ACCORD’s Angola Country Programme (ACP) will be hosting a three-day conflict management training session for civil society in Angola from 27-29 August 2007. Civil society representatives and conflict resolution practitioners will be assisted to analyse and understand current socio-political challenges facing the country
, and particularly the provinces of Huambo, Cunene and Bie, and trained in conflict management and intervention skills and strategies.
Fifteen participants from the provinces of Huambo, Cunene and Bie are expected to attend the three day session; a dialogue session will also be held during the first day. The objective of the dialogue is to analyze the current socio-political dynamic and changes that the county is experiencing, focusing specifically on the above mentioned provinces and proposing a way forward, in an attempt to enhance existing post-conflict reconstruction efforts currently underway in Angola.
Deliberations during the dialogue will be centered on themes such as civil society strengthening; community reintegration; and related community-based conflicts. A gender dimension will also be incorporated into the discussions.
It is anticipated that the dialogue will set the foundation for ongoing discussions during the training. The training will include a basic conflict management module with the objectives being:
- To improve the ability of civil society in identifying the cause(s) of conflict and designing appropriate responses before dispute situations develop into violent conflict;
- To develop a team of conflict management practitioners and facilitators; and
- To build the capacity of local civil society organizations to constructively and effectively engage key stakeholders and complement the various initiatives contributing to the peace building process in Angola.
These activities will focus primarily on building capacity and the transfer of skills that will assist in responding to any given conflict situation.
