UPEACE/Geneva
eNews - October 2004

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UPEACE/Geneva eNews,
October 2004, Issue 2004-04

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

      

New class of UPEACE students 2004-2005

The University for Peace is pleased to announce the arrival of the new students for the academic year 2004-2005. A total of 92 students arrived from 37 countries, the majority from Africa and the United States of America. Students will be enrolled in the following master's programmes: International Peace Studies, Gender and Peace Building, International Law and Human Rights, Peace Education, International Law and the Settlement of Disputes and Natural Resources and Sustainable Development.

The average age of the students is 29; 60% of the students are women. 55% percent of students come from developing countries and 45%, from industrialized countries. Thus, these students will be participating in a diverse and multicultural environment. More...

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LINKING PEACE, SECURITY AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN AFRICA: Building the capacity of Regional Organizations in Africa to fulfil their mandates in peace and security

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA 20-24 Sep. 2004

Organised and Sponsored by:

UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY – CRIS
UNIVERSITY FOR PEACE
COMESA

This was the first workshop involvement of UPEACE specifically oriented towards enhancing the capacity building of regional organizations in view of collaborative activities in the area of Regional Integration, Peace and Security. The level of participants, including regional organisations such as CODESRIA, OSSREA, Africa Peace Forum, ISS, NPI-Africa, ECOWAS, ECCAS, UN bodies such as IDEP and the ECA , as well as CSOs, was indicative of the strong support for this concerned effort to clearly identify the areas of capacity building and the reinforcement required to meet the present and growing needs of regional organisations and CSOs in order to successfully fulfil their mandates in peace and security.

Professor Christof Heyns, Academic Coordinator of the Africa Programme, while elaborating the link between regional integration, human rights, peace and security observed that UPEACE participation in this workshop had the reciprocal effect of underscoring the necessity of solidifying our partnerships and coordinating efforts to address regional critical concerns. This in turn would enhance working relationships between the numerous regional economic communities operating in Africa and facilitate linking up with continental bodies such as the African Union and their operational instruments.

The sharing of UPEACE training packages helped participants to identify potential usage and development of materials which have been designed for graduate level university courses and specialised audiences for members of regional , sub-regional organisations and CSOs, so that they may operate in their respective fields to their highest capacity.

In general, the workshop validated the strategy of UPEACE to slowly and consistently strengthen throughout Africa the teaching capacities of universities and training practitioners in peace related fields, as a means of generating skilled individuals possessing the necessary tools to create a positive climate for policy level change. It also strengthened efforts of coordinating synergies when it comes to implementing peace and security initiatives.

A full report of the workshop will be available on the Africa Programme website www.africa.upeace.org in the near future .

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Faculty and Staff Development Seminar on Gender and Peace Building

Kitwe, Zambia 26-30 July 2004

The Faculty and Staff Development Seminar on Gender and Peacebuilding, held in Kitwe, Zambia from the 26th to 30th of July 2004, was jointly organized by the UPEACE Africa Programme and the Department of Gender and Peace Studies, in collaboration with the Dag Hammarskjöld Centre for Peace, Good Governance, and Human Rights of the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation (MEF).

The seminar focused on exploring the links between gender, peacebuilding and development, with the view to sharing experiences in teaching on gender and peacebuilding, specifically through an exchange of curricular resources both from the UPEACE Department of Gender and Peace Studies, as well as from 28 participants representing institutions from 17 African nations and 10 invited external resource persons.

Following the seminar, participants are expected to act as focal points for the development and dissemination of knowledge in Gender and Peacebuilding. It
it is envisaged that they will be able to:

  • Develop Africa-specific material and curricular content, which UPEACE can integrate into its own programmes,
  • Disseminate curricular content and materials, so that local university professors, lecturers and trainers in civil society organisations may integrate them into their own materials and accelerate the development of peace studies courses related to Gender and Peacebuilding,
  • Develop an international knowledge network of key individuals and partner institutions, able to undertake teaching to address critical knowledge gaps in the field of study of Gender and Peacebuilding,
  • Create an ongoing interactive process of improvement of curricular resources, and
  • Prepare implementation reports for review in the follow up seminar in early 2005.

For further information please click here.

New Book Releases

The Sixth Clan — Women Organize for Peace in Somalia: A Review of Published Literature
A UPEACE Africa Programme publication
Author: Debra M. Timmons
Foreword: Mohamed Sahnoun
Editor: Mary E. King
ISBN: 9977-925-20-8

This literature review provides an overview primarily of women’s struggles and triumphs in southern Somalia based on the available English-language case studies and analyses. Download a PDF version.


Transition from War to Peace in Sudan
A UPEACE Africa Programme publication
Author: Mohamed Awad Osman
Preface: Fred Halliday
Editor: Mary E. King
ISBN: 9977-925-22-4

This study examines through direct interviews and firsthand accounts the roles of non-state and state actors in this process of transformation. Changes that took place in Sudan and the efforts of several groups—including the knowledge and business communities, nongovernmental organizations, and peace-related sectors—consolidated the collective will to attempt to resolve the conflict peacefully and make the process of transition from war to peace irreversible.

This study not only addresses the question
of Sudan, but also discusses many broader issues present in any Mohamed Awad Osman comparative study of conflict resolution and peace building. Download a PDF version.

Jobs After War: A critical challenge in the peace and reconstruction puzzle
Edited by Eugenia Date-Bah
2003, 452pp.,
ISBN 92-2-113810-0
50 Sw.frs.; US$39; £24.95; 35 Euros

While jobs are central to reintegrating conflict-affected groups, reconstruction, peace building and tackling the serious human security threats unleashed by armed conflicts, the issue continues to receive inadequate coverage in post-conflict debate and action. This book examines the complex decent work deficits after armed conflicts and proposes an integrated strategy for addressing them. The contributions of several ILO staff and external consultants offer, together, a comprehensive picture of the key issues that require serious consideration as well as effective practical approaches that can be adopted. They cover, for example, the nature of the labour market and other features of the post-conflict situation; the heterogeneity of the crisis-affected groups and their specific concerns, such as youth, women, refugees, internally displaced people and ex-combatants. In addition, this volume also includes a number of vivid country case studies from the different regions of the world which provide valuable lessons.

To order, please contact
ILO Publications
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland
Fax: +41.22.799.8578
Email: thornton@ilo.org


Young soldiers. Why they choose to fight
Rachel Brett and Irma Specht
2004, xvi+192 pages
ISBN 92-2-113718-X
27.50 Sw.fr; $17.95; £13.95; 20 Euros

They are part of rebel factions, national armies, paramilitaries, and other armed groups and entrenched in some of the most violent conflicts around the globe. They are in some ways still children- yet, from Afghanistan to Sierra Leone to Northern Ireland, you can find them among the fighters. Why?

Key features:

  • Reflects on the experiences of adolescent "volunteers" in armed groups through interviews with the young combatants themselves
  • Challenges the belief that poverty is the main reason young people (aged 15-18) join armed conflicts and explores how war, poverty, education, politics, identity, family and friends can all play a role
  • Examines the issue from an international perspective- interviewing young people from Afghanistan, Colombia, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom
  • Offers recommendations for prevention and reintegration.

To order, please contact
ILO Publications
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland
Fax: +41.22.799.8578
Email: thornton@ilo.org

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MIT's OpenCourseWare: A free and open educational resource

MIT's OpenCourseWare is a large-scale, Web-based electronic publishing initiative providing a free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and self-learners around the world. OCW supports MIT's mission to advance knowledge and education, and serve the world in the 21st century.

With the educational materials from 900 MIT courses now available, the MIT OpenCourseWare initiative is halfway to its goal of publishing virtually all of MIT's courses by the year 2007. These courses range across all five of MIT's schools and 33 different academic disciplines.

For further information please visit: http://ocw.mit.edu

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