ACCORD participated in the African Union (AU) Training of Trainers (ToT) on the Civilian Foundation Course (CFC), which took place from 14 to 18 March 2022 at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana.
The CFC is a mandatory basic course designed with the objective of exposing civilian experts to the conceptual and institutional frameworks of AU multidimensional Peace Support Operations (PSOs) to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of all components in successfully executing the mandates of AU missions. The CFC training package was developed in 2013 and utilised by several Training Centres of Excellence (TCEs), Training Institutions (TIs), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional Mechanisms (RMs) and the AU to prepare civilian experts for possible deployment into AU PSOs. Following several years of utilising the package, there was a need to update the course package so that it responds to emerging training needs of the PSO environment and harmonises the content and form of foundational training offered to rostered civilian experts across TCEs and Tis. The curriculum was therefore reviewed in 2020 and piloted in 2021. Having been satisfied with the feedback from the pilot training on content of the reviewed curriculum, the AU organised the AU ToT on the CFC to disseminate the Curriculum in 2022.
The ToT provided participants with basic knowledge on the reviewed CFC Curriculum, basic skills in facilitating a range of interactive methodologies used in conducting a CFC based on the reviewed curriculum, and interpersonal and group communication skills to enable them plan and conduct the CFC in their various institutions based on the reviewed curriculum. ACCORD’s Programme Officer, Mr Wandile Langa presented on Dialogue and Negotiation in PSOs, while other presentations included, Training Design and Facilitation; Nature of Conflicts in Africa; Overview of AU Peace Support Operations; Cultural Awareness and Conflict Sensitivity; and Managing Stress in the PSO Environment.
ASC Rostering and Training Focal Points from the RECs/RMs and CFC Coordinators and Facilitators in selected TCEs/Tis attended the training.
Through the Training for Peace (TfP) Programme, ACCORD continues to support the AU’s concerted efforts on building and training a pool of ready-to-deploy civilian experts. Programme Officers, Mr. Wandile Langa and Ms. Rumbidzaishe Matambo, representing ACCORD’s Peace Support Operations Cluster, attended the AU ToT on the CFC. The TfP Programme at ACCORD is an initiative funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
