14. 6. 2022 | POTC, PR
Klikni tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku. 
Between the 7th and 10th May 2022, the Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC) has successfully implemented the first module on EU project management in Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Improved capacities for project proposal preparation will help Bosnia and Herzegovina to work more closely with EU partners and secure more EU funding for BiH’s development.
23 local government officials and NGO representatives from municipalities surrounding Prijedor participated in a four-day training program delivered by Slovenian experts Gorazd Jenko and Slavka Zupan. During these days, they shared knowledge and practical expertise on EU project management with a particular focus on the application procedures. Interactive lessons and group work constituted a large part of the training program and the facilitators steered participants towards establishing concrete project proposal ideas. Participants will continue working on project ideas and will form them into concrete ready-to-submit proposals in Module 2 that will be delivered in Prijedor in September.
The project was carried out with the support of the Slovenian Ministry of Defence and the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. 6. 2022 | POTC, PR
Klikni tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku.
On Monday 6 June, Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC) is launching the first set of workshops for local officials, who will be trained in the project application, project planning, project implementation, project finance management, and cross-border and transnational networking.
Bosnia and Herzegovina formally applied for EU membership in 2016 and has since then increased its efforts to participate in EU programmes. Fundraising and European project management competencies are still limited at the local level and need to be strengthened in most institutions, including local ones. Strengthening the capacity of local administrations for proper project planning, project implementation, project finance management, and cross-border and transnational integration is needed, and POTC, with the support of Slovenian development assistance, will implement several training modules in BiH this year. The participants, representing municipal administrations, development agencies, and NGOs, come from the municipalities of Sanski Most, Oštra Luka, Prijedor, Krupa na Uni, Novi Grad, Bosanska Kostajnica, and Kozarska Dubica.
The project is part of the international development cooperation activities funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence.
30. 5. 2022 | EUCTI, POTC, PR
Between 23 and 26 May 2022 Centre for European Perspective (CEP) has successfully implemented a four-day online training on Protection of Civilians for EUAM Ukraine in coordination with the EU Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI) project.
The course was conducted by Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC), situated at CEP premises. POTC already delivered a Protection of Civilians (PoC) training in April, hence the training targeting EUAM Ukraine needed only a slight adjustment to be able to support the mission members in time of Russian aggression. It was attended by 21 participants, all member staff of EUAM Ukraine.
During those four days, eight trainers shared their knowledge and practical expertise on the topics such as basic principles, definitions, and constitutive elements of PoC, its legal framework, conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, the EU approach to PoC, and last but not least examples of good and bad PoC practices.
Interactive lessons, group work, and small-scale simulation exercises constituted only one part of the two-way learning process between participants and trainers. The second part was a two-way process of experience sharing during the whole training. Experts came from different backgrounds, but all had one thing in common: extensive practical experience in peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and PoC, and the willingness to share it with their trainees. This proved to be highly appreciated by the participants and a value-added to the training.
Participants pointed out the importance of understanding who a civilian is to be able to better protect them during times of hostilities and violence. They also appreciated discussing the sexual and gender-based violence during the times of an armed conflict, as some of them mentioned not enough attention is given to this topic.
CEP is proud to be a part of EUCTI and wishes participants – first and foremost – to remain safe and to be able to use gained knowledge to help conflict-affected people.
17. 5. 2022 | EUCTI, POTC, PR
Centre for European Perspective will, in the scope of the EU Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI) project, between 23 and 26 May 2022 implement Protection of Civilians (PoC) training. The training’s target audience is the staff of the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine). It is an adaptation of an already existing PoC training, implemented in April by the Peace Operations Training Centre (What is POTC?), coordinated by CEP.
Throughout this four-day online training, up to 25 participants will participate in theoretical and practical lessons from the field. Experienced trainers and experts will share their knowledge on PoC basics, historical developments in the field, PoC legal framework, contemporary challenges, and good practices within the mission environment.
Why PoC and why EUCTI? To get answers to these questions and learn more about the EUCTI click HERE and HERE.
4. 4. 2022 | EUCTI, PR
Last week Centre for European Perspective (CEP)’s digital communications team successfully conducted the 3-day Digital Communications in Civilian Crisis Management training in Georgia as a part of the EU Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI). The second module of the training took place in a residential format, in Tbilisi. After last year’s online first module both trainers and participants enjoyed live sessions and face-to-face feedback.
Participants, 11 of them, came from European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) and from the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia. With the help of top experts in the field, they honed their skills in smartphone videography and photography, storytelling, and building infographics. They strengthened their rhetoric skills and learned what it takes to work in the era of influencer marketing. Last but not least, they familiarized themselves with the open-source tools for information verification.
Participants, or digital communicators as they can be called now, described the training as very useful and relevant. Practical elements such as hands-on work with modern video and photo equipment, interactive workshops, and the final simulation contributed greatly to the success of the training.
We remain optimistic that this training will inspire the participants to explore the world around them and share their findings with the rest of us. We wish to thank the participants and experts, who worked tirelessly alongside us for their dedication and valuable input throughout the course.
30. 3. 2022 | POTC, PR
Along with organizing and conducting training courses, Peace Operations Training Centre’s (POTC) regular activities also include monitoring trends in demand for new training content. We identified a number of potential new topics and have consulted national, European, and UN institutions on the most urgent and relevant training needs. We decided to develop a new comprehensive training on the protection of civilians (PoC) after consulting a number of stakeholders.
According to the Security Council Report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, armed conflict is continuously accompanied by high levels of civilian death, injury and psychological trauma, sexual violence, torture, and disappearance, as well as damaged and destroyed homes, schools, markets, hospitals and essential civilian infrastructure, such as electrical and water systems. Protection of civilians is a responsibility that includes military, police, and civilian functions within a peacekeeping mission and many missions have a mandate that includes PoC.
Personnel, deployed to peace operations and missions have consistently demonstrated a lack of understanding of their missions’ PoC mandates and the same lack of understanding is applicable to the core PoC tasks. We have hence developed a training format that will equip participants with a basic understanding of the PoC concept and its applications in peace operations and missions.
We are now inviting police and civilian personnel deployed or waiting to be deployed in IOM to our Protection of Civilians Training Course between 19 and 21 April 2022. The participants will address the PoC concept, elaborate on how conflict affects civilians and will identify different types of threats, perpetrators, and protection actors. They will also address the international legal framework on PoC, different tiers and/or operational phases of PoC, vulnerable groups, and special mechanisms for their protection. Check out the training program for more information.
Fill out the registration form to apply for participation before 12 April or contact [email protected] for any additional information on the new training.
