Finding a way to deal with a violent past in the aftermath of civil war, the end of an authoritarian regime or occupation, is argued by some to be the basis for lasting peace, democracy and the rule of law. This includes the identification of past human rights violations, the prosecution of perpetrators on a national or international level, the rehabilitation of victims, the establishment of truth commissions, reparation programs, guarantees of non-recurrence and commemoration. Course participants will critically reflect on such processes and assess their effects on society as a whole and on victims and perpetrators in particular.

In this course you will:

• understand different approaches to dealing with the past.
• get familiar with the most important notions, concepts and mechanisms relevant to transitional justice and dealing with the past (truth commissions, archives, reparation programs, guarantees of non-recurrence, etc.).
• learn how dealing with the past processes have been designed and implemented in different contexts.
• learn about the complexities, challenges and politics inherent in dealing with the past processes and the design of mechanisms and interventions.
• exchange experience and become part of a community of practice.

Peacebuilding, development and humanitarian interventions aim at contributing to a positive impact on the contexts within which they take place. External interventions in volatile environments thus need to be sensitive to the context. This includes the identification and mitigation of the risks of exacerbating conflict, and strengthening of opportunities to contribute to positive change.

Working in volatile and potentially quickly changing contexts requires organizations and their interventions to be adaptive and flexible. A conflict sensitive approach systematically takes into account both the positive and negative impacts of interventions on contexts and the impact of these contexts on the interventions.

In this course you will:

• acquire an understanding of the concept and aim of conflict sensitivity;
• learn about practical tools for conflict sensitive program management, and apply them to concrete practical cases;
• explore best practices and lessons learned with conflict sensitivity practitioners from different contexts;
• discuss cases from your own or other participants’ work;
• exchange experiences and become part of a community of practice.

Violent conflict is one of the primary obstacles to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The international and national community – from the humanitarian, development, stabilisation, peacebuilding and human rights sectors – need to enhance their effectiveness in supporting locally led efforts fostering sustainable peace.

Interpeace’s Effective Advising Course equips experts and advisors with new ways of approaching the complexity of their work in and on conflict affected contexts. Focused on three interlinked spheres of action: intra- and interpersonal, contextual, and organisational, the course reinforces participants’ ability to identify and seize opportunities for change.

Over a period of 11 weeks, the online global edition of this professional development course is made up of 12 ~2.5-hour sessions, 3 dedicated group work sessions, as well as background reading and individual preparation.

A team of three experienced facilitators guide ~25 participants from around the world to take a step back from their day-to-day work environments and reflect on their individual roles, personal approaches, behaviours and effectiveness as advisors.

Interpeace’s interactive and practice-oriented methodology provides a space for professionals to take a fresh look at advisory challenges and tackle these more consciously and creatively using practical frameworks.

Five core training modules structure the course: 1) Advisory roles; 2) Advising in peacebuilding contexts; 3) Personal agency & interpersonal skills; 4) Advising in complex systems and 5) Change processes and managing resistance.