IPT Specialisation Courses

Project Management

Aim & Content:

The overall objective of this Specialisation Course is the improvement of the preparation of experts who like to become involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of projects in crisis areas. The purpose of this training is not limited to familiarising participants with the international standards, the project management circle, human resource management as well as concepts and best practices. The course also seeks to enable participants to exchange respective expertises, and therewith build capacity to improve the training on this topic. To this effect, the course will also serve as a training-of-trainers.

Sessions include:

• Development of a project vision
• Situation analysis and needs assessment
• Stakeholder- and participation analysis, analysis of problems and goals
• Conflict impact assessment
• Logical Framework Matrix
• Budget calculation, fundraising, writing of project proposal  
• Management of a team, information and problems
• Monitoring and evaluation  

Target Group:

• People who act as multipliers and trainers for others in their respecitve field missions.

• People who work or have worked in a project team, as project managers or consultants.

• People who have attended the Core Course and are interested in specializing in Project Management.

Basic project management experience is required.

Last course: 15 - 27 March 2009

IPT SC Women in Armed Conflict

Aim & Content:

Women experience armed conflict in diverse ways as victims, survivors, leaders, peace workers and peacemakers. Violence against women in conflict zones is often an extension of the gender discrimination that already exists in peacetime. Because of their lack of status within society women are systematically excluded from decision-making opportunities, they are often stereotyped as victims and their experiences and contributions are virtually ignored in conflict zones and in nations emerging from war. The fact, that this has not only an adverse impact on women but also on durable peace and reconciliation was recognized by the historic UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000). This resolution reaffirmed the important role of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution.

It is the overall objective of the Specialization Course on “Women in Armed Conflict” to prepare experts who work already or plan to work in (post) conflict zones for focusing on the gender issues, either in relation to the situation and role of women affected by armed conflict or within the peacekeeping operation.  With these foci, the course does not duplicate already on-going training efforts regarding the mainstreaming of gender issues but aims at the focused preparation of experts who want to become specialized in topics such as the impact of war on women, gender analysis and the application of gender (mainstreaming) in project management, women's contributions to conflict resolution, DDR, humanitarian assistance, reconciliation efforts, peace processes etc. as well as gender sensitive approaches and their implementation in peace missions.

The course will cover topics such as:

• Basic concepts of gender;
• Women affected by armed conflict by direct and structural violence;
• Legal framework and international standards (including the UN Security Council Resolution 1325);
• Protection of women in armed conflicts (including strategies, instruments, actors and activities for the protection of women in armed conflict such as protection from abuse, exploitation, trafficking and forced recruitment);
• Empowerment of women in armed conflicts (including strengthening women’s roles in conflicting societies by legal, social, economical, political, and cultural means; strengthening women’s participation in peace-building processes; gender mainstreaming in project management);
• Gender sensitive approaches and their implementation in peace missions (including gender mainstreaming in organizations, policies and programmes; issues of collaboration and complementarity).

 Target Group:

• People with relevant professional backgrounds who want to become experts for addressing the problematic status of women in armed conflict in (post) crisis areas. 
• People who come from diverse professional backgrounds but plan to intensively include the women’s rights topic and gender perspective in future activities (e.g. project management) in their respective areas of competence.  

Basic knowledge on peace and conflict related topics, organizational and management skills, situation assessment and analytical skills, documentation as well as communication and networking skills are required. Participants should also have a basic understanding of gender mainstreaming, international human rights and humanitarian law as well as project management.

Next Course: 31 October – 12 November 2010

UN-IPT SC Child Protection, Monitoring and Rehabilitation 

Aim & Content:

The overall objective of the UN-IPT Specialization Course on “Child Protection, Monitoring and Rehabilitation” is to prepare experts in monitoring, advisory, and executive functions related to children in crisis areas. The course does not duplicate already on-going training efforts which mainstream the topic, but aims at the specialization of experts who are already involved or would like to become specifically engaged in child protection, monitoring and rehabilitation in the framework of UN field missions. Therefore this course is organized in cooperation with UN agencies involved in child protection.

 
The course will cover topics such as:

• Children Affected by Armed Conflict including basic concepts of childhood; structural and direct violence against children; different impact of armed conflict on boys and girls;
• Legal Framework and International Standards including international standards on human rights of children, international humanitarian and refugee law;
• The Evolution of Child Protection including tools and instruments developed by the Security Council and the Working Group on CAAC and their application by practitioners;
• Monitoring and Reporting including the Secretary General's Monitoring and Reporting Action Plan; child-focused situation analysis / investigation, child-focused monitoring and reporting;
• Protection from abuse, exploitation, separation, trafficking and forced recruitment; facilitation of humanitarian assistance to children;
• Rehabilitation including DDR of children associated with armed forces; reintegration of child refugees/IDPs; psychological support in the context of reconciliation efforts in peace processes, education in emergencies; child protection provisions in peace-agreements;
• Organisational and practical aspects of child protection in UN peacekeeping missions;
• Organisational and practical aspects of child protection in organisations other than UN;
• Mainstreaming of CAAC, working with other child protection actors in the field; issues of collaboration and complementarity; child rights advocacy and public information.

   
Target Group:

• People with relevant professional backgrounds in working with children who want to become experts for child protection, monitoring and rehabilitation of the UN in crisis areas (e.g. child protection officers). 
• People who come from diverse professional backgrounds not directly related to child protection but plan to intensively include the topic in future activities in their respective areas of competence.
  

Basic knowledge on peace and conflict related topics, organizational and management skills, monitoring techniques, situation assessment and analytical skills, documentation as well as communication and networking skills are required. Participants should also have a basic understanding of international human rights and humanitarian law.

Applicants for admission will be selected on a competitive basis by an admissions committee. Preference will be given to applicants whose participation is supported by UN organisations.

Last Course: 18 - 30 August 2008

Media Development

Aim & Content:

The Specialization Course on “Media Development” aims at imparting and strengthening principles and values of freedom of expression and the support for independent and participatory media in conflict regions. Future civilian experts in this field should be provided with specialized 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
• assist independent and participatory media
• strengthen domestic and international networks for journalists and
• support media training

Target Group:

• People who already have some professional working experience in relevant fields in their home countries and/or field missions.
• People who have attended the Core Course and are interested in specializing in Media Development.

Last Course: 17 – 29 February 2008

Conflict Transformation

Aim & Content:

The Specialization Course on “Conflict Transformation”  aims at enhancing the effectiveness of specialists in fields other than conflict transformation by adding skills for their conflict sensitive action. They can thus improve their daily work in the field, even if they are not primarily conflict workers. It also helps practitioners of conflict transformation to adapt their pre-existing knowledge to the field work context. The course is built on different modules aiming at increasing the participants’ operational awareness and handling of the complexity and interrelation of conflict issues as well as the modalities, techniques and impact of third party interventions as related to conflict and peace.

Target Group:

• People who are specialists in their own area of competence (e.g. human rights, project management) and would like to combine their already existing expertise with skills on conflict transformation in a fieldwork context.
• Practitioners who already work in mediation, facilitation, conflict transformation and would like to adapt their pre-existing knowledge to the fieldwork context.
• People who have attended the IPT Core Course and would like to specialize in Conflict Transformation.

Next course: 25 July – 6 August 2010

Child Protection, Monitoring and Rehabilitation

Aim & Content:

The overall objective of the Specialization Course on “Child Protection, Monitoring and Rehabilitation” is to prepare experts who would like to become involved in monitoring, advisory, and executive functions related to children in crisis areas. It does not duplicate already on-going training efforts which mainstream the topic, but rather trains experts in topics related to become specialized in child protection, monitoring and rehabilitation. 

Participants will become acquainted with:

• child rights assessment and monitoring

• strategies for prevention of child rights violations and strategies to reduce the impact of armed conflict on children (child recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration), emphasizing the relevance of child rights-based and child-participatory approaches as well as the direct involvement of children in rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts

• methods, instruments and actors for the implementation of strategies for child protection, monitoring and rehabilitation

Target Group:

·         People with relevant professional backgrounds in working with children who want to become experts for child protection, monitoring and rehabilitation in crisis areas (e.g. child protection officers). 

·         People who come from diverse professional backgrounds but plan to intensively include the children’s rights topic in future activities in their respective areas of competence.

Basic knowledge on peace and conflict related topics, organisational and management skills, monitoring techniques, situation assessment and analytical skills, documentation as well as communication and networking skills are required. Participants should also have a basic understanding of international human rights and humanitarian law.

Next Courses: 15 – 27 November 2009

14 November – 26 November 2010

Human Rights

Aim & Content:

The Specialization Course on “Human Rights Protection and Promotion” aims at enhancing the skills needed by those dealing with human rights in the field. It helps to ensure that  their work is efficient, relevant, sustainable, participatory, accountable and carried out safely before or after armed conflict. The course is designed to raise participants’ self-awareness in terms of behavior, attitudes and values when undertaking international human rights fieldwork.  It includes sessions on core skills like monitoring, reporting, fact-finding and interview techniques as well as human rights promotion and education. The protection of vulnerable groups is another issue dealt with during the course. An excursion to the Austrian Human Rights Advisory Board is envisaged.                                    

Target Group:

• People who wish to adapt pre-existing knowledge of international human rights

• to the context of human rights fieldwork.

• Field practitioners (e.g. development and humanitarian aid practitioners) who

• wish to reflect on their work and enhance their skills with a human rights perspective.

• People who have attended the IPT Core Course and are interested in specializing in Human Rights.

Basic knowledge of human rights and international humanitarian law is required.

Next Course: 21 March – 2 April 2010

Humanitarian Assistance

Aim & Content:

The Specialization Course on “Humanitarian Assistance” aims at the preparation of civilian experts for humanitarian assistance in crisis areas, and at ensuring their effectiveness by exploring the realities of work in the field. It helps participants understand the characteristics of international emergencies and to get to grips with the complexity of the international relief system and its main actors as well as the legal framework for humanitarian assistance. Emphasis will be put on the situation of refugees in a humanitarian emergency: It is envisaged to undertake, together with UNHCR, a protection monitoring visit to the biggest reception facility for refugees and asylum seekers in Austria during the first week. The second week is dedicated to a case study on refugees, spanning from their mass migration to sustainable resettlement.

Target Group:

• People with academic background and/or field experience, preferably having already acquired experience with humanitarian efforts.

• Field practitioners (e.g. human rights specialists, experts working in project management) who wish to enhance their expertise in their own area of competence by adding a humanitarian assistance perspective in a fieldwork context.

• People who have attended a Core Course and are interested in specializing in Humanitarian Assistance.

Last course: 13 – 19 February 2006

Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration (DDR)

Aim & Content:

The aim of this course is to provide participants with a strong conceptual framework of the key aspects of the DDR process, especially from a civilian perspective. Participants are supported in identifying sound operational practices of DDR. The course also strengthens the participants’ skills in areas that can support their capacity to fruitfully interact with the numerous actors involved in the DDR process.

The training will cover the following topics:

• The peace process and DDR: the legal framework of international interventions; the political aspects of a peace process (from the peace protocol to reconciliation strategies, war tribunals/truth commissions); rule of law and DDR; post war rehabilitation; human rights and humanitarian law relevant for DDR in general and for the particular needs of vulnerable groups such as children in particular; security sector reform and DDR; main actors involved in DDR; managing DDR requirements in the peace process.

• Strategies and activities in DDR: definitions; dimensions and phases (the disarmament and demobilization phases / the reintegration phases); models of DDR co-operation; regional dimension of DDR.

Target Group:

• People who already have some field experience  in DDR related issues which they would like to link to a comprehensive DDR approach.

• People who have attended the IPT Core Course and are interested in specializing in DDR.

Last course: 13 – 25 June 2005

Empowerment for Political Participation

Aim & Content:

This course aims at providing the participants with practical tools on how civil society in can be supported in crisis areas. The practical aspects are embedded in a theoretical framework. The concept of democracy is discussed as well as different approaches to democratization – a “top-down approach” as opposed to a “bottom-up approach”. The question which role the international community plays or can play in strengthening civil society, and the legitimacy of third party intervention is elaborated, and special emphasis is put on strengthening of minorities and women. (Local) Governance, development of political parties and elections as the basis of participatory democracy are on the agenda. The institution of an ombudsperson is presented and discussed.

Target Group:

• People who already have practical experiences in civil society engagements and are willing to support civil society organizations in crisis areas

• People who have attended a Core Course and are interested in specializing in civil society support.

  Last course: 15 – 28 June 2003

Election Observation and Assistance

Aim & Content:

The objective of this course is to support the development and consolidation of pluralistic, democratic societies through preparing participants for observation and assistance tasks in electoral missions. Participants receive an introduction to the concept of elections as part of the democratic process, explaining some basic concepts and practices of democracy, the relationship between elections and human rights and the democratic standards for elections. Topics to be dealt with include different electoral systems, different institutional approaches to election observation and assistance, elections and election observation in different societies, tasks of Short-Term Observers (STOs), Long-Term Oberservers (LTOs) and Election Supervisors. The complete election cycle is also analysed in a case study.

Target Group:

• People with academic background and/or field experience, preferably having already participated in electoral missions.

• People who have attended a Core Course and would like to become involved in Election Observation and Assistance.

Next course: 1 – 13 November 2009