8. 3. 2022 | POTC, PR
The Peace Operations Training Centre – POTC is organizing an online training on Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming in Peace Operations for police and military personnel who plan to join international peace operations or missions. The training will take place online in the period from the 21th to the 24th of March 2022.
Violent conflict disproportionately affects women and girls and intensifies pre-existing gender inequalities and discrimination. But women are also active agents of peace in armed conflict although their role as key players and agents of peace is still poorly recognized. Acknowledging and integrating different understanding, experiences and capabilities of women into all aspects of peace operations is essential for the success of any peacekeeping efforts and for sustaining peace.
The course’s online lectures, workshops and participatory activities will cover the basic topics from gender equality and mainstreaming in peacekeeping to peacebuilding environments. Participants will gain skills and knowledge that will help them engage all possible stakeholders regarding gender equality and include the perspectives of women in their efforts to build sustainable peace.
As there are several vacant seats still available in the online training, we encourage everyone interested to apply here regardless of the application deadline. Contact [email protected] for any additional questions you might have.
3. 3. 2022 | POTC, PR
In February, the third session of the Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC) Program Council took place virtually with representatives of the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
CEP Executive Director Katja Geršak presented the role of POTC and pointed out how POTC’s results already contribute to a higher level of international recognition and influence for Slovenia. She pointed out that POTC is the only training centre in Europe that caters to the army, police, and civilian personnel’s training needs. The Secretaries of State confirmed the 2021 Activity Report as well as the implementation plan for 2022. They expressed satisfaction with the completed activities and the plans for 2022.
The program for 2022 includes regular POTC activities like coordination of POTC members, monitoring training development, conducting cross-cutting research activities and the following training activities:
- Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Equality in IOM Training
- Pilot implementation of the course Protection of Civilians
- Pilot implementation of the course Cooperation with the Local Communities and the Populations (CIMIC/CMCoor)
- Assistance to Bosnia and Hercegovina (pre-deployment training, preparation of European project proposals)
- Hostile Environment Awareness Training
- International Humanitarian Law Course
- International Training in Support of the African Security and Defence Architecture in the Sahel Region
- Stabilization and Reconstruction for Civilian Functional Experts
The first training to be carried out in 2022 is the Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming in Peace Operations Training starting on March 21st, 2022.
9. 12. 2021 | POTC, PR
Klikni tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku. 🇸🇮
Today, on 9 December 2021, the Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC), in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, successfully conducted a third workshop for the design of the course Community and People Centred Approach for future participants of international missions and operations. The workshop was organized in a hybrid format and was attended by representatives of defence policy, civil defence, military, police, international and humanitarian organisations and others.
The aim of the workshop was to learn about the approach and contribution of international organisations to an integrated approach to action in areas of international operations and missions, with an emphasis on action at the level of local communities and populations. In the presentations made, experts from NATO, UN, EU and OSCE presented the legal, strategic, doctrinal and tactical documentary basis for community and populations engagement (coordination and cooperation) in missions in the context of the implementation of various projects and other forms of engagement at the local level. They stressed the importance of building trust with local stakeholders, patience, learning from mistakes, identifying relevant actors working in the same area. At the same time they highlighted the challenge of reaching populations in remote locations and of limited operations in security emergencies and in the context of mission mandates.
Building on the shared experience and knowledge of all participants from all three Community and People Centred Approach workshops conducted in 2021, POTC will develop a high-level course on effective engagement between future participants in international missions or operations and local communities and populations in host countries and pilot it in 2022.
8. 11. 2021 | EUPCST, POTC, PR
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.
27. 10. 2021 | POTC, PR
Klikni tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku. 🇸🇮
Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC) has in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia this year dedicated lots of energy for creating a new course Community and People Centred Approach of which the pilot course will be delivered next year. The first two Community and People Centred Approach Course workshops were attended by representatives of defence policy, civil defence, military, police, international development cooperation, humanitarian organizations, project management experts, and others.
At the first workshop in March, participants were introduced to the important contributions of civilian functional experts to the overall military objective of the operation, analysed the past and current international operations and missions of NATO, EU and UN through local (so-called micro) projects, and evaluated the relevance, validity and feasibility of the strategy for participation in international operations and missions. At the second workshop in June, two inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral pilot projects were prepared for local communities and population, which will be implemented in practice in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the coming years. Both projects will try to fill the gap that appears below the level of city, regional and central authorities. A comprehensive approach, establishing and maintaining a network of relationships with local communities and local population, is the focus of the Community and People Centered Approach Course.
In December, the third and last Community and People Centred Approach workshop will take place where participants, with the help of experts from NATO, UN, EU and OSCE, will design a high-quality course, which will in the future equip civilian functional experts with legal, strategic, doctrinal and tactical documentary bases for action (coordination, cooperation, collaboration) at the level of local communities and the population in missions (in the framework of implementation of various projects and other forms of action at the local level).
17. 9. 2021 | POTC, PR, Slovenian Development Assistance
Klikni tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku. 
After successfully delivered two training courses on Gender equality and gender mainstreaming in peace operations and missions (November 2020 and May 2021), Centre for European Perspective (CEP) is further actively involved in empowering women in the field of peace and security. From 14 to 17 September 2021, a series of online workshops on Negotiation techniques and women empowerment was carried out by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) in coordination with CEP and with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia.
This series of workshops were organized for representatives of the Venezuelan democratic forces who will directly or indirectly participate in international negotiations, mediation, and conflict resolution processes. The program consisted of ground-setting and advanced workshops, where the participants examined the particularities of and advantages for women’s involvement in conflict resolution, negotiation, and mediation processes, analyse negotiation process from a gender perspective (including the analysis of strategies, methods, techniques for negotiation, communication, and influence), and conducted practical exercises to practice the application of various negotiation components.
With the newly acquired knowledge in the field of negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution, will the representatives of the Venezuelan democratic forces, be able to actively participate in these processes and thus increase the representation of women in these areas and bring challenges faced by women in times of humanitarian crises and conflicts to the peace agreements.
Virtual workshop on negotiation techniques and women´s empowerment continues the activities of Centre for European Perspective – CEP, aimed at the empowerment of women that began within the Peace Operations Training Centre and EUPCST project.
The activities are supported by Slovenia’s Development Cooperation Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and carried out together with the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) .
