The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation with the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue is inviting applications for a training cycle to develop practical skills to hold open dialogues about migration and freedom of movement issues.

WHEN: 2 - 6 September 2024 (in person) – 20 September (online) – 16 December (online)
WHERE: Yerevan, Armenia and online for dialogue follow-up

ORGANIZED BY: OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in co-operation with the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue.

WHO
The course is open to civil society actors and community workers, including persons working in cultural centres, libraries, teachers, and local administration, based in Armenia and Georgia (citizenship of the applicant is not decisive).

Are you working in a community centre and would like to create a space where members of different communities can meet and get to know each other?
Are you a civil society activist, advocating for the rights of migrants, returnees, or displaced persons and would like to learn about dialogue as a tool to bring together various stakeholders and discuss their experiences and perspectives?
Are you a teacher looking for new ways to release tensions arising at your school?
Are you working in a city council or in local administration and interested in fostering mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence in your community?
Are you a social worker or humanitarian worker want to strengthen your skills to facilitate communication in tense situations?
Then this training can be useful for you!

WHAT
The objective of the training course is to provide participants with the tools to be able to organize and facilitate open dialogues on migration, freedom of movement and social inclusion issues in their work or communities.

Dialogue facilitation is a process, where the facilitator creates a space for a talk based on honesty and respect. A facilitator helps the group have a meaningful and respectful dialogue by creating a safe and open environment, encouraging participants to listen to each other without interrupting, asking questions and ensuring everyone gets a chance to speak. A dialogue can be conducted through a workshop, training sessions or public meetings, where people get the chance to talk about difficult and challenging topics in a more honest way. The topics for such dialogues can for example be discrimination, lack of empowerment, poor governance or human rights abuses.
In the Armenian and Georgian contexts, issues such as family separations caused by forced displacement, economic migrations resulting in population decrease, return and reintegration, and restrictions to freedom of movement in some regions can be approached through dialogue.

Topics addressed in the training will include:
  • What is an open dialogue?
  • What is facilitation and how to facilitate a dialogue?
  • Important elements in a dialogue
  • The art of asking good questions
  • Strengthening listening skills
  • How to build trust?
  • How to plan and implement a public dialogue in your community or work?
  • How to deal with emotions that might arise during dialogue?
  • Practicing dialogue facilitation
HOW
The training will be interactive and will require a high level of active participation by all participants, including through group work and exercises. Applicants should take into account that if their application is accepted, they will not be able to carry out their other work-related activities during the training sessions. Participants will practice their facilitation skills by conducting dialogue sessions facilitated by other participants to gain experience and confidence to independently organize and facilitate dialogues on migration or freedom of movement within their communities after the training. The course is conducted in English by trainers with experience of dialogue training and facilitation and proven gender and cultural sensitivity.

Participants are expected to:
  • Have a genuine desire and capacity to organize open dialogues on migration or freedom of movement in their communities
  • Participate full-time in the 5-day in-person training on 2-6 September 2024
  • Prepare a feasible dialogue plan
  • Attend a follow-up online workshop organized by ODIHR on 20 September to discuss their dialogue plan with other participants
  • Hold at least one public dialogue on migration or freedom of movement in their community.
  • Attend a final online workshop on 16 December 2024 to present their achievements and conclude the training cycle

Participants who complete the whole cycle, including organizing at least one dialogue before the final workshop will receive a certificate.

The costs of training materials will be fully covered by ODIHR. Full board accommodation for 5 nights and transportation will also be covered by ODIHR for applicants who do not reside in Yerevan.
SELECTION CRITERIA
The size of the group will be limited to 18 participants, selected according to the following criteria:
  • Civil society actor and/or community worker (including persons working in cultural centres, libraries, teachers, and local administration) in Armenia or Georgia;
  • Interest in the potential of dialogue when addressing challenges linked to migration, peaceful coexistence of diverse communities and freedom of movement;
  • Motivation, commitment and capacity to organize at least one dialogue on the issue of migration in Armenia or Georgia by mid-December 2024;
  • Prior experience of working with groups with lived experience of migration or displacement or facilitating community events;
  • Ability to actively participate in English;
  • Availability to attend the training for its full duration and readiness to set aside other work activities during the five days;

APPLICATION
Applicants should complete the application form and upload their CV (PDF or DOC) by 21 July 2024. ODIHR will strive to ensure a geographical and gender balance among participants. By 2 August 2024, successful candidates (only) will be informed about the outcome of the selection process.

If you have any questions about the content of the training or the selection procedure, please contact Lola.Girard@odihr.pl and Veronica.Grazzi@odihr.pl.

For more information about the work of ODIHR: https://www.osce.org/odihr

For more information about the work of the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue: https://peace.no/

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* 1. Surname, Name

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* 2. Gender

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* 3. Citizenship

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* 4. Name of your organization (if applicable)

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* 5. Country in which your organization is based

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* 6. City where you are based

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* 7. Job title (if applicable)

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* 8. Please provide your contact details where we should inform you if selected.

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* 9. Please assess your working knowledge of English

  Fluent Confident Intermediate Basic
Writing
Speaking
Understanding

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* 10. Please upload your CV in PDF, DOC or DOCX format (in English)

PDF, DOC, DOCX file types only.
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* 11. Please state the mission of your organization (if applicable), and briefly describe your own areas of activity (max. 200 words)

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* 12. Why do you want to take part in this training? (max. 200 words)

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* 13. In your view, how can dialogue be useful when addressing challenges linked to migration, freedom of movement and peaceful coexistence of diverse communities in Georgia or Armenia ? (max. 200 words)

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* 14. Please briefly describe at least 2 examples of your work with groups and/or facilitation of group events. Please tell us what groups you worked with and on what topics. (max. 200 words)

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* 15. Who would support you if you were to organize an open dialogue after receiving this training?

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* 16. Have you already received any training on dialogue?

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* 17. Please briefly describe what it was and who organized it.

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* 18. If you were to organize a public dialogue on migration in Armenia or Georgia as part of this training cycle, what topics would you propose? (minimum 2 suggestions)

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* 19. Declaration by applicant

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* 20. I am committing myself to organizing at least one open dialogue on the issue of migration in Armenia or Georgia by mid-December 2024.

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* 21. Do you agree to be contacted by ODIHR on a different occasion? For example with an invitation to another event or training relevant to your profile.

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* 22. How did you learn about the training?

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