Designed by Dr Juline Beaujouan in collaboration with peace practitioners, this course introduces practical skills for peacebuilding professionals working in conflict transitions.

Beyond strong theoretical knowledge, working in conflict requires a set of specific practical skills which few new entrant professionals are equipped with. This six-week CPD course aims to support peacebuilding professionals by providing a basic “toolbox” of practical skills and strategies to deal with the challenges of working in violent environments, drawing on established research and expertise from the PeaceRep programme. The course also incorporates the latest developments in conflict and peacemaking, such as the multiplication of non-state actors and the emergence of new technologies.

Course dates: 24 February – 4 April 2025 (six-week course with pre-learning week)

Application deadline: 30 November 2024

Applications received after the deadline will be added to the waiting list. Successful applicants will be contacted if a space becomes available.

 

Upon completing the course, participants will:

• have a critical understanding of how the latest developments in conflict and peacemaking (multiplication of non-state actors, emergence of new technologies, uptake of social media) impact upon Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law in practice
• be able to demonstrate a critical awareness of relationships between all the actors involved in the humanitarian and development cycles, including funders, policymakers, warring parties, and grassroots communities
• be able to confidently apply a number of skills and methodological tools acquired during the course to conflict situations in their professional practice.

 

Course Outline

Week 1 (w/c 24 February): Leadership and influencing skills

If the pioneer of leadership studies Warren Bennis once said that good leaders see conflict as an opportunity rather than a predicament, it takes special skills to lead and inspire when working in environments affected by armed conflicts. After an overview of the objectives, outcomes, and evaluation of the course, participants will be introduced to ideas of privileges, positionality, and self-assessment. The learning material will feature insights by Panos Moumtzis, executive director of the Global Executive Leadership Initiative, on leadership and influencing skills in humanitarian contexts.

Week 2 (w/c 3 March): Protection and self-preservation strategies

Based on the “help the helpers” approach, this week will provide participants with some practical tools of personal development practices and self-awareness, life skills, mental health, and human connection that support the restoration of the nervous system for professionals working in fragile contexts. The learning materials for this week will also include insights from IHL experts at OCHA who work for the protection of vulnerable populations in conflict-ridden areas.

Week 3 (w/c 10 March): Problem-solving and creative thinking

This week will challenge participants to “think out of the box” to provide innovative solutions to complex problems such as violations of human rights and forced displacement. This includes strategies based on art and architecture that focus on grassroots participation and complement traditional approaches to IHL and HRL. This will highlight the crosscutting nature of legal and policy expertise that should infuse any initiative targeted at conflict-affected communities.

Week 4 (w/c 17 March): Adaptation in negotiation: speaking to the good … and the bad guys

The fragmentation of peacemaking and the engagement of new mediators such as Russia and China mean that practitioners must adapt to a number of different actors and practices. Adaptation is thus a key skill, that will be the focus of this class. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about real-life mediation experience by international mediators who will discuss the challenges and strategies of promoting the rule of law in socio-cultural contexts where moral and legal norms are often different than in Europe.

Week 5 (w/c 24 March): Fundraising and partnership with donors

This class sheds light on crucial actors, without whom the humanitarian and development cycles would break, funders and donors. Indeed, before they can be part of any intervention, professionals working in conflict-affected areas will first need to secure the financial and political support of key individuals and institutions. This class will equip participants with key advocacy and relational skills that will complement the leadership and influencing skills gained in Week 1.

Week 6 (w/c 31 March): New technologies and peacemaking

Building on PeaceRep’s leading expertise in “PeaceTech”, this master class will discuss the potential of new technologies to support legal thinking around issues of prosecution of war crimes, protection of human rights and improvement of the humanitarian situation of those affected by conflicts. It will feature several tools and visualisations created by PeaceRep, such as the PA-X Tracker and the PA-X Peace Agreements databases.

 

Fees

£950.00 per student. Successful applicants will receive a payment link within two weeks of the application closing date. At this time, we unfortunately cannot offer scholarships.

 

Application Process

Apply at the link above by 30 November 2024. Spaces are limited, so apply early. We will notify applicants by email within two weeks of the closing date.

Applicants from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) should contact peacerep.teaching@ed.ac.uk for a dedicated application form.

 

Entry Requirements

Professional experience: As this course is designed to be practice-based, we prioritise applications from peacebuilding professionals in international organisations, non-governmental organisations, government, academia, and related fields. This enables us to create a community of practice in which participants can learn from each other’s experiences and discuss current opportunities and challenges in their work. While we welcome applications from students and others with an interest in this area, we cannot guarantee a place in case of high demand.

Language proficiency: The course will be taught in English, and all materials will be provided in English (with select materials also available in other languages such as Arabic). Applicants should be sufficiently fluent in English reading, listening, and writing to engage effectively with other learners.

Technology: Participants will also need an internet connection capable of streaming live video.

 

Course Structure

The course will be run online only. The teaching combines weekly live seminars with pre-recorded lectures and reading material to study independently.

Each week, participants will be sent course content so that they can engage with the material in their own time. Later in the week there will be a synchronous, hour-long online interactive seminar discussion run by the course lead. This discussion is a key component of the learning process and enables participants to reflect on the course materials in a structured format, engage directly with the course lead, and meet other participants from across the field. The tutorials will be offered in a choice of two time slots, carefully timed to make the session as inclusive as possible across time zones and other commitments.

The expected time commitment for this course is 5 hours per week, which is split between 4 hours of self-directed study and 1 hour of interactive online seminar.

 

Completion

The course is non-credit bearing. Participants will receive a certificate of participation after completion of the course, based on meaningful engagement with online activities and tutorial sessions (defined as 80% attendance and participation in live sessions).

 

Faculty

This course is led by Dr Juline Beaujouan. Juline is a passionate researcher and educator with transdisciplinary experience in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies and a keen interest in collaborative and responsible research practices. She is currently a Post-doctoral Research Fellow with the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep), based at the University of Edinburgh. Juline is the convenor and lecturer for the courses “Conflict and Peaceful Transition in the Eastern Mediterranean Region” and “Working in Conflict-Affected Areas: Understand, Cooperate, and Protect” (available as PG and CPD courses).

Juline combines academic expertise with evidence-based policy-making and community inclusion and engagement, which she developed over eight years of field experience across Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. She uses her permanent engagement with the ground to provide contextual and need-based analysis that informs European foreign affairs and public diplomacy policy priorities. She also delivers tailored training to governmental and intergovernmental institutions on geopolitical and humanitarian issues in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria.

Juline is the co-editor of the volumes Syrian Crisis, Syrian Refugees – Voices from Jordan and Lebanon (Palgrave, 2020) and Vulnerability and Resilience to Violent Extremism – An actor-centric approach (Routledge, 2023) and co-author of Islam, IS and the Fragmented State: The Challenges of Political Islam in the MENA Region (Routledge, 2021).

 

Contact

Contact peacerep.teaching@ed.ac.uk for more information.