The Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC) is organising a Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT). The course will take place at Gotenica Police Training Centre in Slovenia from Sunday 24th to Friday 29th September 2023.
HEAT’s purpose is to train professionals to deal effectively with risk-associated and emergency/critical situations while deployed in hostile environments abroad.
Up to 24 professionals with different backgrounds, working or aiming to work with national or international (non)governmental organizations, academic or private sector are eligible to apply for participation in the training.
The participants will join an experienced group of Slovenian and foreign trainers for a five-day intensive course in the southwestern part of Slovenia. The training is designed to:
improve participants’ knowledge about multiple threats present in hostile field environments and learn how to deal with them in an effective manner
rehearse and practice safety and security procedures accordingly to specific threats
develop skills and behaviours to deal with different stressful situations.
Activities include lectures, guided discussions, role-playing, simulations, and a complex field training exercise. Trainees will be addressing deployment in hostile environments (threat awareness, management of various threats, etc.), medical help, orientation, communications, mobility, etc.
Additional Information
The participation fee for an individual attendee amounts to 1700,00 € before taxes and covers all costs related to training delivery except travel costs. Participants, sent by the Slovenian Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, are exempt from paying a participation fee.
English proficiency is a precondition for attending as the training program is conducted in English. A valid driving license for cars with manual transmissions is required.
POTC reserves the right to reject the participation of any applicant without providing specific reasons. The selected applicants will receive information on their successful registration on August 21st at the latest.
All applicants should register hereby August 20th 2023.
Course Director [email protected] is available for any additional information.
Download PDF with more information about HEAT here.
CEP’s Peace and Security and the Strategic Communication Department are happy to announce they will again be able to contribute to the overall efficiency, resilience and strength of the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine). Under the auspices of the European Union Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI), CEP will conduct a need-based online Advanced Digital Communication training, split into three days: 31 May, 7 & 13 June 2023.
The rapid and immense spread of dis- and misinformation and the emergence of quickly evolving artificial intelligence programmes and tools such as ChatGPT has strongly affected the work of civilian crisis management missions. Additionally, the war in Ukraine significantly contributed to the need of the EUAM Ukraine to focus even more and in a different way on digital communication tools and channels. In the past year, they have been able to help improve the resilience and effectiveness of civilian crisis management in the country through disseminating information, coordinating response efforts and engaging with the local communities. The tailor-made Advanced Digital Communication training will build on the knowledge and experience of the Press and Public Information Office personnel and provide them with practical examples of how to upgrade their communication efforts.
The course methodology is designed to maximise practical skill development. Through pre-training tasks, evaluations, and interactive sessions with the trainers, participants will engage in collective brainstorming, reflective practice, and case studies to reinforce their learning experience. They will also touch upon the findings of the EUAM Ukraine’s social media channels analysis, prepared by one of the trainers.
Digital Communication Modules
Each module of the course is tailored to address specific communication challenges:
Storytelling, where participants will gain a deep understanding of storytelling methods and tools, enabling them to communicate complex topics effectively. Furthermore, by overcoming the “curse of knowledge,” they will learn to engage audiences through compelling narratives, improving the visibility of the mission and its activities.
Social Media Report Analysis will provide practical and strategic guidance on improving social media channels. Participants will learn to optimise their communication strategies, outlook, and performances, enhancing their digital presence.
Disinformation, where the participants will examine significant disinformation cases in Ukraine and worldwide, which will help them gain valuable insights and develop strategies to raise awareness and build resilience against disinformation.
Meta platform changes will focus on the latest changes and future developments in Meta (formerly Facebook) since January 2023. With a focus on communication strategy, participants will gain valuable advice on adapting their communication activities to leverage the new platform effectively.
and Telegram utilisation, through which the participants will receive essential training on Telegram, from efficient usage to launching and managing a successful Telegram channel. This module will equip participants with the skills needed to enhance their communication activities and prepare for the launch of their channel.
CEP is happy to support EUCTI and believes this training will help improve EUAM Ukraine’s communication strategies, learn and use storytelling techniques, and fight against dis- and misinformation. Last but not least, it will assist the mission personnel in adapting to new and evolving communication platforms. In turn, the mission’s overall impact and reach will be improved, alongside the participants’ skills necessary to excel in the dynamic world of digital communication.
As an active European Union Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI) Consortium partner, the Centre for European Perspective joined the EUCTI Partner and Planning meeting between 13 and 15 March in Brussels. As was the case during the last such meeting in November 2022, the project partners (alongside CEP: ACP from Austria, the Clingendael Institute from the Netherlands, CMC Finland, Egmont Institute from Belgium, FBA from Sweden, SSSA from Italy and ZIF Berlin) were joined by the representatives of relevant EU structures. Additionally, representatives of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and interested partners of the recently finished EUPCST project attended the meeting.
Even before the double P (Planning and Partner) meeting, CEP attended the European Union Civilian Training Group (EUCTG) meeting on 13 March in its capacity as the EU Civilian Coordinator for Training (CCT) and National Training Expert (NTE – together with Slovenian Police). As CCT, CEP prepared a Training Requirement Analysis on Communicational, Behavioral and Cultural Skills in 2021. One of the meeting topics was also the future of Foreign Policy Instrument-funded training projects, which corresponds with the EUCTI project.
The suggestions and insights from the EUCTG meeting represented a necessary basis for the discussion on the future of EUCTI, held during the double P meeting between 14 and 15 March. CEP actively participated in this discussion and expressed reiterated support for the project and a wish to remain an engaged partner in the next project phase.
In May, CEP will implement advanced Digital Communications training for European Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine). Details will follow soon.
For more information about EUCTI and the meeting, click on the EUCTI logo below.
‘Provocation, Uncertainty, Turbulence: Lighthouse in The Tempest?‘ was the main title of the 2023 Raisina Dialogue, the leading geopolitical and geoeconomic conference in India and the South Asian Region, held in New Delhi (India) between 2 and 4 March 2023.
The Bled Strategic Forum organising team from the Centre for European Perspective and Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs was there listening to engaging discussions, meeting new international partners and colleagues, and experiencing how it is to attend the conference rather than organise it, thus also learning what could be done to improve BSF. Additionally, BSFco-hosted a discussion on the reforms needed for our multilateral system. In its endeavour to become a yearly platform for addressing main contemporary challenges, BSF works with like-minded international partners. Both conferences share its mission of creating open spaces for discussion and action on salient and most pressing challenges within our societies. The participation of the BSF team in the activities of the Raisina Dialogue represents a valued partnership and continuation of cooperation, knowledge exchange and joint activities organisation.
On March 4th 2023, the Raisina Dialogue held a panel discussion in partnership with the Bled Strategic Forum under the title ‘Peace in Pieces: New Pathways for a UN that works‘, focusing on reforms within the international community that have an opportunity to give new momentum to the multilateral systems of today and tomorrow. The following speakers participated in the discussion:
E. Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs (Armenia)
E. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister for Information (Ghana)
E. Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs (Slovenia)
E. Ivan Korčok, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs (Slovak Republic)
E. Lakshmi Puri, Former Assistant Secretary-General to United Nations and Former Ambassador (India).
The panel discussion was moderated by Mr Peter Grk, Secretary-General of the Bled Strategic Forum.
As stated by H.E. Ivan Korčok in reference to the discussion title: “all pieces are in place, but still, the war is happening. /…/ One piece is missing, namely responsible behaviour which respects the very rules (that create or represent a foundation of the international system)”. H. E. Tanja Fajon outlined that we (societies) are today more connected than ever before but, at the same time, more fragmented than ever. H.E. presented the continuous efforts of the Republic of Slovenia in the process of candidacy for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council. Slovenia strongly supports multilateralism and, as a small country in the international community, understands the importance of being an honest broker, being capable of listening and building bridges. H.E. called upon the shared responsibility of politicians, business (wo)men, civil society, academia (and other stakeholders) to work together, to have a full picture of activities around the world and try to address all these big global challenges. The latter are not challenges of one small country or one big continent but are global challenges for all of us.
Raisina Dialogue, hosted by the Observer Research Foundation and the Ministry of External Affairs of India, is an international forum of cross-sectorial cooperation that connects representatives of global initiatives, decision-makers, academia, private sector and business, non-governmental organisations and civil society, young leaders and all interested stakeholders. The dynamic conference is interwoven with additional events, discussions and conferences, with a high degree of support for young people in the form of the Raisina Young Fellows programme. The challenges creating a tempest and disruption within the international community, with challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and breaches of international law, have inspired the theme of the conference edition, focusing on cooperation, creativity and joint approach, powering lighthouses that identify and lead opportunities within our societies.
The Raisina Dialogue, through its comprehensive and progressive thematical focus, inclusive partnership and delegate participation (connecting representatives from all parts of the globe), and dynamically engaging cooperation formats, facilitated a unique generator for discussion, networking and shared work that recognises and supports each individual or organisation to be a beacon of progress at the local, national and international level.
The Bled Strategic Forum team returns to Slovenia with newly established networks, partnerships and good practices that will be invested in the preparation of the upcoming 18th edition of the BSF and 12th edition of the Young BSF.
The traditional end-of-the-year video of EUCTI Training Highlights is here!
Since the beginning of the project back in 2021, the EUCTI Consortium, led by the EUCTI Secretariat located at the Centre for European Perspective (CEP), implemented 16 training courses and two activities focusing on training institutions from third countries. Eight project partners implemented training activities in seven countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Georgia, Kosovo, Mali, Niger, Somalia, and Ukraine.
The partners and subject matter experts who helped deliver the training invested 374 hours into training altogether 311 participants from 41 different countries. The gender balance of our participants improved in 2022 compared to 2021. Last year the EUCTI Consortium was able to train 127 women (41 %) and 182 men (59 %) (among those who identified as such).
Check out the video below to learn more!
CEP Activities within the Consortium
During the past two years, CEP delivered five training courses: two two-part Digital Communications training courses, one in Kosovo and one in Georgia, and one Protection of Civilians training adjusted to the needs of the staff of the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine). Those five courses were attended by 81 participants altogether, who followed 91 hours of training.
With one year until the end of the project left, the Consortium is well on its way to reaching the set goals, among them to deliver up to 27 training courses and three activities focusing on training institutions from third countries.
CEP is happy to inform the readers that we will be able to contribute to reaching this goal in 2023 as well.
