The time has come to announce the end of the European Union Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI) project, both proudly and sadly.
Because this project has been with us for the past three and a half years, please excuse us for making this post slightly longer than usual.
EUCTI grew from the legacy of its predecessor, the European New Training Initiative (ENTRi), which ran between 2011 and 2019. While ENTRi focused on pre-deployment and generalised training courses, EUCTI found its niche in providing specialised need-based and tailor-made courses for personnel of civilian crisis management and other international peace support missions.
Since its inception in January 2021, EUCTI has strived to uphold the same quality standards established under ENTRi. Its two working groups—Evaluation and Standardisation and Methodology—created a solid quality assurance framework, which represents a crucial element of a successful training cycle.
EUCTI’s main activities
They successfully supported the training cycles of 42 training activities, including 35 in-mission training courses and seven workshops for members of training institutions from third countries (non-EU CSDP contributing countries).
The direct beneficiaries of these courses were staff of civilian EU Common Security and Defence Policy (ESDC) missions and members of training institutions from third countries. Altogether, 724 experts benefitted from the training courses provided by EUCTI. Among them, 45% were women, 54% were male, and 1% preferred not to say. EUCTI trained 52% of international staff and 44% of local staff. The remaining 4% were interns, EU civil servants, just-between-missions personnel and independent experts. As expected, three-quarters of all international experts were seconded, and one-quarter were contracted.
We are especially happy to say experts from 55 countries around the globe joined us either virtually or in person. From EU countries to Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Kosovo, to Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Libya, Namibia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, New Zealand and the United States of America.
With a group effort of all EUCTI consortium partners, we revised and updated the In Control Handbook, first published under ENTRi in 2011. A handbook is a practical guide for experts joining civilian crisis management missions and other international peace support missions. The 5th edition of the handbook is also available online HERE and will be updated regularly with new documents, interactive elements and suggestions for further reading.
EUCTI’s opportunities and challenges
One of EUCTI’s first challenges was the COVID-19 pandemic. Our project started in the middle of it, resulting in a shift to more online training courses than originally anticipated. The unlawful invasion of Ukraine impacted our training offer for EUAM Ukraine, for which we delivered a Protection of Civilians course only three months after the start of the war. With unrest and shifting security situations in many countries with EU CSDP missions, the focus on online delivery of training courses continued until the end of the project. In the end, we delivered 19 training sessions online, three in a hybrid mode and 20 in a residential mode.
Our consortium partners responded to various training needs of civilian crisis management missions, from strategic advising in civilian crisis management to digital, strategic and crisis communication, mediation and negotiation, Security Sector Reform, mentoring and advising, Training of Trainers, human rights and due diligence, protection of civilians, environmental issues, cultural heritage protection and conflict resolution skills. Sometimes, they had strong in-house expertise, and sometimes, they engaged with seasoned local and international experts who performed their sessions at the highest level.
Throughout the project, we witnessed the needs-based and tailor-made approach has opportunities and challenges. It has been a fulfilling mission to see how well the courses benefitted their participants and how quickly they received them. However, challenges remain connected to the responsiveness of the missions, as they are committed to training and have other prominent tasks on their plate. We were happy to receive support and guidance from our counterparts in the European External Action Service (EEAS), Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) and the European Commission, for which we thank them.
EUCTI’s thank you
Last but not least, EUCTI would like to give a shout-out to its strong and professional consortium for their commitment to the project and its goals, for providing advice, constructive criticism, and suggestions on improving EUCTI, and for their knowledge and expertise. The network wouldn’t have grown without them.
Thank you to all the experts, trainers, participants, colleagues, and everyone we met along the way who has made an impact on EUCTI, become more than just acquaintances, and shared their ideas and knowledge with us.
We are honoured to have served you and will ensure we serve you well in the next form very shortly.
This is not a goodbye; it is a See you soon!
