POTC’s Work Programme for 2023 has arrived and it is filled with trainings, courses and seminars that will enhance peace operations capacities in our region.
All in all, we aim to deliver 11 diverse activities. Some are new such as the Climate Change, Peace and Security Pilot Training, while others are Work Programme musts such as the Gender Equality Training. Check out the whole list of planned activities for 2023 below:
Protection of Civilians Training
Disruptive Military Technologies Training
International Humanitarian Law – Module II
African Security and Defence Architecture Seminar
Engagement with the Local Community – Pilot Training
Stabilization and Reconstruction II
Training on Trafficking of Human Beings – International Operations and Missions Context – Train the Trainer (ToT)
Gender Equality
HEAT Slovenia – Hostile Environment Awareness Training
Climate Change, Peace and Security – Pilot Training
Basic training for Civilian experts
POTC aims to deliver valuable skills and knowledge with a diverse course/training schedule that will ensure a more peaceful and secure international environment.
Creating a LinkedIn page for Peace Operations Training Centre is a logical next step when it comes to our online presence. LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity to showcase what we do and connect with people who attend and carry out our programme, as well as connect with prominent figures in our field and all those interested in it.
Our plan is to engage and expand our network and also relay relevant information to our stakeholders. Our aim is to post and share relevant news from our field and consequently add to the overall peace and security conversation on LinkedIn.
On December 5th POTC’s Program Council successfully concluded its 4th session with an agreement on an ambitious lineup of upcoming courses and trainings.
The session included an overview of this year’s activities, the proposed outline of activities in 2023, future financing, and recommendations for the programme ahead.
The Program Council expressed satisfaction with the work done by POTC in 2022. The Council Members shared their priorities regarding upcoming activities and also discussed ways of improving inter-departmental cooperation in order to support POTC’s future work and particularly the delivery of activities that require a greater deal of support from the official institutions.
The Program Council concluded with an official confirmation of the planned activities for 2023. The 2023 Work Programme will be published shortly.
Part of our Peace and Security team attended the final EUPCST Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Between 22 and 24 November representatives of 23 Consortium partners and their coordinator, Royal Netherlands Marechaussee gathered to discuss past activities, the evaluation process and to officially close the project.
After three years (2019 – 2022) EUPCST project is nearing its end. During these three years Consortium members, comprised of national gendarmeries, police forces, and civilian organisations, trained 768 training participants. Among them 537 or 70 % were male and 231 or 30% were female, 50% had a police background, 25% were gendarmes, and 25% were civilians.
The overall aim of the project was to enable civilian crisis management mission and stabilization actions staff to work in a more efficient, effective, and sustainable manner to achieve their mandates. It facilitated capacity building within different organisations active in the security sector. It also allowed for international knowledge exchange, as members of different organisations trained together, and shared their expertise at international conferences and various workshops.
In the meanwhile, we were also busy preparing evaluation forms, gathering relevant information, and sharing it with relevant stakeholders within the Consortium as well as preparing yearly evaluation reports. The final task remains to draft the final evaluation report.
We are proud we were able to successfully contribute to equipping staff of police forces, gendarmeries, and civilians with the necessary skills for their participation in international crisis management operations of the European Union, the United Nations, the African Union, and other international organisations. We hope all will be able to use this knowledge and expertise to make the world a better place.
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.
The past week, 21 participants attended the International Humanitarian Law & Military Practice Developments Training for Military Personnel where we delved into what is currently going in the international arena, the defence challenges ahead and took a look at Slovenia’s space outlook.
The training also took us to the Noordung Center in Vitanje where we discovered Slovenia’s defence capabilities connected to space. The training also included topics such as targetting according to international law, disruptive military technologies, and neurocognitive science in military and intelligence operations. No stone was left unturned and the participants received an extensive overview of current practices and future challenges.
This training would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Ministry of Defence.
Group photo at the Noordung Space CenterProfessor dr. Vasilka SancinSamo Selimović, POTC CoordinatorLecture at Noordung Space CenterBojan Pipenbaher, Head of Department
