Workshops and Other Events

Upcoming/Current

No workshops or other events are currently scheduled.

Past

Study tour to Sierra Leone
(February 9-16, 2004 ~ Sierra Leone)
The MDRP Secretariat and representatives of the national demobilization and reintegration programs went on a study tour to Sierra Leone to explore the strategies for and outcomes of reintegration efforts targeting demobilized ex-combatants.
The Sierra Leone DRP is considered a success by the Government of Sierra Leone, the UN, and the international development community in general. The program is currently coming to a close after successfully disarming and demobilizing approximately 70,000 combatants, and providing reintegration assistance to almost 60,000. The Sierra Leone experience holds many lessons related to reintegration program design, the challenges implementing agencies may face, and provides an opportunity to directly assess the results of such interventions on the lives of ex-combatants and the communities to which they return.

For more information, please see the study tour report:
English 284 KB; Français 288 KB

Regional Workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation/Management Information Systems (M&E/MIS)
(August 11-16, 2003 ~ Kibuye, Rwanda)
The main objectives of this three-day workshop and two day field exercise were to: (i) improve understanding of national DDR program staff of M&E and MIS solutions for program management; (ii) improve management of various program components; and (iii) help to improve production of relevant monitoring and evaluation data within the MDRP. The agency for German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) took the lead in conducting the workshop, with MDPR support.

To learn more about the outcomes of this workshop, please refer to the workshop report: English 17 KB; Français 18 KB

Technical Coordination Group (TCG) Workshop
(July 30 to August 2, 2002 ~ Luanda, Angola)
This meeting brought together representatives from seven MDRP countries (Angola, Burundi, Republic of Congo, the DRC, Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda) as well as representatives from several MDRP partners. The initiative benefited from the direct experience of resource persons from three on-going African DRPs (Chad, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone). Discussions focused on six specific areas: (1) DRP Policy Framework; (2) Target Groups; (3) Disarmament and Demobilization; (4) Reinsertion and Reintegration; (5) Partnerships and Implementation Arrangements; and (6) Public Information Campaigns and Sensitization.

Participants concluded the workshop by identifying key learnings and implications for their work going forward:

• DRPs are an important vehicle towards resolving conflicts and enhancing security in their countries. As such, they form an integral component of poverty reduction and economic development efforts.
• The initiative enabled participants to learn from each others' experiences and to better appreciate the similarities and differences between their own and their neighbors' programs.
• Participants gained a deeper understanding of basic concepts and were better able to identify possible pitfalls. It underlined the need to establish a strong national framework and associated implementation arrangements.
• Participants were able to exchange ideas on the challenges associated with the management of international assistance to DRPs;
• Participants confirmed that the meeting was a successful first step in the process of building a "network of practitioners." They indicated that the issues of social and economic reinsertion and reintegration and implementation arrangements should be deepened in future TCG meetings.