Trauma-sensitive Peacebuilding

Who can register for this course?

This course is intended to support peacebuilders, including people who work in conflict zones, NGOs, peace projects, social workers, teachers, and people who work in faith-based organizations. We also welcome students and activists who are passionate about trauma healing and peacebuilding in their communities.

Course participants learn to understand trauma from a personal and professional perspective, in order to transform conflict and build lasting peace. This course supports peacebuilders to recognize and acknowledge how individual, communal, and historical harms are the root causes of communal divisions. By cultivating your sensitivity to harm and incorporating trauma healing approaches in your relationships and work, you are better equipped as a peacebuilder to transform interpersonal and intergroup relationships.

Depending on methods and topic of the training, we limit the number of available spaces to a manageable size (a maximum of 20 participants). Register early to reserve your place!

Content

The course will focus on five themes:

1. Getting to Know Trauma. Participants will explore and understand what trauma is and how it affects us on an individual and group level.
2. Narratives and Cycles of Trauma. Participants will understand the power of individual and collective narratives, and our chosen relationship to narratives, cycles of trauma, and violence.
3. Do No Harm: Understanding Dignity. Participants will understand how we can act in a way that is responsible, respectful, and ethical, based on the core principles of appreciating the dignity inherent in each one of us.
4. Trauma Informed Organizational Practices. Participants will understand the concept of Duty of Care for organizations, and trauma-sensitive project planning.
5. Resilience and Self-Care. Participants will understand resilience and self-care, in order to bring those practices into our interactions with individuals and groups personally and professionally.

Objectives

The course design is based on four essential ethical principles: 1) Do No Harm; 2) Uphold Dignity; 3) Recognize and Honor our Common Humanity; and 4) Respect Diversity and Difference.

• Participants will learn about individual, collective, and transgenerational trauma and how this may impact the societies in which they work.
• Participants will understand the key terms of a trauma-sensitive approach and recognize patterns of behaviour common to traumatic events.
• Participants will explore how to integrate a trauma-sensitive approach into conflict analysis and project planning.
• Participants will refine their awareness of their personal and professional boundaries when dealing with traumatized people.

Key Concepts

The key concepts that will be covered in the course are:

• Individual, intergenerational, collective, historical, and racial traumas 
• Trauma-sensitive approach in conflict analysis and project planning
• Duty of Care
• Resilience and post-traumatic growth
• Intercultural growth and competence

Methodology

This course utilizes a variety of methodologies:

• Teaching and presenting information.
• Facilitating reflection and discussion.
• Small and large group brainstorming and sharing.
• Participants engaging in self-paced learning (reading assigned texts, listening to podcasts, watching videos, journaling, and inner mapping).

In the course, participants use a variety of tools, including a digital learning platform, a video conferencing tool, and an online whiteboard. Participants should therefore have a good internet connection (1 Mbit down/upload or better). A headset is highly recommended.

Workload

Deliverables:

Key deliverables will include:

• Active engagement in class and in small-group sessions to facilitate group learning.
• Completion of readings and self-paced learning prior to and in-between classes.
• Journaling to deepen self-awareness and practice ongoing self-care.
• Inner mapping of personal and collective trauma.
• Cross-ethnic and cross-cultural awareness reflection.
• Development of a self-care strategy.

After a successful participation, participants receive a certificate and become part of our alumni network.

Total expected weekly hours: 8 to 10 hours per week

Schedule

Technical Introduction on 15 September 2023 from 10:00 to 11:00 CEST

Online Live Sessions:

• Monday, 18.09. from 10:00 to 14:00 CEST
• Wednesday, 20.09. from 10:00 to 14:00 CEST
• Monday, 25.09. from 10:00 to 14:00 CEST
• Wednesday, 27.09. from 10:00 to 14:00 CEST