Date: July 7th 2010

Peace Operations Training Institute News

New Course Added to the Curriculum

The Institute is pleased to announce the release of Preventing Violence Against Women and Gender Inequality in Peacekeeping, which has been available for enrolment since 8 March 2010. As of 1 June the course has over 1,200 enrolments! A brief description follows; enrol today if you haven't already:

Gender inequality and violence against women affect the lives of every person, regardless of age or gender. This course aims to assist peacekeeping personnel to promote the human rights and security of women and girls. It does so through lessons emphasizing the nature and scope of violence against women and girls around the globe, the connections between gender inequality and violence in both public and domestic spaces, as well as on interpersonal, community, national, regional, and international levels. Other lessons cover women's rights as human rights and the international UN mandate to involve women in key roles within peacemaking and peacebuilding processes at every stage and every level of authority. Readings and case studies provide examples to assist peacekeeping personnel with considering how they, as individuals and as teams, can work to promote gender equality and to change the attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate violence. Ten lessons, 310 pages.

Software Upgrade

Our Development Team continues to work behind the scenes on a massive software upgrade project. The new software is being released on a rolling basis and is in use by UN Mission personnel who enrol with the Institute individually (not through a Mission-sponsored programme). Initial reaction to and implementation of the upgrade has been positive and worked smoothly. Students are able to establish, access, and manage their individual accounts with a minimal amount of data entry, and information is being recorded, stored, and retrieved quickly and efficiently. As the work progresses, all students will begin to use the new features that the upgrades provide.

Focus for 2010

The focus for 2010 at the Institute is curriculum development. Older courses are under revision, and several new courses are under development. Our Training Content Department is meeting with course authors and field training experts in order to offer you the most current material possible. Look for new courses to be released later this summer and fall. If you have an idea for a course or feel the curriculum could be improved with the addition of a particular topic, please send an email to our support staff. We always welcome your feedback.

Executive Director is Guest Lecturer in China

The Executive Director of the Peace Operations Training Institute, Dr. Harvey Langholtz, visited The People's Republic of China's two national peacekeeping training centeres 1-3 June 2010. He met with faculty and students at the Chinese Police Peacekeeping Training Center in Langfang, as well as with the Director and Staff at the People's Liberation Army Peacekeeping Training Center in Huairou. At both locations discussions centred on how to provide the e-learning curriculum from the Peace Operations Training Institute to Chinese peacekeepers, and how to integrated the courses into China's peacekeeping training programmes.

China is playing an expanding role in UN Peacekeeping. At present, over 2,000 Chinese military and police personnel are serving at MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, UNAMID, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, and UNTSO.