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PDCI is part of the Intiative for Peacebuilding (IfP), a consortium of international NGOs, which have joined together to develop and promote international knowledge and expertise on cross-cutting issues accross four continents in the field of conflict prevention and peace building.

Events

PDCI Holds Roundtable on Civil Society Participation and Inclusion

Participation & Inclusion in Conflict-Affected Regions Roundtable

On Monday, April 19, PDCI and Nonviolent Peaceforce hosted an informal roundtable under the Initiative for Peacebuilding to discuss participation and inclusion of civil society in conflict-affected regions, namely Georgia, Yemen and Sri Lanka. PDCI and Nonviolent Peaceforce presented tools and techniques for opening and protecting space for dialogue and managing conflict.

In conflict-affected regions throughout the world, civil society actors play a critical role in opening and protecting space where different interests can be discussed, debated and negotiated. Over the years, members of the Partners for Democratic Change International (PDCI) network and Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) have developed innovative tools and techniques to create space for dialogue as well as protect this space through stakeholder empowerment and conflict transformation. This interactive roundtable will focus on case studies from Georgia, Yemen and Sri Lanka, as well as best practices and lessons learned from peaceful democratic transitions in Central and Eastern Europe. It is intended to facilitate knowledge and experience sharing of the ways and means of engaging various stakeholder in the development of civic cultures in the midst of, following, and as a means of preventing, conflict.

Poland Peacebuilding in Development Trainings February 2010

Partners Poland Foundation, in cooperation with PDCI, conducted two 3-day trainings on “Mainstreaming Peacebuilding into Development Cooperation” in Warsaw in February 2010. The trainings were designed to introduce the concept and practice of peacebuilding and conflict-sensitive development work to development actors and practitioners within the framework of the international development cooperation of Poland and the EU. The trainings also addressed the issues of transitional justice, mediation, gender and human security, as cross-cutting themes that are increasingly important to understand and consider when developing, implementing and evaluating development interventions. The first training consisted of development students interested in learning more about how to become development practitioners. The training focused on developing greater cultural and conflict-sensitivity through interactive exercises and modules focused on conflict analysis from peacebuilding, gender, human security, mediation and transitional justice perspectives. The second training was aimed at development practitioners, and focused on knowledge sharing of development experiences and developing a more conflict-sensitive approach to development work by taking into consideration how development interventions are affected by, and can affect, conflict dynamics. Partners Poland also held a roundtable on February 26 in Warsaw with development and science NGOs and representatives of the Ministry of Development. The roundtable participants discussed Poland’s international development cooperation programme and specifically the relationship between the government and NGOs as implementing partners. Presentations were also held on defining “poverty” and development cooperation, and what this means in a changing world.

November 2009: Partners US 20th anniversary

In November 2009, directors from all the PDCI member centers gathered in Washington DC to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Partners for Democratic Change at John Hopkins University and the Swedish Embassy. The founding member of the PDCI network, Partners for Democratic Change was established in 1989 and initiated the creation of partner centers in Central and Eastern Europe to enhance the role of civil society in democratic transitions.

The event culminated in the “Innovations for Tomorrow” Conference co-sponsored by the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (SAIS).