ACCORD hosted the first Annual General Meeting of the Association of Security Sector Education and Training (ASSET), which was held in Durban from 4-6 March 2009. The meeting brought together a variety of institutions from across the continent involved in SSR training and education to engage and share information and ideas on the challenges encountered in current Security Sector Reform (SSR) agendas and avenues of moving forward to address these challenges.
The meeting provided an opportunity to address the gaps that exist with regards to SSR training around the world and also to explore initiatives of cooperation with other actors and the United Nations on SSR training needs and agendas.
A group photograph of the participants at the Ist Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association of Security Sector Education and Training
The AGM brought together 23 participants from 16 training and education institutions from Asia, Africa, Europe and Northern and Central America. New members that joined the network included the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC); IEPADES (Teaching Institute for Sustainable Development); the Austrian Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR); and the Centre for International Governance and Innovation (CIGI). Arising out of the meeting was the voting in of the member institutions of the 2009 Coordination Committee, which included ACCORD, to help chart the course and direct the network as it focuses on SSR education and training around the world. The United Nations, represented by the Security Sector Reform Team Office under the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) was also present at the meeting to share the goals and agenda of the Office to build the capacity of all its missions on SSR. The Annual Meeting was highly valuable as it brought out rich recommendations on how to establish and solidify SSR training, bringing to the fore the need for accreditation and excellent trainers and training and how as a network it can help to meet the challenges and the problems encountered with SSR across the world.
For further information on this workshop, or on the work of ASSET, please contact Ms. Karishma Rajoo at karishma@accord.org.za or visit the website www.asset-ssr.org.
