Culture-Sensitivity in Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings [P30321]
The objective of the module is to explore core issues related to culture, communication, trust building and culture-sensitivity when working in turbulent and violent environments. Is violence creating a new culture, modifying perceptions, values and attitudes? How should those changes be taken into account in programmes? Understanding local culture but also local ways and knowledge to respond to conflicts is essential in project management whether we intend to develop humanitarian and peacebuilding programmes. This is particularly important when assessing community needs and planning participation; during the implementation of the project when communicating and building trust with different stakeholders; and in the end phase when evaluating results and measuring impacts.
Indicative themes covered:
- Understanding cultural dimensions of humanitarian and peacebuilding actions and conflict
- Understanding contexts of intervention
- Culture of conflict/Culture of peace and their impacts in humanitarianism
- Building trust and communicating with all stakeholders
- Building on local knowledge and endogenous conflict management
- Building on local knowledge and endogenous conflict management
The module runs over 11 weeks from end of April to end of June. It is divided between 2 weeks of readings, 6 weeks of staff-led activities covering the 6 themes above and 3 weeks of preparation of assignments. During the 6 staff-led weeks, you will participate to stimulating webinars, group discussions, simulation, quizzes and group exercises. External experts will be invited to participate to the webinars. You will be proposed to reflect on your practice and to test your new learning in the field to ‘learn as much as possible by doing’. You will have also opportunities to share with other practitioners working in similar fields in order to learn from peer experiences.
The lecturing team is composed of highly experienced academic and practitioners based all over the world. Facilitators and teaching assistants will be mentoring you during your learning experience.
The module is designed for practitioners working in the fields of humanitarian action and peacebuilding, though is open also to personnel working in related fields (such as military and police officers deployed or about to be deployed in field operations, civil servants – including diplomats – in charge of humanitarian affairs, academics teaching humanitarian affairs, journalists, etc.) seeking to develop a more holistic understanding of critical issues related to humanitarian action and peacebuilding. Finally, the module addresses practitioners working in other professional sectors, interested in exploring opportunities in the fields of humanitarian action and peacebuilding.
The module can be taken individually or part of a PGcert or a Master's Degree in Humanitarian Action and Peacebuilding, offered jointly by the Centre for Emergency and Development Practice (CENDEP) at Oxford Brookes University and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Find us on: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/humanitarian-action-and-… or https://www.onlinelearning.unitar.org