The International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) is a training and research institution, focused on capacity building at strategic, operational and tactical levels for peace operations within the context of the African Peace and Security Architecture. As an organisation that shares similar objectives, ACCORD was invited to attend IPSTC’s annual symposium for 2014, in Nairobi, Kenya.
The symposium, which took place on 29 October 2014, focused its discussions on Somalia, South Sudan and Kenya as a contribution to regional security and stability. The symposium had various discussions in form of occasional papers, each guided by the theme “Effective Strategies for Responding to Emerging Conflicts in Eastern African Region”.
The symposium was a platform to consolidate views from stakeholders including but not limited to practitioners, and academia to inform IPSTC’s research. It was also a platform for disseminating the results of the research conducted in 2014 by the centre. The seminar sought to achieve two major outcomes; to provide critical input to the research products in order to improve substantive output and; strengthen networks of collaborations with different organisations, institutions and partners in peace and security.
The Occasional Papers discussed in the Symposium focused on women participation in Peace and Security in Northern Kenya, the participation of women in peace building in Somalia, the role of Civil Society in peace operations in South Sudan and Somalia and finally the traditional structures for peace and Security consolidation in Somalia. The research findings and the discussions sought to further enhance the role of women in peace processes, contributing to sustainable peace in the region and further implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. ACCORD’s engagement in this Symposium sought to further strengthen the understanding of the dynamics in the East African Region and contribute to strengthening the research products of the Centre.
The Training for Peace Programme at ACCORD is an initiative funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
