The Peacebuilding & Development Institute's Humanitarian Practice Training Series provides practical, skills-based training courses to professionals and practitioners in the fields of development, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief. The series prepares this generation of practitioners - and the next generation - to respond adequately and responsibly to complex emergencies around the world.
Mission:
Washington, DC is rich with humanitarian relief and development agencies, but many lack but many lack opportunities to provide professional development training and capacity-building for their staffs. Many agencies continue to struggle with the most effective methods of disaster response and with how to be accountable to the beneficiaries of their aid and assistance. The Humanitarian Practice Training Series was created in the aftermath of the South Asian tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the numerous levels of humanitarian assistance in the conflict-affected areas of Darfur, Somalia, Kosovo, Colombia, Burma, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Experts in humanitarian response identified many constructive lessons, as well as critical areas for improvement. The Humanitarian Practice Training Series provides opportunities to improve disaster response and accountability and serves as a medium to perpetuate the dialogue about industry best practices among humanitarian assistance professionals. This unique and cutting-edge training program helps to bridge the gap between policy and practice.
The Training Series is ideal for:
- Practitioners, professionals, and volunteers in the fields of international development, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and peacebuilding
- Headquarters or local staff of government, relief, and donor agencies
- Students and scholars of international peace and conflict resolution, international development, and humanitarian assistance
The Training Series will:
- Explore industry best practice, ethical and responsible response, and the "Do No Harm" model
- Demonstrate cutting-edge response techniques
- Identify ways to integrate standards and methods into daily operations
- Examine the linkages among relief work, development, and conflict-sensitive programming
- Provide networking opportunities for professionals across diverse sectors
The Peacebuilding & Development Institute's team of expert practitioner-trainers designs each workshop in collaboration with relief agencies and specialist organizations. Each training course utilizes a mixture of lecture, presentations on core skills and knowledge, case studies, problem-solving simulation exercises, and panel discussions with expert guest speakers. Each participant receives key documents and reference resources from across the industry.
The six-part series of two-day training courses begins in November 2008 and will continue through April 2009. Please see full course descriptions for additional information about indivdual workshops.
