“Training of Trainers – Nonviolent Communication and Elicitive Facilitation” – Conusltant At Nonviolent Peaceforce

“Training of Trainers – Nonviolent Communication and Elicitive Facilitation”

Context and background

Nonviolent Peaceforce is an international NGO founded in 2002. Our headquarter is in Geneva, Switzerland. In the last 20 years, NP has operated in different countries and has currently programs in Philippines, Myanmar, South Sudan, Iraq, USA, Sudan and Ukraine. Our mission is to protect civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies, build peace side-by-side with local communities, and advocate for the wider adoption of these approaches to safeguard human lives and dignity. NP envisions a worldwide culture of peace in which conflicts within and between communities and countries are managed through nonviolent means. We are guided by principles of nonviolence, non-partisanship, primacy of local actors, and civilian-to-civilian action.

In early 2017, NP began working in Iraq to protect people fleeing violence. As the situation in the country evolved, thousands of people remain displaced in Iraq, and with so many communities still processing the effects of war, NP’s activities aim at increasing the safety and security of civilians, and at enhancing peaceful coexistence of communities in the country. We work to create a safe space for dialogue and reconciliation between communities, to build local peace capacity, and foster social cohesion in communities across northern Iraq.

In order to advance our internal capacity, Nonviolent Peaceforce is looking to contract services for a training of trainers in facilitation skills, and nonviolent communication. The goal is to equip NP staff with skills and tools in both facilitation and nonviolent communication but also to give them the necessary tools and knowledge on how to convey what they have learned through this training to colleagues and to community-based stakeholders such as grassroots civilian organisations.

Training of Trainers in Elicitive Facilitation and Nonviolent Communication

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the training participants should be able to:

• Acquire the fundamentals and skills of the trainer facilitator for informal adult and child education.
• Understand what is nonviolent communication and elicitive facilitation, what it offers people in conflict, and how to use it.
• Design, plan and implement training curricula with focus on experiential methodologies based on peer learning.
• Participants understand integrative, inquiry-based, reflective and pedagogical approaches.
• Develop facilitation/communication skills for how to elicit participants deeper critical reflection with a variety of communication techniques.
  • Manage difficult situations in facilitation.
  • Understanding and identifying fact, motivations, feelings and needs.
  • Ability to support others to identify their and others’ motivations, feelings and needs.
  • Understand the importance of communicating and managing one’s own feelings (anger, hurt, annoyance and positive feelings) to others.
• Use and convey/teach nonviolent communication skills incl. consensus building to use in dialogue facilitation, but also in direct engagement with survivors and perpetrators of violence.
• Participants know how to develop self-learning action plans with peer support.

Content of the training

The training will adopt a critical pedagogy approach, based on 30% theory and 70% practice, increasing self-awareness, challenging self-serving bias and encouraging creativity.

Content adapted to NP’s work will be advantageous.

Target group

Two groups of maximum 20 participants, programme staff, frontline and managerial.

One group will be English speakers and one Arabic speakers. For the Arabic group, it would be advantageous if the instructor is Arabic speaking (preferably Iraqi Arabic) without the requirement for interpretation.

Duration

Each training should last upto 10 days (2 weeks).

Start Date

1st Mar 2023

Location and form

Erbil, Iraq – in person training.

Responsibilities of the facilitator

Under the supervision of the Senior Program Manager, the following tasks will be performed:

• Develop the curriculum and the methodology of the training
• Develop hand-outs/a booklet on the content of the training to provide to participants.
• Develop and share for NP’s future use, the session guides of each of the training sessions delivered both in English and Arabic.
• Prepare and facilitate the requested training both in English and in Arabic.
• Develop questions or exercises for the assessment of knowledge and understanding of the training subject.
• Submit a brief, concise training report including recommendations for staff and the organization (max. 6 pages).

Profile of the consultant(s)

• Availability to travel to Erbil, Iraq.
• Proven experience in practicing and facilitating the requested training subjects.
• Experience in facilitating training of trainers.
• Skills in team-building, dialogue facilitation and nonviolent communication.
• Excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills, interpersonal skills, the ability to create a good atmosphere and communication between members of the group and between individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Empowered to define priorities and to plan and organize a complex program in a dynamic environment.
• Preferable fluent Arabic-speaking instructor for the exclusively Arabic-speaking group.
• Identify with NP’s values (see NP strategy here https://nonviolentpeaceforce.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/NP_Global_Strategy_2021-2025_Final_November_2021.pdf