Centre for European Perspective will host the next European Union Police and Civilian Services Training (EUPCST) Steering Committee Meeting, scheduled to take place between 14 and 16 December 2021 in hybrid form. CEP is an active member of the consortium of 23 European partners that all focus on enabling staff in civilian crisis management and stabilisation actions to work in a more efficient, effective, and sustainable manner in order to achieve their mandates. EUPCST project started in the beginning of 2018 and has been prolonged until the end of 2022. So far, more than 25 international training courses and 15 debates were successfully delivered across Europe.
Participants joining the meeting via Zoom and in-person at Jable castle will discuss the results of the activities implemented from 2019 to 2021, and talk about faced challenges and proposed improvements for the future engagements. Tentative plan for the activities in the upcoming year will be prepared to further develop and transfer knowledge and skills for international missions through training programmes and knowledge sharing congresses and workshops.
Training of Trainers course for Civilian Crisis Management Experts, held from 29. 11. to 2. 12. 2021, has successfully concluded. Due to the pandemics, we welcomed the participants in a shortened online format but nonetheless we were glad that we were able to get to know them at least virtually, listen to their valuable input and engage in inspiring discussions with them.
Four-day course brought together 14 participants from eight countries. Participants – civilian and police experts – together with two experienced lecturers slowly put together a patchwork puzzle of classical lectures, stimulating practical exercises, creative ice breakers, and relaxing energisers while sharing experiences, knowledge, and new ideas.
First half of the course strengthened participants’ knowledge about what it means to be a trainer, about teaching and learning theories and which techniques to use in a training session. Second half of the course focused on delivering a training session online, planning a presentation and finally presenting it in front of the class for a session of peer-to-peer evaluation.
We hope and believe that participants, some of them already waiting to be deployed to EU Common Security and Defence Policy missions, were able to gather skills and confidence to take up the roles of trainers and successfully implement their own trainings in the future.
We wish them all the best in all their future professional training endeavours!
The training is organised as part of the European Union Police and Civilian Services Training (EUPCST) that provides tailor-made training activities for individuals working in the EU’s CSDP and other international missions.
Centre for European Perspective is organizing a Training of Trainers course in a residential format at Jable castle from 29. 11. to 3. 12. 2021. We’re excited that after a series of online courses we’ll be able to welcome participants in person.
Various civilian as well as police experts deployed or waiting to be deployed to EU Common Security and Defence Policy missions will get together to gain the skills required for a proactive and attentive interaction between them as trainers and their potential audiences by strengthening their didactical and methodological skills. The participants will learn about verbal and non-verbal modes of communication and how to apply them in practice through interactive activities and other sessions aimed at enhancing capabilities and skills that can be used in their further roles as trainers more generally.
The training is organised as part of the European Union Police and Civilian Services Training (EUPCST) that provides tailor-made training activities for individuals working in the EU’s CSDP and other international missions.
Between 15 and 17 September, the Centre for European Perspective conducted an online pilot training on the Protection of Cultural Heritage in EU missions and operations.
The training was designed for a wide range of participants who will be deployed to EU international missions and operations in third countries in the near future. Following the conclusion of the pilot training, all content and participating lecturers will be assessed and evaluated. Based on the conclusions of the evaluation, the content and structure of the training will be standardized and permanently available to participants from EU Member States.
The protection of cultural heritage is increasingly on the agenda of international organizations as well as relevant European Union bodies. In June, the EU Council adopted its conclusions, which also declared the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage among the European External Action Service’s foreign policy priorities. Based on coordination with European partners and a preliminary needs analysis prepared by the Center for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Italian Carabinieri, the Center for European Perspective designed a new training course and recently conducted a pilot training. Throughout the training, participants were familiarised with various forms of cultural heritage and differing factors threatening cultural heritage. The participants were acquainted with the international legal framework that provides the legal basis for the protection of cultural heritage sites in crisis areas, learned about basic approaches and tools for fieldwork and concrete experiences of civilian and military representatives in EU missions and operations who were responsible for the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage during previous deployments.
The three-day training was conducted in English. It was attended by representatives of ten European countries; Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Cyprus, Belgium, Romania, the Netherlands and Slovenia. The participants held varying degrees of previous experience with the topic of the training. Some were introduced to the topic for the first time, while others already had previous experiences with the protection of cultural heritage and attended the training to deepen their knowledge. Participants were active, and the online training format did not represent a significant barrier for participants.
Based on the evaluations of the participating lecturers, participants, and our own evaluation, we are convinced that the pilot training was a great success. The participants praised the experience of the lecturers and the contents of the training being based on concrete information from the field. Based on the feedback future trainings will be carried out in a similar manner to the pilot training.
Protection of cultural heritage encompasses numerous issues ranging from regular maintenance to natural catastrophes and armed conflicts. Its importance led the EU to add cultural heritage protection to the tasks of the Common Security and Defence Policy missions as it can mean relevant support to the goals of missions, especially if provided for in the mission mandate.
In light of the growing importance of cultural heritage protection in an operational environment, the Centre for European Perspective is organising the pilot edition of the Online Training on Cultural Heritage Protection. The training will take place in the period from the 15th to the 17th of September 2021.
The online lectures, workshops and participatory activities will cover the basic topics and will ensure all participants understand what cultural heritage protection entails, its international legal framework, relevant institutions dealing with protection globally; what the basic instruments and methods for the protection of cultural heritage are and how the EU’s approach looks on the ground.
Following a successful pilot training organised in 2020, the Centre for European Perspective is organising an online training on Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming in Peace Operations.
The Peace Operations Training Centre, operating within CEP with the support of the European Union Police and Civilian Services Training, has successfully concluded the Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming in Peace Operations Training that took place from the 18 to the 20 of May 2021.
Members of Police forces from 12 European countries addressed the international legal framework on gender equality with a special focus on EU legislation, the issue of gender in relation to human dignity in international operations, impact of conflict on gender-related issues and gained insight into concrete situations and issues in experience sharing sessions with experts from the field.
The training on gender equality was in high demand and 29 participants altogether successfully completed the course. They gained different insights, but all agreed that the training was a success:
“This was my first online training. Easy and nice! From the learning perspective it is as effective as sitting in the old fashion class-room.”
“The discussions made me realize some actions that I and others do. I reflected on how it impacts on others and how this has a rippling effect. It was good to hear it from the perspective of women. I am now in a process of looking at some of my behaviors.”
“Thanks a lot to have the possibility to take part in this training. I will start my next mission in a couple of weeks, and I feel very well prepared in gender related topics.”
“As a trainer I always have opportunity to listen to similar content, but nevertheless this was a really good course with new information which I will use at my work.”
