International Alert’s Training and Learning Team recently held a four-day training course on Conflict Sensitivity for Development and Humanitarian Organisations, aimed at helping such organisations to include the “conflict” dimension into their work.
Much attention has been brought to the field of conflict sensitivity since the publication of Mary B. Anderson’s ground-breaking work Do No Harm. Today the approach has expanded beyond minimising the negative consequences of development and humanitarian work, to exploring the potential positive spin-offs of this work on conflict dynamics. It is widely acknowledged that all interventions by an outside party into unstable environments can have positive and negative implications, both intended and unintended. This affects all aspects of the presence and the work of development and humanitarian organisations, from their recruitment policies to the choice of their beneficiaries,and their interaction with local and national authorities.
The course covered both skills and theories to enable the participants to use specialised tools for conflict analysis, to explore the interests and inter-relationships of the various stakeholders involved in a conflict, to understand conflict theories and their relevance to development and humanitarian work, and to apply strategic planning to benefit both their programming and their impact on conflict dynamics.
Alert’s training brought together experienced practitioners from Trocaire, GTZ, the International Criminal Court, CARE International, UNHCR, SUDIA and ActionAid, as well as peacebuilding practitioners from Ethiopia and Nigeria to reflect on their present approach and build up skills to analyse and respond to the conflict dynamics of the countries in which they are operating.
Our Training and Learning Team organises a wide range of trainings, both entry-level courses and training for experienced field practitioners, and designs bespoke trainings to suit the needs of specific organisations. Together with Saferworld, Alert’s team has also recently delivered a training course in Amman, Jordan, for UK government officials working in the Middle East region.