The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre (KAIPTC) has started a training program for Political Advisors.
The two-week course targeted at participants from 12 countries on the African continent is expected to educate beneficiaries in acquiring necessary tools and offer workable analysis on government operations on conflict situations. It will also re-orient all participants in handling peace support operations in troubled areas on the continent. Western Africa and the Sahel has witnessed increasing level of instability due to insurgencies, terrorist attacks and communal conflict resulting in a seeming state of insecurity among citizens. Participants will be discuss and debate issues bothering on negotiations and mediation, public diplomacy communication skills, and analytic tools among other thematic areas.
Dean of the Faculty of Academic Affairs at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre (KAIPTC) Prof. Kwaku Osei-Hwedie told participants “the aim of the course is to enable you acquire the necessary tools to function as Political Advisors for Commanders of Operation, Heads of Mission of AU/ECOWAS missions as well as in government and international institutions”. He added “it is therefore my hope that you will use this knowledge you will acquire the next two weeks to make a positive impact in your future deployment and strategic engagements at all levels”.
The course was developed by the KAIPTC in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence as part of continued efforts to strengthen peace and security in Africa. Austrian Director for Africa and Cooperation with African Union Special Envoy for Relations with Africa, Ambassador Dr. Andreas Melan said “the vacuum created by the absence of peace enables discord and anarchy to prevail, and this results in corresponding stagnation and devastation of societies”. “ It is for this reason that this course is being organized to formalize training of Political Advisors for Commanders of Operations and or Heads of Missions of UN/AU/ECOWAS missions” he stressed.
Ambassador Dr. Andreas reiterated “I have no doubt that this training will expose you to internationally-required competencies and standards for Political Advisors and I am certain that it will enable you better understand the dynamics of conflict and crisis management in order to function effectively in multi-dimensional Peace Support Operations”.
Participants expressed confidence that the course will help them share knowledge, expertise and experiences from individual organizations. A participant from Nigeria said “for me, this course is an opportunity to build up skills in conflict prevention, early warning and mediation. My main field is elections and you know there is a lot of post-election violence and it gets very tensed sometimes so it requires good mediation and negotiation skills to prevent the worse from happening and keep stability”. “after two weeks, we will be better equipped to advice and support the Head of Missions to take the right steps” he hoped.
A female participant also said “ where I work, we provide policy advice to governments, we help develop and design interventions so I have great expectations from this course because I know it going to enhance my work very well, it is going to sharpen areas and fill in gaps that I have also”.
“You can see we have vast range of participants so we are going to share and learn from each other’s experience and it will help us improve how we advise governments on issues and evaluate past counsel to see if it is working or not,” she added.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Papisdaff Abdullah
