Program Officer Mary Hope Schwoebel, of Education and Training Center International, traveled to Fiji to present the course "Peacebuilding, Development, and the Public Sector" as part of a team of course writers fielded by American University's Institute for Peacebuilding and Development (PDI) in support of an initiative sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to establish a Peacebuilding and Development Institute (PDI) for the Pacific Region.

The course development process involved bringing together course writers fielded by American University and the University of the South Pacific, along with more than 25 subject experts and regional experts from around the world, including scholars and practitioners, from both government and civil society, from Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and elsewhere. Course writers presented the conceptual framework for their courses, presented their draft syllabi, conducted a sample training exercise, and received immediate feedback from the participants. During the summer, course writers will revise their courses based on the feedback. This activity will be followed up by a training of trainers (TOT) in the fall for Pacific Islanders who will be the future PDI trainers.