Clingendael Academy provides tailor-made and specialised training programmes for diplomats from around the globe. We aim to equip and empower them to effectively address the global challenges of our time and to strengthen diplomatic efforts to tackle them. Our activities range from comprehensive diplomatic training programmes in The Hague to online training courses and short workshops abroad focusing on specific skills and themes.

Making an impact

In 2022, we trained 658 diplomats from 128 countries in 43 diplomatic courses. Our training sessions took place all around the globe, covering every continent and various geographical regions such as North Africa and the Middle East, South East Asia, Eastern Europe & the Caucasus, Central Asia, Sahel & Magreb, Eastern & Southern Africa and Central & South America.

Clingendael received fifteen senior diplomats and ambassadors from member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) to participate in a one-and-a-half-week training programme aimed at strengthening the individual skills and the institutional capacities of the OAS.

The return to in-person trainings has strengthened participants’ ties with the Netherlands and Clingendael. Our regional training programmes also fortified connections between participants from various countries. Nonetheless, our two professional studios continued to run non-stop in 2022 as well. We digitally welcomed many diplomats from afar to twenty specialised trainings, such as our online courses on economic diplomacy, global health diplomacy, cyber diplomacy and blue economy.

To maximise our learning impact, we integrated the advantages of online training into our in-person programmes. We introduced hybrid training formats for pre-course assignments, personal intakes and introductions.

Clingendael Academy hosted the third edition of the Women Ambassador Network in The Hague for female ambassadors and directors of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Highlights

In 2022, we strengthened our ties with the Diplomatic Corps in The Hague by hosting the Women Ambassador Network in The Hague again for female ambassadors and directors of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We also welcomed twenty newly posted diplomats for the fifth edition of The Hague International City of Peace and Justice seminar.

Clingendael Academy furthermore provided a negotiation training for the Newly Elected Member States of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York, with support of the Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN.

After a two-year hiatus, we were delighted to resume hosting our extended programmes in an in-person format. This included new editions of our twelve-week Course for International Relations (Leergang Buitenlandse Betrekkingen) and our seven-week training programme for the 2022 Dutch diplomats in training cohort.

Looking ahead

Clingendael Academy plans to further enhance its training offerings by organising specialised training courses on climate diplomacy and climate negotiations and expanding our specialised courses on cyber and economic diplomacy. Additionally, we will capitalise on the experience and benefits of online training courses by incorporating hybrid approaches and blended learning formats into our training programmes.

Clingendael Academy offers training to a wide variety of security sector professionals, aiming to enhance their capacity to deal with various challenges regarding international security. We also share lessons learned, participate in Training of Trainers programmes and engage in multi-year collaborations with international partners to assist in the development of their own training capacities.

Making an impact

In 2022, we organised 62 training projects for a wide variety of clients. We provided training to professionals on various levels, including high-level staff from the Dutch ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs and the Dutch National Police, in addition to many other international security professionals. Clingendael Academy also participated in and offered training to target groups within the European Union Police and Civilian Services Training (EUPCST) and the European Union Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI) frameworks, covering pre-deployment and crisis management training.

In September 2022, Clingendael Academy organised a five-day pre-deployment training to members from the Dutch civilian mission expert pool and members of the European Police and Civilian Services Training (EUPCST).

Additionally, we continued to enhance our international cyber crisis simulations, upgraded our interactive materials on NATO decision-making, incorporated scenario thinking in various courses dealing with strategic uncertainty and expanded the tools used to train participants’ conflict sensitivity. Furthermore, our open registration course enabled many professionals working on international security to build pertinent skills and knowledge.

Highlights

Clingendael’s cooperation (since 2016) with Georgia’s Defence Institution Building School (DIBS) was rewarded by formal, unconditional NATO accreditation, and marked by a seminar on learned lessons that capped a five-and-a-half-year partnership. Talks were held at NATO Headquarters to support further cooperation between Clingendael Academy and our partners in Georgia with an eye on European and wider regional security.

We also concluded our multi-year capacity-building effort in Vietnam this year, supporting a Training of Trainers programme on the implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture, with the adoption of a high-quality curriculum and two successful Vietnamese-led pilot trainings at the beginning of the year. Additionally, we started a new three-year initiative to support capacity building in international law in cooperation with the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

Furthermore, 2022 marked the second year of the ongoing three-year collaboration with our institutional partners in North Macedonia, in particular the Joseph Kruzel Training Centre (JKTC). Supporting NATO integration of the North Macedonian Ministry of Defence and army, Clingendael helped the JKTC build their international security-oriented training portfolio by training some fifty mid- to high-level civil servants, including a group of trainers in an extended Training of Trainers trajectory.

In September 2022, Clingendael Academy delivered the second crisis management and communication module for the Defence Diplomacy course in coordination with the Joseph Kruzel Training Centre in Skopje, North Macedonia.

Looking ahead

In 2022, we started preparing Clingendael’s first open registration course on cyber security, of which the first edition took place in the spring of 2023. We will also pay increased attention to cyber security and cyber governance in our institutional cooperations.

In 2023, our partnership with North Macedonia’s JKTC and the Public Affairs Regional Centre is set to come to fruition in a final series of workshops and related Training of Trainers programmes to solidify local training capacity on cyber, CIMIC, crisis management and NATO decision-making. Furthermore, we are embarking a new phase of cooperation with Georgia’s DIBS.

We also look forward to expanding training programmes for groups in the Netherlands, including the Ministry of Defence, police and various municipalities.

Clingendael works with conflict parties and mediators around the world to help them negotiate and mediate more effectively in peace processes. We deliver skills training to groups in conflict, mediators and mediation support officers, and help them in strengthening their capacities. We provide Training of Trainers programmes to help scale up their efforts.

Making an impact

In 2022, we continued to equip negotiators in conflict settings, mediators and mediation support staff around the world with the knowledge and tools needed to promote peaceful resolutions effectively. Through interactive simulations and exercises, participants sharpened their conflict resolution skills and expanded their toolbox to effectively respond to changing dynamics on both micro and macro levels. Participants reported that they feel more confident participating effectively in their processes after completing our training.

This year we transitioned back to mostly in-person trainings. Clingendael Academy trained multiple groups in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, including high-level members of the Bangsamoro Insider Mediators Group in the Philippines, national-level women leaders and senior representatives of political parties in Sierra Leone, traditional leaders in Nigeria and members of the Libyan Women Network for Peacebuilding. We also conducted several online trainings in order to reach groups in conflict settings, such as high-level political and civil society leaders in Ukraine and insider mediators in Yemen.

Clingendael Academy welcomed fifteen mediators from a range of francophone African countries for a fully French-taught training programme titled 'Negotiation and Mediation as an Instrument for Conflict Resolution'. The programme was organised in cooperation with FemWise – Africa, the African Union and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Highlights

On 30 March and 1 April, Clingendael hosted the annual meeting of the Mediation Support Network in the Hague. The event focused on strengthening collaboration between the fields of diplomacy and mediation support. It also formed the basis for further research on the topic, which will be published in 2023.

Members of the Mediation Support Network met at Clingendael in The Hague for the annual meeting.

In 2022, we completed research on the role of youth in peace processes, titled ‘Strengthening Youth Voices in Peace Processes’. This paper was based on a thorough training needs assessment, which sought to inspire support organisations (like Clingendael Academy) to create innovative approaches for equipping youth with a broader set of tools to overcome structural barriers and effectively engage in peace processes wherever possible.

Looking ahead

In 2023, the Clingendael Peace Negotiations Programme will build on the initial work done to prepare a new training series on climate change and conflict resolution as well as continue to strengthen and support more inclusive peace processes. Furthermore, the programme will focus more on longer-term process support by contributing to conflict resolution efforts in the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes Region, Sahel, Middle East and North Africa in particular.

Clingendael Academy helps civil servants, diplomats and other professionals in gaining a better understanding of the European Union. We provide training in navigating negotiations with other EU member states or institutions, as well as in EU accession processes. Moreover, we equip them with the necessary tools to effectively represent their interests in Brussels.

Making an impact

As Europe was once more gripped by geopolitics, the EU trainings at Clingendael Academy picked up pace like never before. Our European Union team was strengthened to a total of four trainers, who together provided a record amount of training courses across all diplomatic programmes of Clingendael Academy. Our high satisfaction rate of 9.1 across the board for all open registration courses on EU matters, shows our impact. Of all people trained on European affairs, 97 per cent would recommend their course to their peers.

Highlights

In 2022, Clingendael Academy organised new EU Presidency training courses for Czechia in Prague, Sweden in Stockholm and in Brussels, and negotiation trainings in the European Diplomatic Programme. The two editions of the successful EU Masterclass were jampacked, as well as all six editions of the Insight in Europe course. For the first time in three years, we also took a batch of civil servants to Brussels to see the European Union’s institutions in action.

A group of Dutch civil servants caught a glimpse into the ‘Brussels Bubble’ during the annual alumni trip for the course Insight into Europe.

We provided in-company training courses for a record of five various organisations, from the governmental and the private sectors – including the Dutch broadcasting service, consultancies and advisors – to the national parliament.

Looking ahead

In 2023, we will continue to provide training courses in light of some flagship programmes of the European Union’s institutions, including EU cooperation with third countries on human rights, energy and renewables. We will also work on new projects, including in-depth training for local governments, third country accession training and new strategic in-house company workshops. Moreover, we will continue with new EU Presidency training programmes for EU member states scheduled for holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

By improving the negotiation skills and processes of humanitarian aid workers and their organisations, Clingendael Academy aims to support the provision of principled humanitarian assistance to populations in need. We offer skills training to aid workers and mediators, capacity-strengthening research workshops to organisations, and courses on humanitarian diplomacy to diplomats and aid workers.

Making an impact

Through our wide reach of more than 400 participants from 57 countries, we contributed to improving humanitarian negotiation processes that aim to ensure safe and principled assistance to populations in need. As national and local staff who live in the communities they serve are often the first responders in a humanitarian crisis, our outreach to national and local staff in our training ensures we contribute to more locally led humanitarian responses.

While aid workers and their organisations all around the world benefit from investing in their negotiation skills, Clingendael Academy particularly targets aid workers operating in areas facing severe access constraints for humanitarian assistance, such as Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Ukraine.

After two years of online editions, a group of experienced humanitarian negotiators joined Clingendael Academy in The Hague for the three-day Advanced Negotiation Skills Training for humanitarians. Working in countries like Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria means that the participants often need to negotiate in highly complex and unsafe environments.

In 2022 we also completed two Training of Trainers courses after which participants delivered their own training to their colleagues in the field and in their own languages. It was wonderful to continue this important part of capacity building for aid workers after the COVID-19 pandemic had put a halt to it.

Clingendael’s Humanitarian Negotiation Project was off to a strong start in 2022. In January and February three groups of humanitarians worked on their negotiation skills in intensive online trainings.

Highlights

We welcomed over fifty diplomats and aid workers to our online humanitarian diplomacy courses. Through expert sessions, interviews, case studies and reflective and frank group discussions, the participants learned more about policy cycles, the day-to-day realities of each other’s work and opportunities for collaboration.

After more than two years of solely providing digital negotiation skills training for humanitarian aid workers, we were back on location in March 2022 for a physical training programme in Istanbul. Another highlight was that we supported the Ukrainian humanitarian response with an exclusive training for IOM Ukraine.

Clingendael Academy provided a three-day humanitarian negotiation training in Istanbul for twenty aid workers, of which the majority works in Turkey or the region.

Looking ahead

We look forward to supporting more aid workers in training their colleagues in negotiations skills in 2023. Additionally, we will seek opportunities to keep the momentum of our courses on humanitarian diplomacy by connecting with the participants and facilitate exchanges between aid workers and diplomats when possible.

Clingendael Academy offers trainings in economic diplomacy, equipping diplomats with essential skills, knowledge and insights to address the most pressing economic and financial challenges of our time.

Making an impact

We continued to address some of the most pressing economic issues – concerning energy, digitisation, agriculture and trade – in our training courses. Our studios provided us with the means to reach participants as far as the Small Island Development States (SIDS) in the Pacific, while our in-person training allowed us a more hands-on approach to, for example, prepare potential Dutch agricultural attachés for their work in embassies across the globe.

Clingendael Academy provided a five-day training to ten participants from different departments within the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture (LNV) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

Highlights

The energy transition is the quintessential topic of our time and was thus an important part of our focus for 2022. Therefore, Clingendael Academy was pleased to offer both an online and a physical rendition of the Shiraka Training Programme on energy transition in the Middle East and North Africa region.

We were also pleased to once again receive a delegation of World Trade Organization (WTO) trainees at Huys Clingendael to discuss the post-COVID-19 world economy, the rise of digital trade, upcoming EU due diligence regulations, sustainable trade and resources, and global energy trade. We completed the year with a first workshop on economic diplomacy in Oman.

Clingendael Academy hosted an online training programme on Blue Economy (which refers to “all economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts”) for diplomats and representatives from several governmental institutions in Panama.

Looking ahead

The training partnership between the WTO and Clingendael was renewed in 2022 and will remain in effect until 2028. Clingendael is also receiving requests for more training programmes for commercial and agricultural attachés and for training projects regarding the energy transition. We plan to further explore this in 2023.

Clingendael Academy offers customised educational courses for a variety of stakeholders from governmental, non-governmental and private sectors, aiming to equip its professionals to operate effectively in the international arena. This effort takes shape in the training of soft skills such as negotiation, intercultural communication, effective influencing and strategic thinking.

Making an impact

We delivered close to 32 training programmes for 480 participants from various organisations on a range of personal effectiveness topics, such as negotiation, intercultural communication and effective influencing skills. Clingendael Academy supports hundreds of internationally operating diplomats, civil servants, policymakers and influencers to become more effective at what they do.

Clingendael Academy provided a three-day seminar in international negotiations to fifteen diplomats of the department on Foreign Affairs of the government of Flanders.

In several training courses we have worked with a wide range of Foreign Affairs ministries on scenario-building exercises, in which the participants mapped the various directions in which a certain economic, security, political or legal situation could develop. After assessing multiple scenarios, they planned backwards in order to decide which policy decisions would be wise today.

“Cultures are fluid, and the training teaches how to navigate between them.”

– Karin Haaksman, senior public affairs officer at Koppert, participated in Clingendael’s open registration course on intercultural communication

Other exercises such as moon shots also helped our audience to determine their vision and strategy. Using strategic-thinking tools, we also offered tailor-made training courses on effective influencing to NGO workers, civil servants, private sector professionals and EU policymakers, for example staff from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.

Highlights

As part of a longstanding cooperation, we trained public prosecutors in the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service to become better international negotiators and decisionmakers. We organised similar programmes for groups of scientists and academics from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, the latter focusing on negotiation processes concerning water issues.

From 17 to 19 October 2022, Clingendael Academy organised a three-day open registration course on Intercultural Communication for a a diverse group of participants from the private as well as public sector.

In addition, we trained various groups of professionals to improve their communication skills, for instance diplomats from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as civil servants working with their Dutch Caribbean counterparts for the Ministry of Interior.

Clingendael Academy delivered a seminar on dealing with resistance and conflict and negotiations to KroezeWevers. The seminar was attended by consultants of various locations in the eastern part of the Netherlands, such as Enschede, Doetinchem and Emmen.

Looking ahead

In 2023, we look forward to organising personal effectiveness learning products for a variety of stakeholders from both the public and private sectors. We will continue and expand our training offerings for the Netherlands Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service. Additionally, we plan to start a learning trajectory for the Central Judicial Collection Agency, expanding our reach to different institutions and sectors.