ITP Alumni Meeting in Nairobi

The meeting brought together 29 alumni from the Department’s Advanced International Programme on Conflict Resolution (PACS), the Top Level Seminar on Peace and Security (TOPS), Peace and Security in Africa (PASA) http://www.pcr.uu.se/education/international-training-on-dialogue-and-mediation/previous-itp-programmes/ and the International Training on Dialogue and Mediation (ITDM) http://www.pcr.uu.se/education/international-training-on-dialogue-and-mediation/.

The alumni had attended trainings during the years 2002-2021 and came from Benin, Cameroon, Congo DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The Department was represented in Nairobi by Helena Grusell and Armend Bekaj and, from distance in Sweden, by Peter Wallensteen, who lectured online on new developments in conflict trends and peacebuilding.

The theme of the meeting was “Strengthening Inclusion and Sustaining Peace in Africa”. The Life and Peace institute shared insights from their work with dialogue and local mediation in the Horn of Africa and the Foundation gave a presentation on policy developments within the UN system. Other topics covered during the three days were: revitalization of traditional African methods of conflict resolution; the role of local leaders and values in conflicts and sustaining peace; strengthening the involvement of local authorities in peacebuilding and mediation to address root causes of conflict; women, peace and security; UN resolution 2250 on youth peace and security; the impact of climate change in environmental peacebuilding; the impact of the war in Ukraine on peace and security in Africa and integration of former soldiers in peacebuilding.

The meeting was a platform to exchange experiences, and learn about knowledge gained from having attended the trainings at DPCR. There were fruitful discussions on ways forward to develop, strengthen and sustain the DPCR ITP Alumni Network in the region.