UPEACE/Geneva
eNews - May, 2007-III

University for Peace

   
   

In this Issue

 

UPEACE/Geneva eNews,
May 2007, Issue 2007-III

Thanks for reading this issue of UPEACE/Geneva eNews. This newsletter is aimed at providing updates and news from UPEACE and its regional programmes with special focus on the Africa and Central Asia programmes, which are coordinated through the Geneva office. In addition it will provide information on UPEACE publications and new developments, new documents available on the Africa programme, and Workshops/Seminars / Conferences being offered through the Africa and Central Asia programmes.
An online version of all newsletters is available at the UPEACE Africa Programme web site. If you do not wish to receive the newsletter, please send an email to enews@upeace.ch using “unsubscribe” as the subject.

Issued by UPEACE Geneva.
Editor: Ameena Payne, Executive Director University for Peace Geneva Office. For further queries please contact enews@upeace.ch

      

Call for Nomination: Workshop on Conflict, Peace and Development in Africa
09-13 July 2007, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

 

ORGANIZER AND SPONSOR

Headquartered in Costa Rica, the United Nations-affiliated University for Peace was established in December 1980 as a Treaty Organization by the United Nations General Assembly by resolution 35/55 of 5 December 1980.

UPEACE received from the UN General Assembly the mandate to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace with the aim of promoting a spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

The University currently offers eight MA Programmes in fields related to peace and conflict studies. Every year it is graduating more than one hundred students coming from some forty countries.

Initiated in 2002, The Africa Programme of UPEACE focuses on the priority to stimulate and strengthen academically rigorous instruction on issues critical to the management, mediation, resolution, and prevention of violent conflicts, and to the building of peace.

In view of this, the Africa Programme focuses on eight key themes :

  • Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution in Africa;
  • Peace and Development;
  • Gender and Peacebuilding;
  • Human Rights, Peace and Justice;
  • Nonviolent Transformation of Conflicts;
  • Media and Peace;
  • Regional Integration and Peace; and
  • Endogenous Methods of Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution.
Keeping in line with the priority mission of strengthening capacity of African institutions in peace and conflict studies, the workshop is the first to be organized on the theme of Conflict, Peace and Development and becomes part of a series within the programmatic areas of focus being organized and sponsored by the UPEACE Africa Programme.

PURPOSE OF THE WORKSHOP:

The primary purpose of this workshop is to introduce participants to the concepts of conflict, peace and development, develop participants appreciation of the nexus between conflict, peace and development, as well as develop mechanisms for strengthening conflict, peace and development linkages in Africa.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE:

The prime objective of the workshop is to develop and in some instances enhance the skills of participants in understanding conflict, peace and development towards strengthening the teaching, training and learning capacity of UPEACE Africa Programme partners in Africa.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

  • To develop the capacity of a core group of lecturers and practitioners who are already teaching and working in areas of relevance to conflict and peace in Africa to include a component on conflict, peace and development in their teaching, learning, practice and research;
  • Develop a critical understanding of the enabling factors and the consequences of conflict;
  • To have a deeper and far better understanding of the concepts of conflict, peace and development and the nexus between them;
  • To generate proactive and practical approaches to peace and development issues which confront the African continent;
  • To expand the understanding of peace and development through the exploration of the broad categories of explanatory factors and the inherent inter-linkages which create and sustain pervasive insecurity and conflicts; and
  • To obtain feed-back from participants on the teaching packages for further development of the materials.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES:
Participants will be:

  1. Exposed to key theories and concepts of conflict, peace and development as they relate to Africa;
  2. Gain insights into new, cutting-edge thinking in conflict, peace and development;
  3. Learn the key analytical frameworks in understanding conflict, peace and development processes;
  4. Be exposed to different appropriate approaches to conflict, peace and development in Africa;
  5. Return to their institutions able to strengthen their capacity in conflict, peace and development.

WORKSHOP METHODOLOGY:

The methodology of the workshop will be interactive and participatory with a focus on critical conflict, peace and development issues in Africa. Emphasis will be placed on issues such as human rights based approaches to development, violence, gender, environmental degradation and conflict and a selection of conflict sensitive approaches to development including the role of Regional and sub-Regional African institutions in conflict, peace and development.

QUALIFYING PARTICIPANTS:

In order to maximize participatory and interactive exchanges, participation is limited to a maximum of twenty-five. UPEACE Africa Programme is inviting interested institutions of higher learning, research institutes, and civil society organizations (CSOs) to nominate a representative to submit an application. The final individual invitations will be extended by UPEACE Africa Programme based on review of the institutionally nominated applicants letters of purpose. Nominees applications will be entertained from any African academician, instructor, researcher, or scholar who is currently teaching subjects with conflict, peace, development, environmental management, gender and or a media component, or individuals who will in the near future begin teaching peace-related subject matter (and who have been nominated by their institutions).

Applications from nominated academicians who are already teaching courses related to peace and conflict and practitioners who are working in areas closely related to the peace, conflict and development issues will be prioritized. Every effort will be made to achieve both regional and gender balance among participants. An extremely high level of English language proficiency is mandatory for participation in order that the course may progress without hindrance to other participants.

CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPANT ACCEPTANCE:

  1. An applicant must be nominated by her/his institution;
  2. Applicants must have keen interest in peace and conflict studies;
  3. Applicants must demonstrate experience and seriousness of interest in addressing peace issues in teaching and practice;
  4. Hold at minimum a bachelors degree.
  5. English proficiency

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Each nominees letter of application should include the following:

  1. Current title and position
  2. A current CV
  3. Clear and unambiguous letter of purpose;
  4. Organizational details including physical address, phone, fax and E-mail
  5. Current research and teaching or peacebuilding related responsibilities

Letters of application should reach UPEACE Africa Programme no later than Friday, June 8 2007, either by Email to tabebe@upeace.org or tsion_tad@yahoo.com or by fax (+251 11 618 0993). Acceptance notification will be made by Friday, June 15, 2007. Please note that only selected candidates will be notified.

Application letters by mail should be sent to:

Tsion Abebe (Mrs)
Programme Assistant
UPEACE Africa Programme
P. O. Box 2794, Code 1250
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Tel: (+251 11 618 0991)
Email: tabebe@upeace.org or tsion_tad@yahoo.com

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