PrintEVP Phase II: Training of Trainers Workshops
Preventing Electoral Violence in Sudan
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Six Important Issues for Sudan and Its Future
September 2009 | Peace Brief by Jon Temin
Most international attention devoted to Sudan has focused on the nationwide elections and the 2011 referendum on the status of southern Sudan. However, there are other aspects of the north-south dynamic deserving of discussion and strategic thinking that do not receive their dew.
Scenarios for Sudan: Avoiding Political Violence Through 2011
August 2009 | Special Report by Alan Schwartz
More political violence will be hard to avoid in Sudan, barring a quick change in current trends. Much of the outcome hinges on the handling of issues that involve the 2011 referendum on whether southern Sudan will decide to secede and became an independent state.
Building Blocks for Citizenship and a Peaceful Transition in Sudan
March 2009 | USIPeace Briefing
Sudan’s upcoming elections in 2009 raise hopes and concerns for the country’s future. According to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in 2005 between the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), Sudan is scheduled to hold national and state level elections in 2009.
After a series of programs on electoral violence prevention throughout Sudan, USIP’s team of trainers—Jacqueline Wilson, Linda Bishai, Kelly Campbell and Dorina Bekoe—worked to develop a north/south network of Sudanese trainers to spread the program content as widely as possible in the short time before Sudan’s elections and referendum.
Following the completion of electoral violence prevention (EVP) workshops in north and south Sudan, USIP’s Education and Training Center, International (ETC-I) and Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention (CAP) set about creating a cadre of trainers to conduct EVP workshops independently.
The training-of-trainers (TOT) phase of the EVP project began in Khartoum in November 2009. Twenty participants from previous EVP workshops attended the TOT, representing sectors such as higher education, media, law, civil society, political party representatives and youth. The southern contingent of trainers, who represented each of the southern states, convened in Juba in January 2010 to receive the same training.
The final phase of the project took place in February 2010, when the Khartoum-based group of trainers traveled to Juba for an advanced TOT workshop with their southern counterparts. The 40 trainers from north and south worked together to conduct a four-day EVP workshop. Each group presented a pre-assigned module while USIP trainers observed and provided feedback.
In addition to building their capacity as trainers, the TOT workshop facilitated north/south cooperation and provided an opportunity for the Khartoum-based trainers to travel to southern Sudan for the first time. With elections scheduled for April 2010, the new network of trainers has limited time to reach their local communities. However, the skills and information gained through this program are relevant for the upcoming referendum in the south and Sudan’s long-term democratic transformation.