𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆

Disaster communication course participants during a group discussion at PCSS garden in Karen.

The disaster communication and early warning course took place at the Peace and Conflict Studies School, Karen. The one-week course targeted personnel from the County and National Disaster Committees. It drew participants from Garissa County, National Disaster and Management Unit, Kenya Wildlife Service, St. John Ambulance, Ministry of Defence Kenya, Kwale County, Kenya, National Disaster Operations, Kisii County, Kajiado County, and Kenya Red Cross Society.

The aim of the course was to enhance capacity in Disaster Management through a basic understanding of the disaster communication and early warning process at the Community to National level, enhance the communication and interpersonal skills of local emergency managers, planners, and responders for effective public communication.

The course exposed the participants to different communication styles and skills, various communication systems and protocols used in a disaster, how to tailor disaster communication products and templates for diverse audiences, and implement Disaster Communication and Warning strategies for various disaster scenarios.

Elias Mbarare Mpelele, Loitotok Sub County; Department of trade and cooperatives. 

"The disaster communication and Early Warning Course will impact the training I give through outreach programs to a number of people in my sub-county. My educational background is in social services, and I provide support and assistance to particular groups in my community.  By the end of this course, I will be able to distinguish various communication systems and protocols to employ during a disaster. In addition, I will gain knowledge on how to implement strategies for different disaster scenarios."

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒

The Protection of Civilians course equipped participants with relevant knowledge and skills to effectively assess, plan and implement Protection of Civilians (POC) activities in United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) peace operations.

The course targeted middle senior-level practitioners, drawn from the military, police, and civilian components, who are either working in an existing PSO/PKO or earmarked for deployment. The two-week course took place at the Peace and Conflict Studies School, Karen. It had 27 participants drawn from diverse countries namely Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia.

 Lt.Col Rashid - Pakistan Armed Forces; Mission-United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo  (MONUSCO)

"Initially most peacekeeping missions were limited to the military. However, lately, peacekeepers are made up of the military, police, and civilians. Therefore, all three pillars must work together to ensure the success of any mission. Through this course, I have been able to understand the roles played by each component. Impressively, this course had representation from 16 different countries. During our interactions, we were able to learn how situations differ with regard to the countries. For instance, the experience I encountered during my mission in Liberia is different from the current situation in DRC. When you bring these experiences from conflict zones, it opens up your scope of understanding.”

Azza, Sudan- United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) Role; Movcon - Customs clearance Unit

“The Comprehensive Child Protection Course complements my future strategic plan which is to upgrade to the Child Protection scene. Now, the Protection of Civilians is part of the role in peace support and peace-keeping operations. Through this course, we were able to feed off each other’s experiences thus gaining indispensable knowledge.”

Major(Rtd) Mark Tum-Kenya Defence Forces; Lead Facilitator 

“The protection of civilians is a highly topical issue at the forefront of international discourse and has taken a prominent role in many international deployments. The current Peace Support/Keeping Operation (PSO/PKO) setting has become increasingly dynamic and complex with civilians bearing the greatest brunt during the conflict. Due to this, Protection of Civilians (POC) has taken center stage as a prominent mandate and, often, used to measure the success of peace operations. For UN peace operations, protection of civilians includes the use of force to protect civilians under imminent threat as well as other activities such as contributing to creating the security conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance; taking measures to ensure security in and around IDPs camps among others.”

𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 𝐁𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐃

Front L-R (Mr. Kenneth Abotsi, Col Rhoda Mwasigwa, Mr. Dunstan Wafula, Ms. Anne Kathurima) Back R-L(Ms. Leah Kimathi, Mr. Watson Karuma, Ms.Margaret Cheptile, Ms.Jecinta Kamau)

The Peace and Security Research Department convened a team of experts to review the Election Observation Course (EOC) curriculum and rationale for review.

EOC is one of the fundamental courses on conflict prevention offered at the Peace and Conflict Studies School. The complex nature within which elections are conducted in transitionary or post-conflict context makes election observation a critical tool in realizing credible, transparent, and inclusive electoral processes. 

Elections are conducted in a democratic environment conducive for participation by all interest groups i.e. women, ethnic minorities, the youth. As a result, pre-election observation is a crucial part as it highlights current issues ahead of an election. The election cycle requires rigorous reporting in all stages i.e. pre-election, election, and post-election.

The process is aimed at enhancing election observation for international observers and domestic observers and actors earmarked for election observation in Eastern Africa.

The objectives of the Curriculum Review Board are to; review aim, scope, and target audience, review learning outcomes, and module specifications, integrate gender perspectives in the course content and methodology and revise the course program.

(Curriculum Review Board session at IPSTC Karen in 2022)