Transition International (TI) and the Barcelona International Peace Centre (BIPC) are pleased to announce the Advanced (Re)integration course on Community Based (Re)integration of ex-combatants, returnees, refugees, internally displaced persons, children released from armed forces and groups and other youth at risk, to be held in Barcelona, Spain from the 10th to the 16st of July 2022.
Introduction
This course aims to bring together practitioners, policy makers, researchers and donors from around the world to share experiences and develop a common understanding of possible and innovative approaches to (re)integration. Best practice on economic, political and social (re)integration are shared by a pool of experienced trainers, and further explored and challenged by the participants.
Several targeted (re)integration, resilience, self-reliance and community security projects usually occur in parallel. These projects tend to create further divisions in the communities and are often not sustainable. Mostly, separate programmes are provided for children which, in many cases, are not linked to the adults' programmes, reducing opportunities for benefitting from the pooled resources and having young people falling in the cracks. Further, programmes are often highly centralised and thereby do not adequately respond to local contexts, nor empower local actors to plan, execute, and own the processes.
This course explores these dynamics and proposes different means to build bridges between the different approaches, programmes and its target groups in order to foster durable solutions, stability, local economic development, and (re)integration of the different groups in their host or receiving communities. It explores responding to new realities, new practices and theories, including on (re)integration and prevention approaches in ongoing conflicts, recruitment and disengagement from extremist groups, sustainability of (re)integration, Humanitarian, Development and Peace triple nexus programming, conflict sensitivity, localisation etc. Finally, the course presents an innovative approach for more comprehensive context and community driven (re)integration, integration, resilience, and community security programming, named Community Based (Re)integration and Security (CBRS).
Objectives of the course
The training will allow participants to assess specificities of different programming contexts, develop informed and coherent programmatic responses, and coordinate and implement coherent and context-driven socio-economic (re)integration and community security programmes in partnership with communities. The overall objectives of the course are to:
- Create a common understanding of the different approaches in (re)integration, release and (re)integration of children, resilience, community violence reduction, community security, and youth in conflict programming, and build bridges between the participants coming from these different fields
- Obtain the tools to effectively assess local context and conflict dynamics, profiles of communities and people in need of reintegration assistance, and translate these into the design of conflict sensitive and locally-led reintegration programmes, while working within national or regional frameworks
- Obtain the understanding and tools to design and implement context driven CBRS programming including: information, counselling, and referral systems, targeted (re)integration assistance, local economic development, social support and development, and security and small arms and light weapons management
- Learn how to address cross-cutting issues including public information, persons with disabilities, natural resource management, gender and age responsiveness and especially capacity development of local service providers
- Learn about the potential role of the private sector in reintegration processes
- Share experiences and explore reintegration opportunities and challenges of people disengaging from groups listed as terrorist organisations
For who is this course?
The course is designed to benefit government officials of locations where (re)integration programming is relevant, civil society actors of these countries, and staff from donor, UN, INGOs, research institutes and private sector actors supporting these processes.
Training approach
Participants will be encouraged to share experiences amongst themselves, in addition to learning from the pool of experienced trainers. Lessons from past and recent (re)integration experiences are constantly used to illustrate theory and standards. Practical hands-on adult learning techniques are combined with more traditional transfer of knowledge. A wide variety of teaching methods are used including lectures, background readings, PowerPoint presentations, discussions, role-plays, a full day simulation exercise, cooperative learning, teamwork, etc. The course is known to be intense.
Trainers
TI puts great emphasis on delivering the course with a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary team. The course will be led by Irma Specht, who brings over 25 years of experience on socio-economic (re)integration programmes. Other senior trainers from TI and other experts with experience of different programmatic areas will be brought in for particular sessions, to ensure a variety of approaches and perspectives. Guest trainers from international organisations will be brought in to share their experiences.
Dates & location
The course will be held from Sunday morning 10th July to Saturday evening 16th July 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. During the course there will be no free time, so participants are advised to arrive a few days earlier to discover and enjoy Barcelona, and get rested.
How to register
The application deadline is the 31st May 2022, but acceptance onto the course will be granted on a rolling basis. To apply for the course, please submit your current Curriculum Vitae and the completed application form to Eva Lopez, course coordinator at info@bcnpeacecenter.org, with copy to operations@transitioninternational.com. We can provide logistical assistance and letters in support of participants’ visa applications upon request and after receiving 50% of the fees (non-refundable). Payment arrangement information will be included in acceptance letters. Cancelation up until two weeks before the start of the course will be granted, with a 50% reimbursement.