16th March, 2022: Two countries will host the Second Edition of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) Annual Stakeholder Dialogue Series (SDS), a forum which seeks to strengthen partnerships with relevant stakeholders towards the promotion of peace and security in the sub-region.
The event is being organised in Senegal on March 22, 2022 and The Gambia on April 5, 2022 respectively, and is supported by the German Development Agency (GIZ). It is under the theme: “Contributing to the Implementation of ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework: Promoting Partnerships with Civil Society Organisations on Peace and Security in West Africa.”
The event, organised in collaboration with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), falls under the KAIPTC’s five-year strategic plan to strengthen collaborations with CSOs, Think Tanks and the private sector to advance policy dialogues and improve peace and security in Africa.
It is also in keeping with WANEP’s strategic objective to play a facilitation role in the implementation of the ECOWAs Conflict Prevention Framework as well as the requirements enshrined in the framework of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the KAIPTC and WANEP. Over the years, the two institutions have sustained a great partnership and worked together in many areas in furtherance of peace and security on the continent.
The 2022 SDS is aimed at leveraging on the strengths of both institutions to engage with relevant CSOs in West Africa, to contribute to the implementation of ECOWAS’ Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF).
A total of 40 participants are expected to participate in the one-day workshop in Dakar, Senegal, (Tuesday, 22nd March, 2022) and Banjul, The Gambia (Tuesday, 5th April, 2022) respectively. Participants will be drawn largely from CSOs in West Africa, specifically, Senegal and The Gambia, ECOWAS, Development Partners, Government Agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations.
The KAIPTC, as part of its five-year strategic plan, instituted the SDS in 2021, with the aim of creating a platform to engage its clients, development and institutional partners as well as its stakeholders on specific issues of concern within the Peace and Security landscape.
The Maiden edition, which was organized in 2021, in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) focused on fostering strategic partnership between the KAIPTC and the private sector, and explored opportunities in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in the context of peace and development.
This year’s forum will among others discuss and agree on innovative strategies to support and complement ECOWAS’s conflict prevention and management efforts as well as forge partnerships and enhance networking among relevant stakeholders such as KAIPTC, WANEP and other relevant CSOs within the peace and security environment.
In 2008, ECOWAS adopted the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF) to serve as a strategic framework for improving conflict prevention and human security in the West African Region.
To contribute towards the operationalisation of the ECPF, the KAIPTC and WANEP as part of their mandates have worked extensively to advance peace and security in the region.
The KAIPTC has provided consistent world-class training, research and policy support to ECOWAS and its Member States and other international partners in pursuit of the goal for a peaceful and prosperous region. Similarly, WANEP has also worked with ECOWAS to strengthen community resilience and build capacities to respond to the peace and security challenges confronting the region.
It has been recognized that there are untapped opportunities and unsystematic engagement with CSOs to harmonise their interventions in the areas of capacity building, research, and policy advocacy in support of the implementation of the ECPF. The 2022 SDS is expected to proffer practical measures to address this seeming gap.
The KAIPTC was established as an institution of the Ghana Armed Forces in 1998 and commissioned in 2004 by the Government of Ghana. As an international ECOWAS mandated Training Centre of Excellence, the KAIPTC’s main mission is to provide globally recognised capacity for international actors in the African Peace and Security landscape through training, education and research to foster peace and stability on the continent.
Officially launched in 1998, WANEP is a leading regional Non-Governmental Organization focused on contributing to peace and security in West Africa. As part of its mission, WANEP works to enable and facilitate mechanisms for cooperation among civil society-based peacebuilding practitioners and organisations in West Africa. WANEP is the official CSO partner to ECOWAS in the development and operationalization of Early Warning and Early Response in West Africa.
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