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.
This Wednesday, February 22nd, Jable Castle was visited by military attachés accredited to or working in Slovenia. The visit was organised by the Defence Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Defence.
Nina Čepon, CEP Acting Executive Director, and Markko Kallonnen, EUCTI Project Coordinator, both presented the work of POTC, EUCTI and CEP in a productive and insightful visit of military attachés. They mentioned both the activities of CEP as a whole as well as the civilian crisis management sectors, concretely EUCTI and POTC. The presentations concluded with a fruitful Q&A session where questions were answered, and opinions were shared.
At the end of the presentations, Colonel Mitja Miklavec of the Bilateral and Multilateral Affairs Division of the Defence Policy Directorate from the Slovenian MOD gave some concluding remarks, thanked the hosts, and highlighted the refreshing work that POTC is doing, combining the visions of the three ministries. He also shared his thought that »POTC is linking us together for future activities« in the sense that attaché networking benefits all partner countries moving forward.
The visit formally concluded with a networking coffee break.
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.
This Wednesday, February 22nd, Jable Castle was visited by military attachés accredited to or working in Slovenia. The visit was organised by the Defence Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Defence.
Nina Čepon, CEP Acting Executive Director, and Markko Kallonnen, EUCTI Project Coordinator, both presented the work of POTC, EUCTI and CEP in a productive and insightful visit of military attachés. They mentioned both the activities of CEP as a whole as well as the civilian crisis management sectors, concretely EUCTI and POTC. The presentations concluded with a fruitful Q&A session where questions were answered and opinions were shared.
At the end of the presentations, Colonel Mitja Miklavec of the Bilateral and Multilateral Affairs Division of the Defence Policy Directorate from the Slovenian MOD gave some concluding remarks, thanked the hosts, and highlighted the refreshing work that POTC is doing, combining the visions of the three ministries. He also shared his thought that »POTC is linking us together for future activities« in the sense that attaché networking benefits all partner countries moving forward.
The visit formally concluded with a networking coffee break.
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.
Between 9 and 11 November the EUCTI Secretariat, located at the Centre for European Perspective (CEP), traveled to Brussels for the second face-to-face partner meeting this year. They met with the representatives of EUCTI Consortium partners and with representatives of EU institutions. The in-person aspect of the meeting again proved to stir fruitful discussions on past and future (training) activities.
Alongside CEP, the representatives of the Austrian Centre for Peace (ACP), the Clingendael Institute, CMC Finland, Egmont Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA), and Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF Berlin) attended the meeting. This time the Consortium was joined also by representatives of different EU institutions and services – European External Action Service (EEAS), Security and Defence Policy, the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC), and European Commission, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI).
The meeting, organised on the premises of the Permanent Representation of Slovenia to the EU, was opened by Mr. Markko Kallonen, EUCTI project coordinator. After the presentations of recent EU foreign policy developments, the floor was opened to the project partners. They discussed past and future training activities, received updates from working groups, discussed other visibility activities, and made an activity plan for 2023.
CEP is looking forward to continued fruitful cooperation within the Consortium in implementing need-based training activities!
EUCTI in a Nutshell
The European Union Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI) is a three-year-long EU-co-funded project that commenced its activities in January 2021. Its main objective is to contribute to the enhanced position of the EU as a peace actor. Ultimately, EUCTI aims to improve the life of people living in conflict-affected societies by developing and delivering need-based training to professionals working in international organisations active in the field of civilian crisis management.
Within the scope of the project, up to 27 training activities will be designed specifically for the mission personnel. The offered training, which is developed in coordination with the stakeholders, will be carried out free of charge in a flexible manner – either in a residential, online, or hybrid format. Several other project activities are foreseen, mainly related to the development of a new technology-enabled learning approach to the training, activities of two working groups on evaluation and standardization, as well as support for 3rd country training institutions. EUCTI consortium draws on the legacy of ENTRi project. The EUCTI consortium consists of eight renowned partners holding solid experience in developing and delivering civilian crisis management training.
Currently, there are 11 civilian and 7 military missions operating under the EU flag.
