EU COURSES AT ASPR

EU courses implemented at ASPR where developed on initiative and with the strong involvement of the ASPR. All of them are awarded by the European Group on Training as certified EU civilian crisis management courses.

Core Courses:

This course will provide participants with basic knowledge and skills required on an international peace mission, independent of the specific function they will fulfill as experts in their own fields. The course modules are designed so as to enhance desirable personal attitudes, stress the importance of active involvement of a host society, and promote a reflective and critical approach to the complex issues of civilian crisis prevention and management. These are skills that will be practiced in direct interaction with people when implementing concrete projects in the field. Participants will also be provided with an overall picture of the different specific functional tasks needed in a mission and how they are interrelated, which shall demonstrate the need for coherence. In addition, this course will contribute to the creation of a similar management culture among future mission members, and a sense of common identity and purpose for EU mission-support. The course combines lectures, seminars, case studies, discussions in smaller groups, and simulations.

Specialisation Courses

Specialisation Courses build upon a basic knowledge, therefore participants should either have taken part in a “Core Course” (or a similar pre-deployment training course) before attending the Specialisation Course, or should already have had previous mission experience.

Child Protection, Monitoring and Rehabilitation

Concerns about children’s rights are rising world-wide. Conflict deprives children of parents, care-givers, basic social services, health care and education. This course addresses the need for improvement of the preparation of experts who would like to become involved in monitoring, advisory, and executive functions related to children in crisis areas. The purpose of this course is not limited to familiarising participants with concepts and best practices but it also seeks to enable participants to exchange knowledge and expertise. To this effect, the course should also serve as a training of trainers. The course combines lectures, seminars, case studies, discussions and simulations. Participants should have relevant professional background in working on child issues in field operations and basic understanding of international human rights and humanitarian law. In addition, participants should have the capacity to multiply the effects of this training.

Press and Public Information:

An international peace support operation often gaps between its mandate and what the concerned population expects from it. Should it fail to plan its communication strategies it is often destined to be positioned on the margins of society and influence. Therefore, the relation to national and international media as well as to the population must be handled in such a way that a satisfying transparency of the mission activities is guaranteed. This course will provide participants with specialised information, practical tools and skills to help them fulfill their tasks in the field of press and public information. It includes, for example, implementation of successful communication strategies with local and international media in order to guarantee clear information dissemination concerning EU involvement, becoming confident in a job as spokesperson or press officer, particularly in dealing with practical challenges such as how to handle difficult interview partners and interviews, how to set up a press conference or write press releases and official statements. Participants should have professional working experience in relevant fields in their home countries and/or missions (i.e. journalists, PR specialists, editors, managers of press and radio-television enterprises, employers of broadcasting co-operations, etc).

Media Development:

In its social education role, unbiased coverage by the media can address many social issues of concern to the target audience, and in the process it can help to reduce tensions and build trust across society. Important information is often related to health, literacy and civil administration in general, etc. This course aims at imparting and strengthening the principles and values of freedom of expression and the support for independent and participatory media in conflict regions. Participants will be provided with specialised information and practical tools in order to assist media regulation, raise awareness on freedom of speech and freedom of the media as fundamental human rights, and to support their implementation as well as to assist independent and participatory media, strengthen domestic and international networks for journalists, and support media training. Participants should have an academic background either in science of communication or law and should have working experience in relevant fields (i.e. journalists, editors, managers of press and radio-television enterprises, employers of broadcasting co-operations etc).

Conflict Transformation:

A good understanding of the background, complexity and dynamics of the conflict situation in which any crisis management task has to be fulfilled will enhance the effectiveness of third party interventions. In this course, participants will be provided with tools and skills for conflict sensitive action in a variety of circumstances faced in missions on a daily basis. The course has mainly been designed for technical experts in other fields of expertise who are sent into conflict and post conflict settings but without a mandate to directly intervene in a conflict situation. On the basis of interactive and mutual learning, and building upon the participants' own experience, the intention is to increase operational awareness and handling of complexity and interrelatedness of conflict issues, as well as modalities, techniques and impact of third party interventions as related to conflict and peace. The course combines lectures, seminars, case studies, discussions and simulations.