Coalition for Peace in Africa

Continental Conflict Transformation Course 10th May 2004 – 11th June 2004

Twice a year, COPA holds a 5-week training workshop. This course covers
diverse aspects of conflict transformation and peace building, and is aimed
at building the capacity of participants, mostly from the African continent,
working in related fields.

The next course is scheduled for 10th May 2004 to 11th June 2004 and will be
held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Special facilities are available for
participants with young children who cannot be left behind.
The purpose of this course is to assist men and women working for
development, human rights, peace and justice to:

Ø Explore why and how people and organisations organise and to share
strategies for building networks and coordinating the programmes of
different stakeholders
Ø Introduce tools and skills for analysing conflicts that can assist in
identifying intervention strategies to reduce and prevent violence.
Ø Identify the origins and causes of new and ongoing conflicts in Africa and
their links to continental and global factors
Ø Support and strengthen skills for facilitating dialogue, including
communication and facilitation skills, negotiation, mediation and
arbitration.
Ø Explore ways of providing support between practitioners and policy makers
active in the field of Conflict transformation and Development
Ø Develop strategies to train other people working for development, human
rights and reconciliation in methods of transforming conflict and preventing
violence as well as the monitoring and evaluation of these initiatives.
Ø Develop a vision for Africa that reflects African values and capacities
for peace
The course

The course has been designed specifically for people who want to focus on
conflict in Africa. Although it will include an analysis of global events
and their impact on Africa, emphasis will be placed on culturally sensitive
and sustainable responses to regional and community conflicts in Africa.
Participants will be requested to bring to the course case studies and
examples of conflict transformation from their own experience and research.

The course will take place over five weeks. Throughout the course there is a
strong focus on personal development and the need for individuals and
organizations to form networks, coalitions and alliances with others working
in similar fields. By the end of the course each participant is expected to
have designed an action strategy, which is developed further and implemented
on his or her return.

Holding the course in South Africa offers unique opportunities to explore
the history and context of a conflict process that is still unfolding. The
course includes tours to local places of interest as well as opportunities
to make contacts with local organisations.

Participants are encouraged to enrol for full participation. A certificate
in Advanced Conflict Transformation will be issued to all participants who
complete the programme.

Course content

The course will employ a wide variety of participative approaches to
learning.
The following themes will be covered:

Module One: Organising for change
10th May – 14th May 2004

· Observations and Perception
· Bringing about organisational change: Why and how we organise
· Networking, coalitions and alliances
· Perspectives on world peace
· Understanding concepts: Peace, conflict, violence and development
· Developing a relationship model between these concepts

Module Two: The dynamics of conflict
17th May – 28th May 2004

· Why and how we analyse
· Approaches to analysis
· Tools for conflict analysis and solving problems
· Situation analysis
· Developing case studies and intervention opportunities
· Processing trauma
· Faith, values and religion in Africa
· Facilitating dialogue, mediation, negotiation and arbitration
· Advocacy, lobbying and campaigning
· Reconciliation and reintegration

Module Three: Conflict Intervention in Africa
31st May – 4th June 2004

· Changing environments and political systems in Africa
· Demilitarisation
· Culture and tradition
· African renaissance, NEPAD and the AU
· Building an African Vision
· Human rights and African values

Module Four: The way forward for peace
7th June – 11th June 2004

· Conflict and sustainable development
· ‘Do no Harm’
· Impact and effectiveness
· Monitoring and Evaluation
· Developing context specific action strategies

The course staff
Four COPA members from the African continent will facilitate the course.
With experience of living and working on the continent and internationally,
they will develop processes in consultation with the group to fine-tune a
course that meets the participant's needs.

In addition to the full-time tutors, resource specialists, in the field of
conflict transformation, human rights, sustainable development, community
mobilisation, trauma processing, reconciliation and the African Renaissance,
will be invited to offer inputs and conduct sessions related to particular
topics.

Participants
We would like to encourage women and people from Francophone and Lusophone
countries to apply. While the course in conducted in English care will be
taken not to disadvantage any language groups.
The course is aimed particularly at:
· Development and relief workers operating in contexts of conflict and
violence in Africa.
· Religious personnel involved in peace and reconciliation work or planning
to become involved.
· NGOs wanting to develop their programme beyond development and emergency
relief to include advocacy, lobbying, peace building and reconciliation.
· People working for Sustainable Development.
· Human rights workers interested in Conflict Transformation.
· Those wanting to explore African cultural mechanisms for peace making and
reconciliation.
· People working with others for Peace and Justice.

For organisations:
This course is particularly concerned with strengthening people’s capacities
to improve their organisations’ effectiveness in responding to conflicts
they encounter in their work. We would particularly encourage organisations
to send participants whose knowledge and experiences will be easily shared
with the rest of the organisation.

COPA strongly requests organisations wishing to enrol their staff for this
course to prepare the participants in the following ways:

· Identify the organisation’s expectations of the course.
· Identify the participant’s objectives for the course.
· How will the participant use the learning obtained from this course in the
organisation?
· How does the organisation propose to integrate the participant’s learning
and experience?

Location
The course will take place in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, at the
Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Centre in Yeoville. The venue is 25 km from
Johannesburg International Airport.

If you would like to attend the course but have special needs that you are
worried will affect your participation please let us know. Every effort will
be made to accommodate these needs.

Course Fees
Total fee $3500
Materials and Tuition $1500.00
Accommodation, extra curricular activities and medical insurance $2000.00
Deposit Fees $500.00 (To secure a place upon acceptance, non-refundable if
participant withdraws)

You will need about $300.00 for personal expenses and travel money. It is
the applicants’ responsibility to find all necessary funds: for course fees,
accommodation, travel to and from where they normally live, and spending
money. Many course members are funded by their employers or by an agency
already familiar with their work. Copa members can offer advice to
applicants on how to find alternative sources of funding.

Scholarships
You can, if necessary, apply for support from the programme's scholarship
fund by filling in section 4 of the application form. Applications for
scholarships are normally decided at least three months before the start of
the course. Factors taken into account in awarding scholarships include: the
situation in which the applicant is working, the need to include people with
a wide range of experience on the course, the resources already available to
the applicant, gender (we aim for a balance between men and women which
often means giving preference, where appropriate, to women) and, of course,
the scholarship funds at our disposal.

Numbers on each course are restricted. It is advisable to apply as soon as
possible, and preferably not later than 3 months before the course or module
starts. Late applications are considered only if space allows.

If you would like to attend the course but have special needs that you are
worried will affect your participation please let us know. Every effort will
be made to accommodate these needs.

For further information on COPA, membership and the Continental Course
please contact:

Copa Course Co-ordinator
Postnet Suite #145,
Private Bag X9,Melville 2109
South Africa
Fax: + 27 11 331 0671
Tel: + 27 11 331 2944
Mobile:+27 084 356 8030
Contact Person: Nthabiseng Ngobeni
Email: [email protected]

P.O. Box 13265,
00100, Nairobi GPO, Kenya
Tel: 254-2-577558
Fax: 254-2-577557
Mobile:+254 (0)73 376 9840
Contact Person: Michael Muragu
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.copafrica.org