It’s been a week since the EUCTI Final Conference, and we are still reflecting on the valuable insights shared. We want to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended and contributed to the success of the event, as well as to the Consortium partners and stakeholders whose collective effort has been instrumental in the success of the EUCTI project.
Why were we even organising the final conference in the first place?
Because after three and a half years of activity, the EUCTI project is slowly but surely nearing its end. The project has not only met but surpassed the objectives it set out in January 2021, a source of great joy for the whole Consortium. Partners have implemented over 40 (41, to be exact) training courses and activities, among them seven workshops for members of training institutions from countries not (yet) contributing to EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions. We have trained almost 700 participants, mostly staff of civilian EU CSDP crisis management missions who were joined by personnel of other international peace support organisations, a testament to the project’s wide-reaching impact.
Two working groups—the Working Group on Standardisation and Methodology and the Working Group on Evaluation—made conducting all these activities possible. Together, they formed a solid quality assurance mechanism and ensured common standards throughout the training cycle. Working Group on Standardisation and Methodology revised 16 new course concepts and provided a comprehensive peer learning tool for the consortium partners. The Working Group on Evaluation assisted all partners in retrieving valuable feedback and insights from the training participants and fed the findings to the Working Group on Standardisation and Methodology through exchange meetings.
EUCTI Final Conference
Consequently, the EUCTI Final Conference, which celebrated the project’s achievements, was held on Thursday, June 6, 2024, at BluePoint Brussels. The conference consisted of a morning panel discussion and an afternoon partner meeting, and it ensured plenty of time for networking among participants, who are all experienced members of the civilian crisis management family.
In the morning, panellists Mrs Mihaela Matei from CPCC.1, Ms Anna-Karin Häggeborg from PCM.1 and Ms Tetiana Babiichuk from EUAM Ukraine shared their views on the project and how such training initiatives can remain connected with the EU CSDP training policy and architecture. They all emphasised that flexibility, agility, quick responsiveness, and need-based, tailor-made, and integrated approaches to training ensure that such initiatives are well-equipped to fill the existing gaps.
The notion was explored further in the afternoon when key lessons learned and takeaways from the project were presented in an informal and familiar way.
Beware that this is not the end of this Consortium and its need-based and tailor-made activities. Stay tuned for more soon!
