Forsvarsakademiet udbyder igen i år et kursus, hvor deltagerne kommer helt tæt på sikkerhedsspørgsmål og kapacitetsopbygning inden for sikkerhedssektoren I Afrika. Ansatte i NGOer, private firmaer og udenrigstjenesten opfordres til at søge.
4th African Preparation Course (APC): Politics, Culture, Security Dynamics and Military Capacity Building in Sub-Saharan Africa (17th – 30th August 2015).
”… So simple … Yet so complex…”
This could well be the introductory remark to understanding and relating to the contemporary African context. You are a military officer, a diplomat, from the private sector or humanitarian worker about to be stationed in Africa or to work with African related issues. You are faced with the question: How to translate and make sense of contemporary Africa? How do you, for instance, relate to your African partners and colleagues?
How do you explain the current conflict in South Sudan or the role of insurgents in contemporary African conflicts? And is it true that the African Union is just a paper tiger and not an effective continental organization? If these issues sound relevant to you, this course could well be right for you.
While Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most conflict ridden and poverty stricken parts of the globe, it is also changing rapidly. The end of the Cold War neutralised some conflicts, but at the same time opened new conflicts and processes that had lain dormant during the overlay of the Cold War rivalry.
However, Africa is changing fast, as manifested by the fact that several of the world’s ten fastest growing economies are in Africa, and that major political reforms and large social and cultural transformations’ are currently taking place.
This multidisciplinary preparation course will scrutinize and introduce the diversity of Africa; the conflicts and their related dynamics, economic development, political institutions (both nationally and regionally), resources and history. It will provide you as a participant with an insight into contemporary Africa, thereby equipping and preparing you to better interact with both private and public African partners in your future work.
The course will take the participants on a visit to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and to two different locations in Kenya – Nairobi and Kisumu – to expose the participants to different elements of the African reality and daily life.
Course content
The first three days of the course will introduce participants to general African political, security and historical dynamics, and will end by introducing the Nordic donor strategy.
The first part of the course will take place at the Royal Danish Defence College in Copenhagen, and will run from Monday to Wednesday from approximately 0830 hrs. in the morning to 1630 in the afternoon.
The lectures will be conducted by a wide range of Danish and international researchers. There will also be a VIP speaker and the Royal Danish Defence College will host a seminar dinner on that occasion.
The second part of the course will take place in Ethiopia and Kenya and will focus on political and security dynamics in East Africa and in the African Union, and will involve three in-depth case studies: Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia.
The focus will be on providing participants with an insight into the major security and political dynamics in East Africa, and a better understanding of the political and security systems of the three case studies.
The visit will give students an insight into the security systems and the conditions under which they have to operate. All lectures in Kenya will be conducted by academics from a number of Kenyan institutions in Nairobi and from the University of Maseno, Kisumu, Kenya.
The course will use a variety of teaching methods including: lectures, audio-visuals, discussions, workshops, case analyses, daily dilemmas and preparatory readings. The participants’ own experiences may also be included.
Participants
Whilst the course was initially aimed at Danish and Nordic military officers and security personnel who are or will be engaged or stationed in Africa, the previous courses have also had participants from for instance the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, private companies, NGO’s and international partner institutions.
The course is therefore relevant for all professionals, e.g. diplomats, media representatives, private business and representatives from Non-Governmental Organisations who interact and work with Sub-Saharan Africa, and in particular East Africa.
Registration
Applications for participation in this third course have to be lodged with the Royal Danish Defence no later than Wednesday the 15 March 2015 at 1200 hrs. The course has a maximum capacity of 25 participants. Applications should be addressed to Course Secretary Ms. Pia Moelleskov via mail ([email protected]).
Course fee
The course fee is DKK 32.000,00 for both weeks (for institutions outside the authority of Defence Command Denmark).The fee includes airfare and local transport in Africa, hotel accommodation in the second part of the course and selected meals.
The participants will cover their own per diem and accommodation during the first part of the course in Copenhagen as well as ground transportation in Denmark.
For institutions within the authority of Defence Command Denmark the course fee has been provided for.
Point of contact
Questions regarding the content of the course can be addressed to Course Director Maj. Henrik Laugesen ([email protected]), phone + 45 39 15 15, or Prof. Thomas Mandrup (mail: [email protected]), phone: +45 39 15 12 14). For questions related administration and travel pls. contact Course Secretary Ms. Pia Moelleskov.
