Training-of-Trainers in Humanitarian Negotiation Skills in Cairo, Egypt

In December, Clingendael Academy staff travelled to Egypt to deliver the last training of 2024. From 16 until 20 December, they welcomed a group of skilled humanitarian negotiators in Cairo to be trained on delivering a 2-day negotiation skills training to colleagues and fellow humanitarians in their respective contexts. The highly motivated group consists of participants currently working in various countries, including Turkey, Mali, Kenya, and Sudan, among others.

All participants of the Training-of-Trainers (ToT) programme are alumni of Clingendael’s Foundation Course in Humanitarian Negotiation Skills. As such, after a brief refresher on the negotiation theory and tools covered in the Foundation Course, the group launched straight into exploring how to deliver such training.

During the ToT, participants thus both get to further enhance their expertise in negotiation skills and theory, as well as transition from learners to trainers. Over the course of the five training days, participants develop, design, and facilitate their own negotiation exercises, carefully adapting them to their specific professional contexts and analysed needs of their intended audiences. Participants are invited to directly apply the didactic theory in a hands-on setting. Through practice and peer-to-peer feedback, they cultivated their trainer competencies, built confidence, and refined their personal training styles.

The Training-of-Trainers plays a pivotal role in the Clingendael Academy Humanitarian Negotiation Programme. We strive to expand access to negotiation training for humanitarian professionals. By equipping participants to deliver tailored negotiation training within their own contexts and in their own languages, we collectively extend our reach, empowering more humanitarians and advancing the localisation of humanitarian efforts.

We would like to thank all new trainers and their organisations for their commitment and wish them the best of luck on their trainer-journey. We look forward to seeing them in action!