KOFF-Trainings 2007

The Center for Peacebuilding KOFF

Bern, Switzerland

3 Training courses (Based on two-day training)

Do no Harm

A planning tool developed by the Local Capacities for Peace Project of the Collaborative for Development Action with broad involvement of international NGOs, donors, and field-level practitioners. The tool helps to systematically identify the ways in which humanitarian and development assistance given in conflict settings may be provided so that, rather than inadvertently contributing to the tensions, they help strengthen local capacities for peace. In the course of the two-day training the participants will become acquainted with patterns of interaction between assistance and conflict, the „Do no Harm“-tool and its application in practice.

Peacebuilding and Human Rights

Incompatible or inseperable? The KOFF training will address the tension between peacebuilding approaches and human rights-based approaches and investigate the possible integration of both. It will look at concepts of peacebuilding and rights-based approaches and will introduce John Paul Lederach’s approach as an integrating concept. In the course of discussion, reflection, and practical exercises based on their own examples, participants will explore how a new, integrative approach could enrich their own work.

Storytelling as a Tool in Conflict Transformation

Practitioners in the field of conflict transformation and development cooperation are increasingly exploring the potential of using personal stories and narratives to engage conflict parties in dialogue. In this two-day workshop participants will become acquainted with lessons learned from applying narrative techniques in conflict situations. They will learn how to employ storytelling through practical exercises and how narrative approaches might be applied in conflict transformation and in their own work. Dan Bar-On, Professor of Psychology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, will facilitate the course based on his long experience with the use of storytelling in the German-Jewish context after the Holocaust and in the current Israeli-Palestinian context.

Putting the “R” back into DDR: Reflections on the Rehabilitation of Ex-Combatants

The disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of ex-combatants is a key element in the transition from armed violence to peaceful co-existence in post-conflict societies. In contrast to disarmament and demobilization programs, however, the element of reintegration has proven elusive. This workshop will focus on practical and theoretical questions in connection with the rehabilitation and social integration of ex-combatants with special attention given to the psychosocial dimensions of the issue. It will explore strategies that exist at the community level in providing assistance to ex-combatants and reflect on the role that civil society organizations play in this regard.

English

25-25 June, 3-4 September, 19-20 October, 26-27 November 2007

Refer to the website

http://www.swisspeace.ch/typo3/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/...

koff@swisspace.ch