On Thursday, 9 June, ACCORD Senior Research Fellow Angela Ndinga-Muvumba served as a discussant at Sida's launch of the 2011 World Bank Development Report. As the report focuses on the broad themes of conflict, security and development, Ndinga-Muvumba represented and promoted ACCORD's philosophy and work on conflict resolution to a broad constituency of international stakeholders.
ACCORD, under its Sudan Conflict Transformation Initiative, held a five-day conflict management training course from 23-27 May 2011 in Durban, South Africa, for key personnel from South Sudan’s Ministry of Peace and CPA implementation. This initiative falls under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between ACCORD and the Ministry of Peace and CPA Implementation in April 2011, and aims to contribute to the achievement of positive peace in South Sudan.
On 25 May 2011 ACCORD was invited to be a partner in the hosting of the Africa 11 vs World 11 International Peace Day Soccer Match hosted by the African Union and the Michael Essien Foundation. In 2010 the AU declared 2010 the Year of Peace and Security. Michael Essien, an international soccer player and a Ghanaian national, is an AU Peace Ambassador. The soccer match was a commitment made in 2010, to be held on Africa Day in 2011.
On 14 and 15 May 2011 the Executive Director of ACCORD, Vasu Gounden, was invited by the African Union (AU) to be one of two external experts invited to attend the strategy session for the AU's Peace and Security Department. ACCORD has a long history of working with the AU, through its various Units. More recently ACCORD has undertaken a programme aimed at building mediation capacity on the Continent for the AU to respond to conflicts. ACCORD also has two staff seconded to the AU.
On 17 – 19 May 2011 the Executive Director of ACCORD, Vasu Gounden, was invited to be a resource person at an "Integration as a factor for Africa's Renaissance" International Symposium in Lome, Togo, hosted by PAX Africana. Pax Africana was established by H.E. Mr. Edem Kodjo, the former Secretary-General of the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the AU, and the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Togo. The aim of Pax Africana is to contribute towards the emergence of a better world, including Africa, with the objectives of guaranteeing peace in Africa by a proactive assessment of conflicts and their prevention through negotiation, mediation and the fostering of an environment to enhance development.
From 11-12 April 2011, ACCORD’s Knowledge Production Department (KPD), in partnership with Uppsala University, hosted an authors’ workshop entitled Peace Agreements and Durable Peace in Africa in Durban, South Africa. The workshop brought together 10 authors from around Africa who are contributing chapters to a book co-edited by Dr. Grace Maina, Manager: Knowledge Production Department, ACCORD, and Erik Melander, a Professor from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University.
ACCORD’s Knowledge Production Department is currently recruiting a Research Intern with experience in environment, climate change and conflict. The applicant should have completed, or working towards the completion of, a post-graduate degree in a relative field to environment and climate.
The Training for Peace (TfP) Programme at ACCORD recently supported the United Nations (UN) Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Peacekeeping Best Practices Section (PBPS) in the implementation of their civil affairs skills training methodology by conducting a training-of-trainers course in Liberia, and a civil-affairs course specifically, for UNMIL. The training courses were aimed at ensuring Civil Affairs Officers are equipped with the required skills, and to develop a pool of trainers that can implement the DPKO's 'Civil Affairs Skills Training Methodology'.
On 16 May 2011 the Executive Director of ACCORD, Vasu Gounden, opened a training that ACCORD was hosting in North Sudan for the National Centre for Diplomatic Studies. The training was conducted as one of the activities under the MoU that ACCORD signed with the Government of North Sudan in September 2010.
On 21 April 2011 ACCORD hosted a workshop in Freetown, Sierra Leone, which brought together key stakeholders to discuss strategies for ensuring sustainable locally-owned peacebuilding initiatives in Sierra Leone.
In a run up to the Local Government Elections to be held in South Africa on 18 May 2011, ACCORD, in partnership with the Independent Election Commission (IEC), the Democracy Development Programme (DDP), Avusa Media and Gagasi FM hosted a “Peace in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) for 2011 Local Government Elections” debate on 14 April 2011 that included speakers from the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance (DA), and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). ACCORD’s Deputy Director, Jerome Sachane, represented ACCORD at the debate.
