Remote Peacebuilding Participatory Course
March 2017
Saferworld Saferworld is a peacebuilding organisation, with programmes in nearly 20 countries and places in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Middle East and North Africa team consists of 7 staff members, 3 based in London and 4 based in Sana’a - Yemen.
In Yemen, we work through a network of partner organisations that carry out the majority of activities and projects with support of our staff in country. Currently we have two major programmes that mainly target youth and women. Through these programmes we try to support civil society to promote peace and coexistence through providing them with resources, platforms, skills, tools and or spaces to meet and exchange experiences.
Why is this important? •
As a tool: it is important to explore innovative approaches to sustain communications and support to Yemeni civil society
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Despite the humanitarian and political crisis, there is an overwhelming demand by Yemeni activists and organisations to engage and be active citizens
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Supporting activists and organisations helps communities cope with the direct impacts of war on the short term
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It helps civil society establish itself as a reference point for community work and mobilisation
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On the long term is helps develop a new generation of leaders who will be able to offer peaceful alternatives in future.
Idea and objectives Context: the idea of the course developed due to restriction on movement, diminishing space for civil society, shift in funding priorities towards humanitarian and emergency response, and huge demand by Yemeni youth on peacebuilding courses Idea: a participatory peacebuilding course, which includes and introduction and 6 modules, and is designed to be delivered remotely to local youth activists. Objectives: to provide youth, women, civil society organisations (CSOs) and community activists with new knowledge, skills and tools which can be used to help increase the impact of their existing work; to give youth a platform to talk and exchange experiences
Audience: Target group: youth and women activists all over Yemen Moderators: SW staff, partners, affiliated activists
Timeline: over a period of 6 - 8 months
Course modules Introduction
Community Awarenessraising
Understanding yourself and others
Peacebuilding Course Sustainability & Fundraising
Relationship building
Concepts for peacebuilding
Action Planning
Course structure
Consultant 1
Course Directors
Consultant 2
Course Administrator / Delivery Coordinator
Moderator 1
Community 1 (16 – 20 members)
Moderator 2
Community 2 (16 – 20 members)
Moderator 3
Community 3 (16 – 20 members)
Moderator 4
Community 4 (16 – 20 members)
Moderator 5
Community 5 (16 – 20 members)
Moderator 6
Community 6 (16 – 20 members)
Course in action For the delivery of each module, Saferworld course administrator and moderators do the following: •
Thoroughly discuss and adapt the content of the module including posters, questions and activities
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Send a reminder to the WhatsApp community about the timeline and content of the module
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Share content with the participants and facilitate ongoing discussions over a period of 2 – 4 weeks
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Evaluate the module with the participants in terms of content and delivery approach
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Evaluate the module with the consultants and provide recommendations for future improvements
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Archive the discussions in each group
Course posters
A few challenges so far It’s a pilot course so we are learning as we go! •
Technical challenges including with the medium WhatsApp
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Capacity challenges related to the time of the moderators and the participants
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Content pitch challenges
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The remote nature of the course
Feedback “The course is great. I feel like I have learned a lot and met great people. I particularly feel more confident after I shared my single story” Ali – Participant from Taiz
“The course will fill a big gap by supporting Yemeni youth to build their knowledge and capacities to better deal with emerging challenges in their local communities“ Maged – course moderator
“Due to the challenges posed by the current conflict in Yemen, there is a need for innovative ways to communicate and reach out to youth. Not only were the selected participants excited about the idea of using Whatsapp, but us moderators as well.“ Nada– course moderator
A few next steps •
Explore the opportunity to build the content of the course by developing additional modules
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Adapt the content to more contexts and translate material into more languages (currently available in English and Arabic)
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Test out other remote/online platforms (e.g. Facebook, Telegram, Google Hangouts)
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Develop the course into a training of trainings package for Saferworld’s partners, youth activists or civil society organisations to directly implement it with their peer groups
We appreciate any advice! THANK YOU! ď Š