21 Jul “Workshop on fifteen years of Senior Mission Leadership training in Africa : Lessons and Experiences”

In 2019, Member Institutions (MIs) of the African Peace Support Trainers Association (APSTA), and other Training Centres of Excellence (TCEs), at various fora, registered the critical pertinence of having a forum to comprehensively take stock of lessons and experiences on Senior Mission Leadership Course (SMLC) delivery across the continent. Informed by this observation, and pursuant to its Work Plan 2020, APSTA articulated a Project on the theme: “Fifteen Years of Senior Mission Leadership Training in Africa: Experiences and Lessons Learned”.

Consequently, APSTA in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), and in consultation with the African Union Peace Support Operations Division (AU PSOD) organized this workshop on the subject. The Project, was thus implemented through online workshops in phases, from 24th, 25th and 27th of November 2020 as phase one, 1st December 2020 for phase two and 3rd December 2020 for phase three. The workshop convoked experts (Trainers and Mission Leaders) from MIs, TCEs as well as Mission Leadership Team (MLT) with requisite experience on SML from missions across the continent.

Participants from respective training centres or institutions, regions as well as missions shared lessons and experiences. They had the opportunity to interrogate innovations in the delivery of SMLC over the past 15 years, with a view to enhancing training and capacity building for mission leadership effectiveness, including in contexts of epidemics or pandemics. The workshop was not only successful but paved the way to ultimately contribute significantly in attaining the objectives of the 4th Aspiration (Peace and Security) of African Union Agenda 2063.