CCCPA, in collaboration with the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), held a training on Strengthening the Capacity of Somali Civil Society and ATMIS Political Officers on Peace and Conflict Sensitive Reporting, from 28-30 November 2022.

The training workshop included the participation of 18 NUSOJ members and 3 ATMIS officials. Participants had the opportunity to delve deeply into the nature, causes, and stages of conflict. They were also introduced to the strategies for accurately, impartially, and responsibly covering conflict, especially in the contexts of violent extremism and terrorism, allowing them to engage meaningfully in peace, national cohesion and stability in Somalia.

H.E. Ambassador Ahmed Abdel-Latif, CCCPA Director General, emphasized that the training is “a clear example of the Center’s ongoing support of building the capacities of Somali national institutions to effectively contribute to conflict resolution, crisis management, peacebuilding and prevention of radicalization and extremism in Somalia, in line with the Egyptian efforts in this vein.” He also stated that the training “comes within the context of operationalizing the relevant Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development Conclusions to strengthen community resilience and civil society’s role in peacebuilding, and build on previous context-specific training courses dedicated to Somalia.”

Finally, the Director General of CCCPA expressed his sincere gratitude to the Aswan Forum partners for their support of this training program, “which reflects the importance of partnerships.”

H.E. Ambassador Ashraf Swelam, Director of the African Organizations Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, stressed that the training “reflects Egypt’s commitment to consolidate peace and stability in Somalia.” He noted Egypt’s concrete steps to reinforce ATMIS efforts, highlighting that “President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi is the PCRD champion in Africa.” Ambassador Swelam also asserted that Egypt “will continue its unwavering support to Somalia in accordance with its national priorities to address pressing challenges,” thus enhancing national ownership in state institutions. He also underlined the key objectives of the course as “refining the trainees' skills and providing them with the necessary tools to deal with the complex scene resulting from conflicts and the threat of terrorism.”

H.E. Ilyas Sheikh Omar, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Somalia to Egypt, hailed Egypt’s efforts, under the leadership of President El Sisi, in supporting Somalia during this critical stage, pointing to “the solid bilateral relations between the two countries.” The Somali Ambassador praised CCCPA for its “ceaseless efforts to open new horizons of cooperation and dedicate tailored courses to building Somali national capacities.” He stressed the significance of this training in that it allows participants to interact with conflict experts and reflect on their roles in conflict reporting.

On his part, Colonel Mohamed Sirat, Chief Information Officer, ATMIS, expressed sincere thanks to CCCPA for choosing this topic as it “represents a top priority to Somali journalists working at the front lines in the face of terrorism.” He stated that Somali media organisations and various Civil Society Groups played an important role in unpacking the layers of the Somali conflict and helping the public who rely on journalists and civil society actors understand the nature of the conflict, thus training them on conflict sensitive reporting that is guided by ethics and principles would improve the quality of monitoring, reporting and analysis in Somalia.   

In addition, Mr. Abukar Mohamed Osman, Deputy Secretary General, NUSOJ, conveyed sincere appreciation, on behalf of all participants, to Egypt and CCCPA for the warm welcome and hospitality. He reiterated that Somali journalists are in dire need of this crucial course and expressed a desire for more to be offered in the future.

Several Aswan Forum strategic partners attended the opening ceremony, namely H.E. Ambassador Håkan Emsgård, Ambassador of Sweden to Egypt, Counsellor Ken Nishigahiro, Embassy of Japan to Egypt, and Mr. Alessandro Fracassetti, Resident Representative in Egypt, United Nations Development Programme. They all commended the long-term collaboration with CCCPA and its significant role in the training and building of African capacities, confirming their commitment towards the existing partnership with the Aswan Forum--a high-level platform that proposes holistic and innovative approaches to address the myriad of cascading risks confronting the African continent.  

CCCPA is an Egyptian public agency, specializing in capacity building, convening, and research in the fields of peace and security. Its board of directors is chaired by H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. CCCPA is an African Union Center of Excellence.

The training is conducted through the generous support of the Government of Japan, the Government of Sweden, and the African Development Bank as strategic partners of the Aswan Forum for sustainable peace and development, through UNDP.