Today marks the last day of the intensive two week training “Negotiation and Mediation as an Instrument for Conflict Resolution” for African women mediators. This was the fourth edition of the training programme that Clingendael Academy conducted in close cooperation with the African Union (AU) and FemWise.

During this edition, 17 highly experienced African women mediators from different countries across the continent focused not only on enhancing and sharpening their tool kit in the area of negotiation and mediation, but also found room to engage in constructive dialogues as to the valuable work of the individual participants and the future of African women mediators as a whole.

Sharpening mediation skills and enhancing dialogue  

The two week programme provided for a mixture of negotiation and mediation skills trainings, by Clingendael trainers who have broad experience in negotiation and mediation themselves, and relevant expert meetings. During the expert meetings knowledge and best practices were shared with Ms. Betty Bigombe, Senior Director for Fragility, Conflict, and Violence at the World Bank and Ms. Elisabeth Scheper, United Nations Senior Mediation Advisor Gender and Inclusion, who are both experienced experts in the field.

During the hands on mediation and negotiation skills training, attention was paid to mediation principles, how to manage complex mediation processes and how to deal with deadlock and different parties at the table. The role of inclusivity in making peace agreements comprehensive and thereby more lasting, was a key element that was continuously reflected upon during the two weeks.

The participants also worked on a two week encompassing assignment in which they used their sharpened skills to build a mediation action plan for a specific conflict, such as Libya, Côte d'Ivoire, Burundi and South Sudan, where some of the participants are actively working.

Engaging in a networking event with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NGO’s working in the field of conflict mediation and prevention, and the visit to the International Criminal Court (ICC), topped off this constructive period of skills training, dialogue and sharing of best practices.

Our training facility 'Negotiation and Mediation Training as a Conflict Resolution Instrument'

For further information on Clingendael Academy's training facility 'Negotiation and Mediation Training as a Conflict Resolution Instrument', please click here.