity and learn from their experience. Starting with a comprehensive training needs analysis, the training team and the local organisations have identified a number of capacity building activities to be crucial to improve the effectiveness of peacebuilding work in the region. The training team has been designing and conducting trainings including training of trainers, communication trainings, mediation trainings or other accompaniment activities.  International Alert has been actively involved in the European Group on Training for Civilian Crisis Management (EGT) since its creation in 2002, coordinating Phase V of the project funded by the European Commission between 2008 and 2009. The EGT is a group of European organisations running training courses for civilians who play an increasingly important role in crisis and post-conflict situations and brings together the expertise of training institutions from 22 Member states of the European Union. For more information, please visit the website of the EGT. Some EGT courses cover topics such as the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Democratisation and Good Governance, as well as Safety and Security or Mission Administration. During Phase V, Alert pioneered a comprehensive approach to developing a standard for civilian for civilian crisis management training. This approach is based on standardised content of training both for core and specialised courses, delivered along adult learning principles. One objective of this phase was to encourage a consensus around a European training standard compatible with other international training and deployment providers such as the UN and OSCE. The EGT working group on Standards conducted a research which reviewed a wide range of training providers and quality assurance bodies at both national and cross border-levels within an outside the crisis management field. In September 2009 the EGT organised a workshop with participants from among others the UN, AU and OSCE to further explore standards in the field of Training for Civilian Crisis Management. This presented a first opportunity for leading training providers within civilian crisis management to come together. The final report can be found here.
TRAINING COURSES
The Training and Learning Team is running a number of courses on conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding issues in 2010. These courses are facilitated at Alert’s headquarters in London.
Alert also works in close cooperation with the Peace and Development Institute in Sri Lanka, collaborating on the design and delivery of a number of public courses relevant to peacebuilding. In 2010 International Alert will be offering the following courses:
A Climate of Conflict: Conflict Sensitive Programming and Climate ChangeUpcoming course(s):
All Good Development Causes Conflict: Conflict Sensitivity and Development ProgrammingUpcoming course(s):
Crisis and Conflict: Conflict Sensitive Practice in the Midst of EmergencyUpcoming course(s):
Integrating gender consideration into peacebuilding and conflict responses, How much do we know after 10 years of UN Resolution 1325?Upcoming course(s): FIELD PRACTITIONERSThe implementation of peacebuilding activities is a challenging task, demanding both a high level of skills and knowledge, and the ability to reflect and share experiences amongst practitioners. The training unit of International Alert regularly provides training courses for peacebuilding professionals working in the field, or already selected by deployment organisations to prepare them for specific missions. These trainings bring together highly experienced trainers and field practitioners, giving them the opportunity to further their skills, reflect on their activities and learn from each other. These courses are organised by International Alert, but can also be requested by a specific organisation to prepare their own staff to a particular task. These are hands-on, practice-based trainings which do not focus solely on theory, but explore the practical abilities of the participant to implement the required projects in a particular field. The trainers are experienced practitioners, but sharing and contributions from participants are required. The training unit organises three types of courses for field practitioners: courses for selected personnel before deployment, at level 3, courses for practitioners with limited overseas experience, at level 4, and experts training for civilians already working in the field and with considerable experience at level 5. FIELD PRACTITIONER LEVEL COURSES
For more information about these courses, please click on the links below. While we organise these courses regularly, we can also organise them on request for your organisation.
To register interest for a specific course if they are fully booked or not scheduled, contact
the Training and Learning Team
STRATEGIC LEVEL
National and international governments make decisions with a potentially huge impact on conflict-affected areas. It is essential that the staff of these organisations possess the necessary knowledge of conflict for their decision making to be conflict sensitive, so that they are in a position to have a positive influence the situation in conflict-prone areas.
The training unit has worked alongside partners such as the British Government, the European Union and international development organisations working in conflict or post-conflict areas to develop conflict-sensitivity courses, and further the knowledge of their staff of the specificities of conflict-prone regions. These courses address issues such as conflict sensitivity and development work in conflict settings, gender issues in conflict areas, and other such essential subjects specific to conflict. The unique position of International Alert, working both in the field and at policy level, allows the organisation to bring voices from the field to the policy level, and inform policy decisions directly relevant to the field settings. This dual level of experience makes for informed, adapted courses for policy level practitioners. STRATEGIC LEVEL COURSES
For more information about these courses, please click on the links below. While we organise these courses regularly, we can also organise them on request for your organisation.
To register interest for a specific course if they are fully booked or not scheduled, contact
the Training and Learning Team
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