In the first week of May, Clingendael Academy returned to Iraq to provide its second negotiation skills training for humanitarian aid workers. The participants worked for organisations in the Dutch Relief Alliance and its local partners. Ten men and seven women participated in applying the theory of negotiations in simulations with a lot of enthusiasm and commitment.

In the local context, negotiations around access and talks with donors are re-occurring challenges.  After the training, the participants highlighted the need to prepare as a team for negotiations, and to learn from each other through debriefings.  During the training one participant said:

"I know I have always been negotiating, but now I can finally do it in a structured and strategic way". 

The group was interested to hear about the possibilities to further develop their skills through Clingendael’s advanced training and training of trainers, as they were eager to ensure institutional capacity and share their knowledge with their colleagues

We are looking forward to supporting more aid workers in developing these skills in upcoming trainings, such as the negotiations training in Kigali, New Delhi and The Hague this month, and in Djibouti in June.