Opening Space Curriculum Democracy Training

Opening Space
for Democracy
THIRD-PARTY NONVIOLENT INTERVENTION
TRAINING CURRICULUM
written by Daniel Hunter and George Lakey, Training for Change

T R AI NIN G F OR CH A NG E ’S
Training Curriculum
 2003 Training for Change

1501 Cherry St • Philadelphia, PA USA 19102
phone: 215-241-7035 • e-mail: peacelearn@igc.org
www.TrainingForChange.org
Please respect any other organization’s credits/rights

for materials we used in this curriculum.
training curriculum
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
USING THE PUBLICATION............................................................................................................................................. 7
1. EXPLANATION OF THE CORE TRAINING .......................................................................................................... 8

2. WHAT IS THIRD-PARTY NONVIOLENT INTERVENTION: DEFINING ACCOMPANIMENT,
INTERPOSITION, OBSERVING/MONITORING, AND PRESENCE ............................................................... 20
3. SKILLS THIS CURRICULUM COVERS: CORE PROFICIENCIES.................................................................... 25
TRAINING CURRICULUM............................................................................................................................................. 40
TRAINING CURRICULUM AT A GLANCE .............................................................................................................. 41

WEEK 1............................................................................................................................................................................ 45
Day 1: Orientation to the organization, training, and building a group for learning ............................................. 46
Day 2: More capacity building, culture, team-building ............................................................................................ 54
Day 3: Background for TPNI ..................................................................................................................................... 59
Day 4: More theory of TPNI and personal well-being skills…................................................................................. 65
Day 5: Introduction of Accompaniment ..................................................................................................................... 69
Day 6: More accompaniment, rank work, and de-escalation skills.......................................................................... 73
Day 7: Accompaniment Simulation!........................................................................................................................... 77
WEEK 2............................................................................................................................................................................ 81
Day 8: Finishing debrief of accompaniment simulation; facilitation skills.............................................................. 82
Day 9: Security (report-writing, information flow, relating to others) and Conflict Resolution............................. 84
Day 10: Introduction to monitoring/observing and moving the team forward ........................................................ 87
Day 11: More security, personal reflection, and preparation for upcoming simulation ......................................... 92
Day 12: More monitoring/observing and understanding the organizational structure........................................... 96
Day 13: Monitoring/Observing Simulation! .............................................................................................................. 99
Day 14: Mid-training check-in, evaluation and moving the group forward .......................................................... 104
WEEK 3.......................................................................................................................................................................... 107
Day 15 and 16: Rotating Sessions: CISD, Rank and Privilege, Driving Skills, Spiritual well-being and First Aid108
Day 17: Power analysis and its use in conflict situations, plus de-stressing ......................................................... 112
Day 18: Introducing Presence.................................................................................................................................. 115
Day 19: Deepen Presence......................................................................................................................................... 119
Day 20: Introducing Interpositioning ...................................................................................................................... 123
Day 21: Interposition Simulation!............................................................................................................................ 126
WEEK 4.......................................................................................................................................................................... 130
Day 22: Life in the Field; Professionalism; and skilling up in any area................................................................ 131
Day 23: Final day: Review, Evaluation and Closing ceremony ............................................................................. 135
Table of Contents iii

training curriculum
EVALUATING THE TRAINING...................................................................................................................................138
EVALUATING THE TRAINING ................................................................................................................................139

Sample Evaluation Materials ....................................................................................................................................148
APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................................................153
APPENDIX A: CIVIL SOCIETY DEFENDING CIVIL SOCIETY ..........................................................................154

APPENDIX B: RECOMMENDED READING ...........................................................................................................157
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................................................159
iv Table of Contents
training curriculum
Dedication
This curriculum is dedicated to mentors of ours who died while we were
working on this curriculum:
Trim Bissell and Bill Moyer.
Trim was a visionary leader committed to seeing social and economic

justice. He always kept a smile and a playful energy even when the world
seemed grim, when we were exhausted on month-long speaking tours,
and even when he was most sick. He offered his love, rooted in deep
vision for what is right and possible in the world, and a commitment to do
his part.
- Daniel
Bill was a nonviolent warrior, a working class man from the rowhouses of
Philadelphia who worked with Dr. King and devoted his life to social
movements. For me he models the ability to be, at the same time,
passionate and patient, brilliant and respectful.
- George
"Hold a true friend with both

hands."
- Kanuri proverb, Nigeria
If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time.
But if you are coming because your liberation
is bound up with mine, then let us work together.
- Lila Watson
(an aboriginal activist from Brisbane, Australia)
Special Thanks
Special thanks to Marjorie Fulmer, Training for Change's Administrator, for her constant
support and holding down the office during all the writing. Thanks to Carol Hunter for
her extensive editing and to other folks who also gave us editing feedback on the
manual: Priscilla Adams, Pamela Haines, and Michael Beer. And huge thanks to our
colleagues Gerald Gomani and Ouyporn Khuankaew for being major influences on this
design by being part of the facilitation team that lead the pilot of this curriculum.
Dedication v
training curriculum
Introduction
Training is like the art of cooking. The quality of the outcome – whether it’s a
fancy cuisine or, in our case, competent personnel – is related to the quality of the
ingredients. Good exercises and training tools help make a tasty curriculum.
We have been blessed that so many great cooks have offered various ingredients
to this curriculum. When we asked support from our donors and the United States
Institute of Peace for this curriculum, we were clear that we wanted to seek out trainers
in a variety of fields: peace teams, military/peacekeeping, humanitarian organizations
and local intervention organizations. In that way, we could integrate lessons learned
from a wide range of organizations that place people in situations of high conflict.
We have received tools and feedback from countless individuals and
organizations: Doctors without Borders, Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, International
Civilian Peace-keeping and Peace-building Training Program, American Friends Service
Committee, United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, West African
Network for Peacebuilding, Nonviolent Communication, International Alert, American
Red Cross, International Red Cross/Crescent, CONTACT, Eastern Mennonite
University’s Conflict Transformation and STAR programs, and many, many others. We
have, of course, relied on organizations with a history of training people for third-party
nonviolent intervention. Special thanks to kind folks at Peace Brigades International,
Kurve-Wustrow, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Witness for Peace, past trainers with
Project Accompaniment, Guatemala Canada Solidarity Network, Guatemalan
Accompaniment Project, Fellowship of Reconciliation, International Solidarity
Movement and Balkan Peace Team members, Gulf Peace Team members, and Iraq Peace
Team members.
Special recognition should go to the folks at Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP). Their
big vision and dreaming supported our big vision for this manual. NP’s using an
adapted version of this for their first pilot training has made this project all the more
useful. It has been a wonderful journey with NP – we’d like to thank the good people at
NP for their support.
With all these great cooks, this curriculum represents the most extensively
researched training curriculum in the field of third party nonviolent intervention (TPNI).
We have learned hugely from so many individuals in the process of developing this
curriculum – people have offered specific tools, design pointers, critiques of our papers
as the project progressed, teaching points and more. Thanks to all of them (you!).
It has also been a joy to work with these tools and lessons from around the world
in creating this curriculum. It has been a gift to see them fitting together. At every
stage, as you can see from the "Design Notes" on each day, we thought carefully about
why that piece would fit there. It has been great fun to watch the curriculum take shape.
The real joy of cooking, however, is in the sharing of good food with others. So:
bon appétit!
6 Introduction
Using the
Publication
7
using the manual
1. Explanation of the Core Training

CONTENTS:
How did this publication come about?.................................................................................... 8
What is the core training?........................................................................................................... 9
What is in the curriculum?....................................................................................................... 12
What are threads and modules? How do I use them?....................................................... 12
What drives the placement of the activities in the curriculum?........................................ 14
Who are the writers? ................................................................................................................. 18
HOW DID THIS PUBLICATION COME ABOUT?
In a world with increasing violence, we see an increasing interest in

civil society defending civil society through nonviolent intervention. New
groups are springing up to protect the right of people to work for social
change – groups like Nonviolent Peaceforce and International Solidarity
Movement. Other groups have been doing “unarmed bodyguard” work for
decades, such as Peace Brigades International (the only peace team
organization so far to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize).
We see this as a new and growing field. We call it third-party
nonviolent intervention. Over the years groups have experimented with
different strategies to keep violence minimal so that the local human rights
activists can do their work with less fear; they have also experimented with
different training designs and tools. This publication is a result of a two-year
project to research what organizations are already doing to train people for
third-party nonviolent intervention (TPNI) and what other organizations
who also place people in high conflict situations have to teach us (including
humanitarian organizations and military peacekeeping organizations).
Daniel Hunter and George Lakey work for Training for Change, which
raised money from individual donors and the United States Institute of Peace
to do the project of developing a curriculum and trainer’s manual for third
party nonviolent intervention.
Read more about By asking dozens of organizations around the world what they
that list of core consider most important for fieldworkers to know, we were able to compile a
proficiencies in
“Skills This list of core proficiencies – the skill sets most needed to survive and do the job.
Curriculum We also gathered tools, ideas and handouts from around the world.
Covers: Core Throughout the process we:
Proficiencies”
(page 25).
(1) consistently turned to a multi-cultural training committee for input and
feedback; and
(2) included most often the tools and design ideas that have successfully been
used in Southeast Asia, North America, Western Europe, Latin America, and
8 Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual

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Africa, and to some extent East Asia and Eastern Europe. Some tools also
were tested with indigenous people, including indigenous leaders brought
together by the UN. In other words, in order to be included in this
curriculum, most tools had to have proven usefulness in multiple cultures.
In the summer of 2003, an adapted version of this curriculum was

field-tested as part of Nonviolent Peaceforce’s first pilot training in Chiang
Mai, Thailand. The trainers were Ouyporn Khaunkeaw (Thailand), Gerald
Gomani (Zimbabwe) and George Lakey (USA). Daniel Hunter co-wrote the
curriculum and was there as documenter.
As part of that field-testing, we brought in an external evaluator. Dr.
Rod Napier came to Chiang Mai and engaged in intensive interviews with all
the participants. Dr. Napier also assisted in ideas for the evaluation process
for this curriculum.
Out of that field-testing came hundreds of improvements that are
reflected in this current version. This document now represents the most
researched training publication in the field of TPNI to date.
WHAT IS THE CORE TRAINING?
Different organizations use different overall training program designs.

Should there be one long training that includes orientation, assessment, TPNI
skills, and mission-specific information? Or several trainings over time?
Each organization makes different decisions based on its own evaluation of
resources, time, and ascribed importance. In writing the manual, we
proposed a training program design that we think balances the complexities
of the questions; out of that came the core training.
Our training program design differs from most organization’s current
training program designs in a number of ways. Most notably, we propose a
“core training” where participants learn the general skills for TPNI work.
What you are now reading is a curriculum for that core training, which does
not include mission-specific skills, an assessment process for screening
participants, or other aspects of a full beginning-to-end training program.
Here we’ll briefly outline what a comprehensive program might

include, so the core training will be seen in context.
3 DAY ASSESSMENT WEEKEND (not included here)

• Offered in a range of countries in multiple localities
• Required workshop, led by the hosting TPNI organization
• 15-20 participants
• Chance to meet people more individually
• Use of simulations as tool for assessment
• NOT part of the training, but part of assessment
Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual 9

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3 WEEK CORE TRAINING

• For those who are not screened out or don't screen themselves out in the
weekend orientation/assessment.
• Offered in geographical regions in various parts of the world on the level
of geographical region. For example, Japanese recruit X takes the 3-day
assessment in Tokyo and then joins others to take the 3-week core training
in Bangkok.
• Required training, even for those with conflict transformation experience,
led by the hosting TPNI organization
• 20-40 participants
• Chance to see how people work in larger, relatively diverse teams
• Start sorting for specialized roles
• The organization still holds the right to reject participants at this point,
but most participants should be screened during the first screening
process of the 3-day workshop
2-3 WEEK SPECIALIZED ROLES (not included here)

• Individuals would go to closest training that meet certain requirements
for the specialization they are going for (e.g., mine awareness,
cooking/nutrition, security management)
• Required trainings, with people attending different trainings led by the
TPNI organization-approved organizations/trainings
ON-GOING COMMUNICATION, EXPERIENCE-BUILDING, LOCAL GROUPS

(not included here)
• Between the time when they are on the Ready Reserves, which they
should be at least by this point, and when they are deployed, the
organization will want to find ways to keep them fresh, excited, and still
learning. These may include Web Training, Local Groups Meeting,
Supporting folks to work with local social service/change organizations,
additional training from other organizations, etc.
Find Appendix A: • For one out-of-the-box model, see Appendix A: Civil Society Defending
Civil Society Civil Society, where we propose sending recruits to local organizations to
Defending Civil
Society on page work and practice their TPNI skills.
153.
1-2 MONTH IN-COUNTRY / MISSION-SPECIFIC TRAINING (not included

here)
• Additional training especially for conflict-specific and country-specific
information
• Other skills that may be needed for the specific setting (e.g., lots of
cultural awareness tools, specifics of security procedures)
• Participants include the entire new batch in an area
• Required training, led by the organization

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IN-SERVICE TRAININGS (not included here)

• After fieldworkers have been in the field for months, these on-going in-
service trainings can address issues that fieldworkers found in the field;
they can deepen skill development in specific areas and focus on team
work (especially around tough issues)
• Length of time determined for each training based on the situation
• Led by the organization or outside professional trainers
One the major differences in this training design is the separation of

the assessment from the core training. Even with the best training, not
everyone will be capable of doing TPNI work, so inevitably people need to be
screened out. Assessment is often put together with training because it
requires more infrastructure to do separate assessment trainings. On the
other hand, in a training where participants know they are being assessed,
people may have higher anxiety and inability to participate fully (including
risk-taking). And, it may actually be more costly to have a longer training
where 15% of the participants get screened out than shorter assessment
weekends.
To get a copy of The Henry L. Stimson Center produced a comprehensive study of the
that report, benefits of various training program designs for military peacekeeping work.
entitled “Training
for Peacekeeping: Our training program design separates what Henry L. Stimson Center calls
The United "professional skills" training from "general training." “Professional skills” are
Nations’ Role”, specific trainings for participants so that they can play specialized roles on
contact the Henry
L. Stimson Center the ground: ranging from first aid to supporting group's well-being to mine
(www.stimson.org). awareness. There is not time to teach every participant details of mine
awareness, first aid, in-depth threat analysis and other skills that may be
called upon during a mission. So "professional skills" training (what we call
here "specialized skills training") diversifies the skill base of the team through
individual team members getting advanced training.
Another major factor that needed consideration in the training
program design is language. Language cannot be taught simply in a one-
month training to the level of political sophistication that will be ideal. We
encourage organizations to consider how to integrate language into training
as needed, especially given that different languages are more or less complex
to learn. We expect most language training to occur as an extension of the in-
country training.
A possible financial benefit of this design to TPNI organizations is that
organizations with similar approaches (around issues like nonpartisanship,
for example) might be able to combine their core trainings. Since the core
training is intended to be a more “generic” training, it is also not, except in a
few places, organization-specific. Using the “work team model” that is built
into the curriculum, it would be possible for groups to use the training
together and have people in the same organizations be “work teams.” This is
a natural way of resource-sharing that is doable with organizations with
similar TPNI mandates.

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WHAT IS IN THE CURRICULUM?
In order to use this publication most effectively, we recommend that you

familiarize yourself with the general contents. This publication is broken into
several main sections:
♦ Using this Publication:

An introduction to the curriculum, skill sets it
teaches, handouts and other resources.
♦ Core Training Curriculum

Here we lay out a description of each day of the
23-day training. The day includes tools used on that
day along with rationale for why we put certain
tools where.
♦ Evaluating the Training

Organizations get the chance to improve their curriculum and increase
the impact of their work when they evaluate carefully. In this section, we
provide two approaches for handling evaluation in this training
curriculum.
♦ Appendices
In Appendix A: Civil Society Supporting Civil Society, we lay out a
concept paper for how to build a group of reservists and handle the time
between successful training and deployment.
Finally, Appendix B is a Recommended Reading of places to go for more
reading on third-party nonviolent intervention.
For descriptions of the training tools, handouts and more details to lead the
curriculum, you want to order a copy of the Trainer’s Manual, which is for
trainers preparing to use parts of all of the curriculum. You can order a copy
of the trainer’s manual from Training for Change
(www.trainingforchange.org).
WHAT ARE THREADS AND MODULES? HOW DO I USE THEM?
Most training curricula bunch concepts and sections into modules. One
of the innovations in this training curriculum is the concept of threads.
We believe that learning is more deeply reinforced when activities
carry through a set of content themes over time. In other words, participants
do not usually internalize content as deeply if the content is gathered together

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at one time, to be "over and done with." So we design threads to follow

through on themes over time. Designing this way is like weaving a tapestry.
Some content areas are better learned in this non-continuous way
rather than in the modular approach. We format the four techniques into
modules: accompaniment, observing/monitoring, presence and interposition.
The major threads in this curriculum are:
• Theory of third-party nonviolent intervention

• Team-building
• Culture and Rank
• Immediate Conflict Skills
• Security
• Personal Awareness
• Personal Well-being
Threads makes accessing the contents of the manual easier – a natural

break-down of the tools/exercises and handouts. It also provides a structure
for role division among trainers.
A role division within the facilitation team makes the complexity of
this curriculum manageable. One way to divide the labor in a three-person
facilitation team is by assigning two of the threads to each trainer.
One possible arrangement of the seven threads – for a three-person
facilitation team – might be:
Trainer A:
Theory of third-party nonviolent intervention
Security
Trainer B:
Personal Awareness
Personal Well-being
Training C:
Culture and Rank
Immediate Conflict Skills
We propose that the Team-building thread be the responsibility of all,

because it is central and team capacity shows up in all the other threads.
Not only does a division of labor assist each trainer to focus her or his
attention and expertise, but is also supports effective management of
materials. Because of our commitment to multi-channel learning (see below),
the tools require a good many materials. The role division means that each
trainer can be responsible for managing the materials needed in the exercises
they will use.
Because stamina is an issue in facilitating this high impact training, the
division of labor means that an individual trainer can be taking a break while

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one or two colleagues are facilitating. Rotation becomes feasible at many

points (although not during such crucial times as simulations).
We recommend that a lead trainer be appointed. This person will be
especially responsible for “thinking about the whole,” for organizing the
facilitation team and helping it meet its needs.
WHAT DRIVES THE PLACEMENT OF THE ACTIVITIES IN THE CURRICULUM?
1. Experiential education
2. Learning the skills of TPNI
3. Development of the group
4. Energy flow
5. Diversity of learning styles
6. Using the teachable moment
1. We follow the model of experiential education, which is linked to popular

education as developed by the great Brazilian educator Paolo Freire and
others. Experiential education travels well across cultures because the first
step is the actual experience (also called the activity, or exercise). Traditional
education starts with ideas and concepts, expressed in language and often
very culture-bound. Experiential education gets to the concepts and ideas
later, after common ground has been shared by the participants through a
common experience.
The four steps of the model are:

a. Experience (also called activity, exercise, or learning tool),
b. Reflection, in which participants think and feel about what they just
went through,
a. Experience c. Generalization, in
which participants move
from immediate
thoughts and feelings up
b. Reflection to the level of concepts
d. Application and ideas. When
participants generalize
they go to a level of
abstraction where they
integrate their learning
c. Generalize
into their worldview,
their cognitive map
which shows where things are and how things work,
d. Application, in which participants try out their new learning
through new behaviors.
In the experiential education model, the process begins with the

immediate experience (the exercise) and moves to reflection on it. During the

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process of generalization, facilitators elicit from the group more information,

including stories, theoretical concepts, sometimes even statistics if they're
present in the group – all of which help participants look outside the
immediate and into the conceptual. Facilitators then add more appropriate
stories and other information that help describe other learning points the
group may not have offered. The facilitators offer theories to help
participants push their conceptual notions further.
The experiential education model is a circle, because the fourth step,

application, becomes a new concrete experience, which can then be followed
by reflecting and generalizing, and applying something new. Freire kept
saying that we never learn simply through action, or through reflection, but
through the relationship of action and reflection. One reason why methods of
traditional education don't work for training is that they usually get stuck on
reflection and generalization and neglect the role of action in learning.
2. Learning the skills of third-party nonviolent intervention, which includes

the use of four nonviolent techniques: accompaniment,
observation/monitoring, presence, and interposition. The core training is
organized around the skill sets of these four action techniques, with modules
devoted to each of the techniques. Participants learn the concepts,
knowledge, and behaviors for each of the four techniques. All of the four
techniques are then given a simulation or practice session, which serves both
as the culminating application step in experiential learning and as the
"experience" step to continue the cycle.
We placed the order of the four techniques very intentionally. As a general

rule, we try to design the modules to go from the easiest to learn to the
hardest to learn. The order and rationale follows:
Accompaniment
We put this technique as the first module because:
• more people in TPNI work have personal experience in it;
• in the field of TPNI, trainers tend to know the most about it; and
• this module offers the strongest piece of theory behind it (leading with the
greatest theoretical clarity).
Monitoring/observing
We put this technique next because:
• it is the least dangerous and so gives participants a little chance to relax;
• it might be closer to the comfort zone for a lot of people – we do not want
people to get overwhelmed;
• people who do not have expertise in accompaniment are more likely to
have expertise here, since there is a lot of experience in this technique; and
• it is highly technical and again offers more theoretical clarity.

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Presence
We put this technique third because:
• it is more likely to be done than large-scale interposition;
• it is more of a growing edge and has less theoretical clarity (so should be
placed later); and
• it is less scary to teach after participants have experience doing several
simulations and working with immediate conflict skills.
Interposition
We put this technique last because:
• it is least likely to be used on a large-scale; and
• it is highest risk and therefore requires the most amount of self-confidence
to do.
3. The development of the group. All training groups go through stages of

development over time. They are very different in the middle from the
beginning, in predictable ways. Though group development is rarely
observed as a whole by the group members themselves, groups do move
from stage to stage. Our design takes advantage of these natural dynamics.
One dynamic is that when groups begin, the participants usually want to
make a good impression and so the training goes into a period in which
participants are often polite and superficially cooperative. Learning can
happen at this stage in group life, but tends to be superficial and surface
level. After a container is built which provides safety, participants sometimes
want a deeper connection with each other in which they can feel more
freedom to be authentic and less constricted by mainstream norms. They
often want the group to learn to accept differences rather than insist on a
uniform set of rules for behavior and attitude. If a group subconsciously
wishes to go to that deeper level where more diversity is truly accepted (not
just tolerated), the group may throw itself into a period of chaos. Cultures
vary on how dramatic this period is. In some cultures, this phase of group
development looks like a storm and is very dramatic. In other cultures it is
subtle and looks simply like a scatter of attention. In either case, wise trainers
pay attention to this process and support the group to be able to move
through this stage and into a new stage, which is sometimes called
community or a high performance group. The lead trainer may be
responsible for “taking the heat” if participants need a symbolic figure to
represent authority to rebel against.
This curriculum takes account of natural dynamics like these stages of

development and designs for them (for example, spending time in the
beginning of the training to create a safe container for participants).

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4. Energy flow. Training groups are very alive, organic beings, and so their
energy shifts quite a lot. Some of their energy shifts are predictable. This
design plans around that.
One way energy differences show up is in deciding when it is most useful

to engage the group in intellectually demanding work and when it is far
better to engage them in physically active work. Groups also have a
tendency to alternate their mode of differentiating or integrating. It is as
predictable as an individual breathing: inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. The
group is at one moment focusing on integrating, so the participants
appreciate activities in the whole group, activities that have them moving
together. At the next moment the group needs to shift to differentiating, so
what works is participants forming small groups or pairs or doing individual
work. This design takes account of the natural rhythms of groups.
5. Individuals use diverse learning channels. Participants take in information

in different ways. Some individuals learn best when they see information
(visual channel), others primarily when they hear it (auditory channel),
others when their bodies are engaged (kinesthetic channel), and others when
their hearts are engaged (emotional channel). It is not unusual for
individuals to learn well through two of the channels and not as well through
two, or to have some combination. But there are some individuals who learn
reliably through only one channel.
One reason for the tremendous waste of time in traditional education is

that this natural diversity in how humans learn is not acknowledged. We
now know that the only way to be efficient in teaching or training in groups
is to engage all four learning channels. The curriculum follows this design
principle and balances using all the channels.
6. Using the teachable moment. In general, groups learn best from the
immediate and concrete rather than from the distant and abstract. This is
consistent with some spiritual traditions which emphasize the value of the
here and now and see creativity as intimately related to awareness of the
present moment. At the same time, some abstract theory is essential for the
fully integrated understanding that fieldworkers need for their work.
For this reason we urge trainers to make use of teachable moments, that is,
unexpected incidents which happen during the training which are related to
larger concerns and theory relevant to the goals of the training. For example,
a woman names out loud in the group a pattern of men participating in the
discussion disproportionately to their numbers, interrupting and overriding
women's voices in the process. Trainers using this as a teachable moment
will engage the group (probably using a structured activity to add safety and
avoid the shame-and-blame dynamic) and, using the experiential education

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steps of experience-reflect-generalize end up with conceptual clarification

around gender. This naturally leads to discussion of theories of power and
change.
Nothing is more predictable than a variety of teachable moments

emerging in a highly diverse group around issues of cultural sensitivity,
gender, race, class, religion, or age. Further, we are designing with the
expectation that teachable moments will arrive that will enable work on
conflict resolution, handling stress and fear, giving/getting support, inner
power/strength, and others.
For that reason we have intentionally not created, for example, a two-day
module on gender, placing it on days 11 and 12 and expecting that the
needed learning about gender will take place in that way. This would be
contrived, artificial, and contrary to the life of the group. Instead, this design
takes into account the group's own natural life and its tendency to create
teachable moments for itself around particular issues, and the facilitating
team will need to respond flexibly and adjust the schedule accordingly.
Using the goals of the training (e.g., guidance from the schedule and the core
proficiencies), facilitators will balance the immense collective wisdom present
in the training manual – making sure all the important content pieces are
addressed – with the teachable moments of the group. The reason we do
place some sessions on, for example, gender at particular times in the
schedule is as a reminder that those issues will be addressed educationally.
Keeping in mind so many learning principles at the same time while

creating this curriculum was complex, and tremendous fun. While there are
other pedagogical concerns that we took into account in this design, these
were the main assumptions which we want to make transparent.
WHO ARE THE WRITERS?
Daniel Hunter is a biracial/African-American who first did nonviolent

intervention when he was five years old, breaking up fights on his
playground. He has since continued studying, practicing and teaching
nonviolence. He graduated with the first Conflict Transformation major from
his college (as a Phi Beta Kappa). He is currently on the international board of
the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, and has worked doing labor
and community organizing, anti-war organizing and anti-corporate
globalization projects. He has facilitated nonviolent action trainings around
the U.S. as well as in India, Canada, Burma, and Indonesia.
George Lakey was on the first Peace Brigades International team that went
into Sri Lanka in 1989. He has repeatedly led trainings of trainers for Peace
Brigades International and Christian Peacemaker Teams. He's led over 1000

using the manual
social change workshops on five continents, including South Africa, Russia,

Burma, Romania, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Cambodia, New Zealand,
Indonesia, and Germany. He trained a new generation of trainers in Thailand
and Russia and facilitated with two Thai colleagues the first Asia Super-T
(three-week training of trainers) in November 2002. He's authored six books
on nonviolence and taught in universities as well as led nonviolent
campaigns.

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2. What is Third-party Nonviolent

Intervention: defining accompaniment, interposition,
observing/monitoring, and presence
So far there have been four nonviolent techniques that fall under the category
of third-party nonviolent intervention1:
1) interposition
2) observing/monitoring
3) protective accompaniment
4) presence.
What are these techniques of third-party nonviolent intervention (TPNI)?

What are the differences among these four forms of third party nonviolent
intervention? This paper seeks to take a step in defining these techniques
and drawing distinctions between techniques which, in the field, are often
blended.
The reason we propose making sharper distinctions than previously is in

order to make it easier to train people in these techniques. Each of the
techniques seems to have its own intrinsic character. To use a metaphor, a
chemist combining various elements may produce an amazing cure for some
disease – but not without knowing as much as they can about each of the
elements! This paper explores some of those elements.
1. INTERPOSITION
Interposition is used when two forces are moving into confrontation (or
preparing to) and a third force intervenes -- usually physically -- to prevent
or reduce the violence. During the South African election in the spring of
1994, South African NGOs trained citizen peacekeepers to go to the polls and
be prepared to intervene with their bodies when fights broke out. When
fights did break out, they interpositioned themselves between the parties.
Access to the field of conflict is not easy to get for the technique of
interposition, especially when the forces are large groups of people (e.g.,
armies). The Gulf Peace Team, which began interposition during the build-
up of the war against Iraq in 1991, stated a clear nonpartisan stand, but was
1
We hope that as more field practice occurs more techniques will emerge. This set of four
techniques, however, is consistent with the most current research on civilian peacekeeping
efforts (see Nonviolent Peaceforce’s Feasibility Study).
20 What is Third-party Nonviolent Intervention

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unable to maintain their camp at the border because they got cooperation
from only one side.
Find more useful Peace Brigades International found itself doing interposition in Guatemala in
resources, like 1986. When the women of the Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo held a demonstration
how to get
Nonviolent at the National Palace to protest silence about their relatives who had been
Peaceforce’s disappeared, riot police suddenly began to beat the demonstrators. PBI
Feasibility Study, volunteers quickly formed a human chain between the two groups, which
in Appendix C:
Recommended stopped the beating. (See the Nonviolent Peaceforce Feasibility Study,
Reading (page Chapter 2.)
157).
2. OBSERVING/MONITORING
Observing/monitoring is increasingly used in election situations where

violence is expected. Rather than interpose themselves between violent
individuals or groups, observers/monitors are expected to carry cameras,
notebooks, and in other ways provide a physical reminder that "the whole
world is watching," thereby restraining the violence. Although best known
in election work, this technique might be used to assist villages to maintain
zones of peace, or to monitor a cease fire that allows food and medicines to
get through to needy people. It is a useful technique for checking on a
demarcation line and maintaining access to routes.
Though observing and monitoring are similar techniques, even they can be
more carefully defined. Observing tends to refer to general witnessing and
being a physical reminder. Monitoring is used when there are procedures or
agreements which may or may not be kept; monitoring serves accountability
to "rules" or agreements, as in elections or cease fire agreements.
Observing/monitoring is by far the most popular and mainstream technique

available in third party nonviolent intervention, getting major governmental
and NGO participation in Nicaragua, South Africa, Kosovo, and many other
countries.
3. PROTECTIVE ACCOMPANIMENT
Peace Brigades International (PBI) in the early 1980s began to send to El

Salvador and Guatemala volunteers who went with human rights activists
threatened with assassination. The international volunteers put the local
activists in a glare of publicity, which reduces the chance of assassination. In
some 15 years of the projects there not one of the activist leaders has been
killed while accompanied by PBI. There are a number of organizations that
provide the service of protective accompaniment.
In this technique, the peaceworkers agree with those who are threatened to
remain physically beside them, as nonviolent bodyguards. This could mean
What is Third-party Nonviolent Intervention 21

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staying in their office or home, or going with them when they move about.
At the core of this technique is a defined relationship between the
peaceworkers and those accompanied. For example, PBI insists that while
someone is under their protection s/he is not allowed to carry a gun.
Sometimes those receiving accompaniment are individuals, and in other

cases, they are groups or villages. The Canadian organization, Project
Accompaniment, for example, for years accompanied refugees moving back
to their villages from exile. Today the Guatemalan Accompaniment Project
sends international peaceworkers to accompany villages under threat.
Accompaniment moves to interposition when the need for direct physical

intervention occurs: when the paramilitary knock down the door and prepare
to abduct the accompanied human rights activist. At that moment, the
success of accompaniment lies in the immediate interposition. Most of the
time, however, accompaniment is dependent on deterrence based on the
aggressor's awareness of the international and moral pressure the
accompaniment organization can bring.
Whether accompaniment is for individuals, groups, or villages, there is a

defined protective relationship with expectations on both sides. The result is
to expand the political space for those who are threatened.
4. PRESENCE
Presence is entering a situation of open conflict and, through public actions

and visible, risky acts of service, influencing the dynamics of the conflict
itself. Presence is about directly influencing the field of the conflict by
offering a different behavior.
The Russian human rights group, Memorial, reported substantial experience

in this form of intervention in inter-ethnic battles in the early '90s, entering
the conflict field and, in largely subtle ways, refusing to cooperate with the
atmosphere of hostility and violence. While most civilians stayed inside their
homes out of fear, Memorial boldly walked up and down the streets
engaging passer-bys in friendly conversation. Slowly, various civilians
realized they too could break the cycle of fear and began to take back their
streets. This, in turn, increased the political space for democracy and human
rights' activists to act.
In Cambodia, the Coalition for Peace and Reconciliation in the early '90s
marched through areas disputed by the government's military and the
Khmer Rouge. Some marchers were shot and two were killed in 1994. While
refusing to take sides, marchers refused to cooperate with the intimidation
employed by both sides and modeled that behavior for the peasants and

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clergy. The Cambodian marchers were not in the usual sense a party to the
conflict; they were intervenors whose focus was the field of conflict itself.
Specific methods of establishing presence are:
• modeling behavior which stretches the boundary of what local people

believe might be safe to do, or modeling a vision of behaviors that will be
safer when more people participate in resolving the conflict (like the
Cambodian peace marchers, or the Cry for Justice Coalition in Haiti
walking the streets of St. Helene getting to know people, or the Christian
Peacemaker Teams hanging out on the Hebron street in Palestine where
violent encounters most often occurred between Israeli settlers and
Palestinian residents);
• responding to specific requests as an outsider (Memorial peaceworkers carried
messages across lines of fire from one ethnic group to another, sometimes
arranging exchange of abducted children);
• doing a visible, public service which combatants are too frightened to do
(Christian Peace Team members rescuing the body of a murdered villager
in Colombia).
Find more articles What brings presence within the framework of "nonviolent action," and
on theory of TPNI distinguishes it from the host of other activities which serve people, is that
in the Theory of
TPNI thread, the intervenors are openly noncooperating with the intimidation dynamics in
including a paper the conflict. In the same way that civil disobedience is about breaking civil
on the three types law, presence breaks the social norms of fear, vengefulness and the cycle of
of nonviolent
action (available violence.
in the trainer’s
manual, see What the methods of presence have in common is that they influence the
Training for
Change’s conflict by physically presenting, at some risk, a vision of the kind of positive
website). behavior which combatants might undertake. Like the other techniques of
interposition, monitoring, and accompaniment, therefore, presence expands
the political space for the parties in the conflict and opens, through
nonviolent intervention, new possibilities for the parties themselves to move
forward.
THE FOUR TECHNIQUES COMPARED WITH EACH OTHER
Presence differs from accompaniment in that the peaceworkers' actions are

not organized around a relationship with a person or group, but instead are
focussed on the field of the conflict itself. Each conflict has a field, much as
magnetic energy does. Though you cannot see magnetic energy, you can see
the effects of its field of influence. For example, if you put a magnet under a
piece of paper and iron filings on top: the iron filings are pulled into a pattern
by the magnet. Seeing a conflict as a system, or field, is different from seeing
it in terms of the characteristics of its actors. Choosing your tactics to
influence the field, rather than choosing your tactics in relation to the
What is Third-party Nonviolent Intervention 23

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behavior of one of the players, requires being able to operate on the level of
seeing "the field." Being able to perceive a conflict field is learnable.
The difference between relationship (the core of accompaniment) and the

field (the core of presence) can be fundamental. During an unusually tense
and potentially violent confrontation between police and protesters in a U.S.
city, the comedian Dick Gregory entered the situation and began clowning,
making light-hearted comments which dramatically reduced the tension and
not only enabled the protesters to continue their demonstration but also
reduced the threat to the police. Gregory used his position as an outsider (in
that immediate conflict) to affect the field of the conflict itself. His choice of
this technique was likely much more effective at that time than had he chosen
to accompany the protesters.
Presence differs from interposition in that the peaceworkers do not physically

place themselves directly between the fighters, but use other methods to
influence the field. We can clarify the distinction between presence and
monitoring/observing by focusing monitoring on activities like patrolling a
demarcation line and maintaining open access to certain areas or routes.
A copy of this We can see a difference between accompaniment and monitoring/observing,

article without the on the one hand, and presence and interposition on the other. The first two
notes on the left is
in the Theory of operate strongly through deterrence: "You'd better think twice about doing
TPNI handouts violence here because, if you do, the word will get out and it will weaken you
(available in the politically." The second two may include deterrent value but may have their
trainer’s manual,
see Training for greatest impact through their immediate, real-time interaction with the
Change’s perpetrators of violence, what the Christian Peacemaker Teams call "getting
website). in the way."

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3. Skills This Curriculum Covers: Core

Proficiencies
WHAT ARE CORE PROFICIENCIES?
In researching the core curriculum, the first major task was to chart out
“what do we need to train for?” Only after answering that question, could
one answer questions like “how long?” and “who should be the trainers?”
and “which tools to use?”. This list of “what do we need to train for” – that
we call Core Proficiencies – was generated from responses and research from
literally hundreds of different organizations involved in putting people in
situations of dangerous conflicts.
Therefore, this list represents a fairly comprehensive look at the
various skills, based on our research, applied to the field of third-party
nonviolent intervention. In answering additional questions – like what tools
to use – we kept referring to the list to make sure all the core proficiencies
were covered.
DO ALL CORE PROFICIENCIES NEED AN EQUALLY HIGH DEGREE OF SKILL?

The first draft of the core proficiencies was merely a list, suggesting they
were equal in degree of knowledge/skill needed. From the list of Core
Proficiencies, we made arguments for the degree of knowledge/level of skill
required and the reasoning behind it. We then rated the list of Core
Proficiencies with Nonviolent Peaceforce in mind (hence the use of NP in the
document itself).
Other organizations might make different decisions or have different
emphases depending on their work. We therefore find it helpful to lay out as
clearly as possible our thinking so that your organization can most
powerfully adapt the training curriculum.
As a specific example, when making decisions about what to teach
people, we often referred to the structure of the organization. Since NP was
making use of team leaders to make certain decisions (as opposed to relying
entirely on team decision-making model, we knew certain proficiencies could
be left to the leadership.
DOES THIS TRAINING CURRICULUM INCLUDE EVERY CORE PROFICIENCY?

No. As we developed the curriculum we discovered that some of these
proficiencies are best taught during our recommended one month in-country
training, when the specific mission is clear and the political environment of
the country is clear.
An example of how we handled Core Proficiencies is the issue of trauma.
After researching how various organizations deal with trauma in their
Skills This Curriculum Covers: Core Proficiencies 25

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fieldworkers, we decided that there is a minimum skill-level everyone needs

to have, and that is incorporated into the core curriculum. We also decided
that the minimal skill-level should have back-up by a couple of members of a
team who get specialized training. We recommend that participants get
additional training for specialized skills in Western-based models of trauma
debriefing and Global South-based models of rituals and other practices for
healing. As an additional step we recommend organizational back-up with
trained specialists.
We found that the three-week framework for the core curriculum does not
provide enough time to do everything as thoroughly as one might want. We
had to prioritize, and the rating of the Core Proficiencies provided a guideline
for that.
Regarding some proficiencies, such as first aid, we realized that having
one or two fieldworkers in each team with specialized skills in that area takes
the pressure off every single fieldworker knowing a lot. So the amount of
time given to core proficiencies is related to the later training that will be
given in specialized skills.
One proposal The core curriculum leaves out one of the most important skills
which might fieldworkers will need: speaking the language(s) of the country in which the
build such
language training mission will take place. Since the core training cannot address this mission-
into a financially specific skill, each organization will need to decide how language training
workable needs to take place (if applicable). The range of estimates is 3-6 months of
approach for an
organization is intensive language study needed.
found in We also found that some pieces of the training couldn't be designed
“Appendix A: without specific decisions from the organization. For example, will every
Civil Society
Defending Civil fieldworker need to know how to use a laptop? Learning to use a computer
Society” (page without previous experience is estimated to take many, many hours, and we
153). obviously didn't choose to include that in this training without clarity about
the technical skills needed. If an organization using this manual decided that
every member did need that skill, it would have to figure out how to make
that possible.
Some of the decisions were especially hard for us. For example, not a lot
of attention is given to defensive driving skills, yet the experience of the UN
is that the vast majority of deaths in the field come from driving accidents.
The driver training we do propose in this curriculum is done in small groups
by skilled instructors, so we hope the quality time will make up for the lack of
quantity.
OUR RATING SYSTEM

Our rating system is based on the Organization for Security and Co-
operation in Europe (OSCE) model which is divided into 4 levels of
expectation:
“1. 'Being aware' of a particular issue, which means people know that the
issue exists and that they do not have the capacity to deal with it without
further training or passing on to someone else. 'Being aware' of some of the
26 Skills This Curriculum Covers: Core Proficiencies

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tools for 'large-scale conflict analysis' may be sufficient for the NP rank and
file, for instance.
2. 'Being familiar with' a particular issue means having attained a basic

knowledge of the topic without assuming mastery. 'Being familiar' with some
of the history and goals of NP, or with international humanitarian law, might
be sufficient, for instance.
3. 'Understanding' a particular issue means being capable of describing and

explaining it to others and implies a much more internalized knowledge of it.
'Understanding' how different armed and unarmed groups and international
bodies relate to each other might be sufficient, for instance.
4. 'Being able to' translate theoretical knowledge into practical application is

the highest level of ability in the OSCE scheme, and we need to be quite clear
which skills really require this level of proficiency. 'Being able to' respond
appropriately to various life-threatening situations is clearly essential. Being
able to recite from memory NP's personnel policy with regard to vacations
and leave is not!” (As described by Tim Wallis, personal communication)
CORE PROFICIENCIES: CATEGORIES
You might notice 1) Mission .................................................................................................................................... 27

the categories of 2) Environment........................................................................................................................... 29
core proficiencies 3) Large-scale Conflict Analysis Skills ................................................................................... 32
do not correlate
one-on-one with 4) Immediate Conflict Skills..................................................................................................... 34
the threads. We 5) Team Dynamics ..................................................................................................................... 34
created threads 6) Personal Well-being .............................................................................................................. 36
after building this 7) Technical skills....................................................................................................................... 38
list. For which
core proficiencies
each thread
covers, read the 1) MISSION
intro to that
individual thread.
For the mission, it is obviously critical for all individuals to be able to be
actively involved in all the main mission skills of accompaniment, presence,
interpositioning, and observing/monitoring. In order to attain these skills,
the HELPR model is one useful standard in the field. HELPR defines five
characteristics for doing third-party nonviolent intervention: Handling fear,
Enlisting allies, Listening and observing, Projecting confidence, Recalling and
creating new options. Practice of dealing with situations that may arise
during accompaniment, practice in observing and reporting on situations of
hot conflict, simulations of interpositioning and other role-plays and tools to
give participants experience and familiarity with the mission skills are
necessary.

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Mission knowledge, on the other hand, ranges from BEING AWARE to BEING
ABLE TO DO. History of the organization falls under being aware because that
knowledge is not needed as day-to-day knowledge and is mainly to
familiarize the individual with the organization. NP's long-term goals has
bearing on the work but not to the point that staff will have to explain the
long-term goals of NP outside of the mission context (most of that
diplomatic, more likely fundraising, work will be done by staff that are not
in-the-field).
As for the pieces of mission knowledge that are categorized as

UNDERSTANDING, they are all areas that staff may need to be able to explain
or retain in order to do the mission. The history of third-party nonviolent
intervention is central to the "R" of "Recalling past options" in the HELPR
model.
The theory of third-party nonviolent intervention, spectrum of

peacebuilding, and organization's positions around issues like
nonpartisanship are required pieces of knowledge in order for Nonviolent
Peaceforce to carry out its mission. A thorough understanding of the theory
allows greater clarity in-the-field. As Liam Mahoney has pointed out to us,
internalization of an organization's mission is one of the hardest pieces of
training -- but one of the most important! Without it, members may do work
in one area that undermines -- even endangers -- another. For example, by
crossing into partisanship work in one area, it may cause the government to
crack down hard and without warning.
A thorough knowledge of the organization's relationships to, for example, the

UN, needs to be one that staff can explain in the field and diplomatically use,
rely on, and generally understand. Similarly, a working knowledge of the
structure of NP is one that every staff -- including the rank and file level --
needs to be confident in. Organizational clarity is especially important since
without it communication in high stress situations across large distances can
become a major stress (and even with it, most organizations rate it a high
stress!). That means knowledge of the organizational structure, who is
responsible for what pieces of work, and who one needs to communicate
with in order to get various functions done.
Finally, understanding one’s personal relationship to nonviolence and

knowledge of the specific mission's goals are necessary to be able to do.
Personal relationship to nonviolence means understanding where one stands
on issues of nonviolence and how one can deal with that given the
organizational stance. This is the imbedding of what Liam Mahoney raised
around the importance of integrating organizational positions in oftentimes
very ideological people!

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Skills Degree of skill

needed
Mission Knowledge
Knowledge of the Organization
Long-term goals of the organization BEING FAMILIAR
Organization's positions around issues UNDERSTANDING
like nonpartisanship
History of the organization (background, BEING FAMILIAR
roots, etc.)
Its relationship with other organizations UNDERSTANDING
(for example the UN)
Working knowledge of the structure of the UNDERSTANDING
team and the organization
History of third-party nonviolent intervention UNDERSTANDING
(TPNI)
Theory of third-party nonviolent intervention
Spectrum of peacebuilding (clarifying UNDERSTANDING
TPNI through differentiation): direct
action, relief aid, trauma work,
dialogue, development, capacity
building, etc.
Personal relationship/discipline to BEING ABLE TO
nonviolence and TPNI
Knowledge of the individual mission’s BEING ABLE TO
goals
Proper use of privilege BEING ABLE TO
Impartiality vs. Neutrality vs. BEING ABLE TO
Nonpartisanship
Political space and deterrence theory BEING ABLE TO
Mission Skills
For more specific Accompaniment BEING ABLE TO
descriptions of the
skills needed for Presence BEING ABLE TO
the four Monitoring/Observing BEING ABLE TO
techniques, see Interposition BEING ABLE TO
their threads.
Additional skills
International communication, including: BEING ABLE TO
dealing with media
interview techniques
how to take photographs
recording/reporting techniques
2) ENVIRONMENT

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What is the In- Most of this knowledge is knowledge that can only be known once the
Country training? location of the country/countries is decided upon. Thus, most of this will be
See “Explanation
of the Core covered during the several month In-Country Training or In-Country
Training” (page Orientation. The importance of the knowledge of this section is for staff to be
8). able to have enough knowledge and information to achieve several goals:
• operate safely within a dangerous, high-conflict area without doing

"stupid" things that might endanger them [culturally, geographically,
clothing];
• gain knowledge of the players involved in order for individuals to know
how to interact with them in-the-field (not only military groups); and
• being able to fulfill the "E" of the HELPR model of "Enlisting allies" by
knowing potential allies, being able to cross cultures (such as local police
culture) and other skills in order to make friends in both immediate
conflict settings and during routine work.
All of these require a high degree of knowledge. One must be able to interact
with groups that one might interact with on a daily basis (for example the
military at frequent checkpoints) and groups that one may deal with in tense
situations where lots of internalized knowledge would be important (say,
military commanders). Thus, relating to local players falls under the BEING
ABLE TO category and the same with international players and knowledge of
NP's history with those players. In certain cases, however, certain players
may not play an important or even be present (such as few important
uncontrolled armed groups). Thus, depending on the situation, less
knowledge might be needed for them. Excepting those cases (which will be
determined based on the location of the project), BEING ABLE TO is the default
amount of skill needed to interact with local players.
An additional note might be necessary about interacting with groups like

international media. Although everyone may not have in their job
description interacting with the media, everyone needs to be able to deal with
the media, interview, take photos, and record/report. Journalistic skill (i.e.
writing press releases) is something else. Foreign reporters love to interview
rank and file people for juicy quotes, so there's quite an advantage in
teaching our folks how to create sound bites, frame events, and so on. Public
creations provides much of the context for success of the mission and even
for safety of participants.
We envision a specialist dealing with foreign diplomats and thus the amount
of knowledge for the core proficiency to be merely at BEING FAMILIAR.
UNDERSTANDING is a fine level for history of the conflict and knowledge of

the international dimensions such as involvement of other governments. A
working knowledge of the history of the conflict and the international
dimensions (such as corporate interests) is central, obviously, to one's

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position in doing nonviolent intervention. Corporations, however, would

probably not be players that NP would need to interact with.
While one need not understand closely maps and the surrounding
geography, BEING FAMILIAR with its impact on the nature of conflict and how
geography impacts the conflict may be important. Sam Doe argues that for
most conflicts, the politics of geography are at the heart or at least a key issue
in understanding the nature of conflict. This area of knowledge also touches
the geography's impact on weather and thus issues of driving and clothing
arise (though are dealt with later on).
And, as Tim Wallis already mentioned, one need only be familiar with
humanitarian law/human rights law. For laws that apply to access -- a major
issue in third-party nonviolent intervention -- a higher degree of knowledge
is required, and thus is rated at UNDERSTANDING.

needed
Knowledge of country and conflict
History and dimensions of the conflict UNDERSTANDING
(including ways being played out turning
points, key beliefs, symbols, areas of
sensitivity/respect, etc.)
Local geographical/physical environment BEING ABLE TO
Culture and National Awareness/Sensitivity BEING ABLE TO
Relating to and understanding of local players BEING ABLE TO
Military (local, international “ “
[peacekeepers, etc])
Paramilitary “ “
Government “ “
NGOs / Human Rights organizations “ “
Media/News Resources (including how to “ “
deal with issues of censorship)
Insurgent organizations “ “
Religious or other relevant social “ “
systems/groups
Local Police, CivPol [internationals] “ “
UAG (Uncontrolled Armed Groups) [i.e. “ “
marauding bands, local farmers, ex-
combatants, etc.]
Understanding local law and law enforcement BEING ABLE TO
Understanding of relevant external BEING ABLE TO
issues/groups (for example as other
countries' influences, immigration)
Knowledge of international players and law

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Knowledge of international dimensions UNDERSTANDING

(involvement of other governments,
corporations, economic institutions,
and other major players)
Humanitarian Law, Human Rights Law BEING FAMILIAR
Human Rights concepts UNDERSTANDING
Immigration law, INGO status and other UNDERSTANDING
relevant legal rights
How to interact with INGOs and BEING ABLE TO
international organizations (for
example, ICRC, UNHCR, etc.)
How to interact with international media BEING ABLE TO
How to interact with military and BEING ABLE TO
peacekeeping forces
How to interact with the foreign BEING FAMILIAR
diplomats (orientation to the roles,
structure, key positions)
Knowledge of the Organization’s History and BEING ABLE TO
Dynamics with Local and International Players
3) LARGE-SCALE CONFLICT ANALYSIS SKILLS
These conflict analysis skills range from BEING AWARE to BEING ABLE TO. It is
easy to argue for lots of theoretical models -- since for many people a range of
theoretical models is the best mode to think in. However, for the purposes of
this training, which would include a range of educational background and
appreciation for theory, we have selected amount of knowledge based on
usefulness to the task. The rationale behind the various levels is as follows.
Generally, we are trying to be selective around theories. Theories are useful

for explaining what is going on around one. Without theories, it is easy to
leap to conclusions – often long ones. At the same time, the importance of
knowing particular theories here is based on the question: is it relevant to the
work of third-party nonviolent intervention? In other words, will people use this
theory as they go around accompanying or interpositioning or observing, etc.
The analytical tools under BEING AWARE are tools that are about
understanding the roots of violence (whether individually or at a group
level). Though NP work is trying to get at the roots of abuse of human rights,
NP's work is not doing "root work" but instead creating the political space for
local human rights activist to do that root work (without getting killed!).
Thus, brief recognition of those tools is all that is needed. Many of the
conflict analysis skills and others are ones which may be more covered
during the in-country training as specific tools for analyzing the current
conflict situation.

using the manual
The tools under BEING FAMILIAR are mainly tools that help one to understand
better the overall situation or context of the violence. They are oriented
towards analyzing more deeply the data that would come out of the
Environment section. Much of that analysis would not need to be done by all
rank and file, but would need to be done. So, being familiar with those
analyses would be useful; others may do additional training in those and
other situational analyses models.
The tools under UNDERSTANDING are applied to the context in specific: dealing
with the politics of state terror, structural violence, and psychology. Doing
psychological healing is not a role for NP, but understanding the ways in
which state terror creates fear is important in understanding, as shown in
Unarmed Bodyguards, the nature and usefulness of accompaniment as a tool
(and similar cases can be made for interposition and presence/observing).
Finally, the tools rated as BEING ABLE TO are rated as such because they apply
directly to the nature of the work of third-party nonviolent intervention.
Threat analysis, deterrence theory and prioritization are all analytical tools
that have direct bearing on the effectiveness of the work, the safety of the
team, and the decisions it makes. While prioritization, for example, may be a
decision an officer of NP (as opposed to a rank-and-file) may have final say
over, it is important for everyone to be able to know what information is
relevant in making those decisions and be able to help weigh impacts during
those decisions.
Skills Degree of skill needed

Conflict analysis skills (for example SPITCROW, BEING AWARE
“People, Problems, Process”, with a clear
analysis of stakeholders/needs, conflict
mapping)
Power analysis (for example three types of power BEING FAMILIAR
from Starhawk/Lakey)
Historiography skills ("how to read history") BEING FAMILIAR
Political and Social Situational Analysis UNDERSTANDING
Structural violence analysis (for example cycle UNDERSTANDING
of violence, human needs theory)
Dynamics of state terror UNDERSTANDING
Political psychology and psychological BEING ABLE TO
encouragement (for example as in Unarmed
Bodyguards)
Nonpartisanship BEING ABLE TO
Threat Analysis (for example, incident mapping) BEING ABLE TO
Deterrence Theory BEING ABLE TO
Prioritization (how to prioritize among BEING ABLE TO
situations when deciding where resources are
to be dedicated)

using the manual
4) IMMEDIATE CONFLICT SKILLS
For some obvious reasons, all of the immediate conflict skills fall under the
category of BEING ABLE TO. While theory can be taken back to the team for
conversation and further explanation, these are all skills to deal with
immediate conflicts that require immediate responses. Thus, a full level of
being able to do these skills as almost second-nature is important.
Skills Degree of skill needed

Crisis Management (including dealing with BEING ABLE TO
ambiguous situations and safety in crisis
situations)
De-escalation skills for face-to-face conflicts BEING ABLE TO
Listening skills BEING ABLE TO
Speaking skills (for example paraphrasing, BEING ABLE TO
reframing)
Nonverbal communication BEING ABLE TO
Problem-solving skills BEING ABLE TO
Negotiation skills BEING ABLE TO
Worldview/culture skills BEING ABLE TO
Defusing anger/aggression BEING ABLE TO
Scanning crowds and identifying people BEING ABLE TO
Basic physical training (for example BEING ABLE TO
wrestling)
Projecting confidence and positive, calming BEING ABLE TO
presence to others
Dealing with fear and other feelings BEING ABLE TO
Making yourself heard and seen (for example BEING ABLE TO
through voice, tone, body posture,
clothing)
How to stay out of certain hot conflicts BEING ABLE TO
Organization’s Alert System and communication BEING ABLE TO
during/after hot conflicts
5) TEAM DYNAMICS
Team dynamics includes a range of internal communication skills,

knowledge about policy, and information about how the team deals with
offering information to the public or outside of the team.
All the core proficiencies that are about internal communication to NP are
listed as BEING ABLE TO (working together as a team, internal information
flow, report writing). All members need to be fully responsible for making
the team work. That includes being able to communicate cross-culturally

using the manual
with team members and locals, dealing with privilege issues, the community
differences that arise in living/working closely as a team, and being able to
participate in the decision-making system (however it gets established,
whether hierarchical consensus, Robert's Rule of Order, etc). Report writing,
in this context, is internal communication within NP (both for the team and
for NP offices).
A number of additional proficiencies are identified as BEING ABLE TO: security

around sensitive information, security procedures, and policies under "Living
as a team." Due to the security implications of publicizing sensitive
information and knowledge of the security procedures, they need to be part
of staff as a behavior and habit -- security is a priority concern for people in
the field. While staff do not need to be able to recite word for word the
policies, they need to be able to carry them out, even under stressful
situations.
The policies under "Living as a team" -- such as the sexual assault policy --
also do not need to be memorized word for word. But they are policy that
staff need to follow. Unlike personnel policy such as the allowance system,
sexual assault policy cannot merely be looked up when there is a question. It
is necessary for people to understand the policy much more fully and be able
to carry it out (even with concerns).
Policies that can be easily looked up when a question arises are ones which
are listed merely as BEING FAMILIAR. All the remaining policies under
personnel policies and external information flow are listed at the level of
UNDERSTANDING because they will be implemented by staff at an operational
level.
Since leadership skills will be treated as a specialized role, “leadership skills”

are skills like getting the team up and moving, supervision of tasks,
prioritization of tasks and final determinations and so on will be dealt with in
the specialization.

needed
Working together as a team BEING ABLE TO
Intercultural communication BEING ABLE TO
Conflict resolution/communication & listening BEING ABLE TO
skills
Trust-building BEING ABLE TO
Offering and accepting feedback BEING ABLE TO
Privilege issues (including race, ethnicity and BEING ABLE TO
tribe; gender; nationality; etc.)

using the manual
Project evaluation techniques, BEING ABLE TO

feedback/reporting tools and mechanisms, and
planning
Decision-making (quick decisions, consensus- BEING ABLE TO
building)
Logistics of the team

Personnel Policy BEING FAMILIAR
pay and allowance system BEING FAMILIAR
money and accounts for bookkeeping BEING FAMILIAR
vacation/leave policy BEING FAMILIAR
house and office responsibilities UNDERSTANDING
use and maintenance of computers, Sat UNDERSTANDING
phones, etc.
relations with local staff (for example UNDERSTANDING
local driver, housekeeper, cook,
logistician)
Internal information flow, especially given BEING ABLE TO
combination of distance and danger
Report writing (including photos, videos, and BEING ABLE TO
formal reports)
External information flow policies
Media policy UNDERSTANDING
Security around sensitive information BEING ABLE TO
Communication with family/friends UNDERSTANDING
Security procedures BEING ABLE TO
Living as a team
Community differences/issues (for example BEING ABLE TO
homophobia, cleanliness issues)
Other relevant personnel policies/issues (for BEING ABLE TO
example sexual assault policy, relationships
in the team, process for serious conflicts
including why those policies are in place)
Relationship dynamics (for example dynamics BEING ABLE TO
with locals, close and sexual relationships
in the field)
Communication to the organization (mechanisms, BEING ABLE TO
security, information flow)
6) PERSONAL WELL-BEING
Personal well-being encompasses a range of skills and self-knowledge that

are used to keep one healthy in the field and stay safe. "In field conditions
prolonged pressure leading to stress symptoms is not only the result of
difficult and emotionally consuming tasks, but also the result of difficult
working and living conditions in unfamiliar locations. Unrelieved prolonged

using the manual
stress, may lead to symptoms like diminished response, severe fatigue and
frustration."1 For that reason, all the skills for dealing with burn-out,
exercising/physical culture, dealing with death/suffering, stamina, and so
on are ones staff need to be able to do. Most physical well-being, spiritual
well-being and all mental/emotional well-being proficiencies are listed under
the category "BEING ABLE TO DO" because they are all seen as essential to one's
overall well-being -- which is an important area!
Being able to do "personal safety" requires being able to identify dangers in

the given area to one's personal safety as well as to become aware of habits
like where one is walking, what time of day one is on the street, where one's
money is on them. Knowing that, they must be able to adapt their habits in
order to be safer.
Basic first aid, also a BEING ABLE TO skill really is crucial. Coming upon
injured people or having a team member experience somewhat common but
basic wounds (landmine explosion or being shot), basic first aid entails basic
skills for immediate response and triage. Though a medic may be a
specialized role on the team, every one would be trained with the simplest
first aid skills that they would be able to perform in an emergency situation.
While in other physical well-being proficiencies one expects staff to “be able
to do”, diet and nutrition is an area that staff are only expected to be familiar
with. The reason is because we are assuming a specialist or a local will be
responsible for the majority of diet issues. Thus, only a cursory knowledge is
acceptable.
For in-depth look Self-awareness, which is about self-knowledge of one's well-being and
at trauma and behavior, requires UNDERSTANDING one's motivations and their impact on
skills to respond,
check out a special the work. An understanding of one's own competencies and behaviors
paper called allows one to weigh their skills and gifts with others, and helps assist them in
“Dealing with working together as a team. And an understanding of one's identity and
Trauma”
(available in the ways it impacts behavior also helps to work more effectively as a team.
trainer’s manual,
see Training for Skills Degree of skill needed
Change’s
website). Self-awareness of one’s well-being and behaviour
Personal motivations UNDERSTANDING
Being a pro-active learner (taking BEING ABLE TO
situations and learning from them)
Reflection on one’s own competencies and UNDERSTANDING
behaviours
Reflection on one’s identity and how it may UNDERSTANDING
be perceived and/or affect behavior (e.g.,
gender, family background and age)
1
Report for the Conference on the EC Project: Training for the Civilian Aspects of Crisis
Management, Appendix A (page 58). Madrid, Spain; 27-28 May 2002.

using the manual
Physical Well-being
Personal safety BEING ABLE TO
Basic first aid BEING ABLE TO
Exercise/physical culture BEING ABLE TO
Diet and nutrition BEING FAMILIAR
Hygiene and other health questions (for BEING ABLE TO
example AIDs, water purification)
Mental and Emotional Well-being

Self-discipline BEING ABLE TO
Dealing with death/suffering/injury (of BEING ABLE TO
others and self)
Building stamina for the work (for example BEING ABLE TO
boredom, dealing with fears/insecurity,
perceived impotence)
Keeping emotionally health BEING ABLE TO
Dealing with burn-out/flame-out BEING ABLE TO
symptoms and prevention
Dealing with trauma/critical BEING ABLE TO
incidents (with self, team members,
nationals, being accompanied/worked
with and crisis intervention)
Spiritual Well-being BEING ABLE TO
7) TECHNICAL SKILLS
All of the following technical skills are ones staff need to perform. In the case
of using interpreters, it depends on how effective language training is -- if
language training is highly effective and the country setting permits it, the
use of interpreters may be not needed at all. The specific skills for electronic
technology depend on the technology used; either way, there will be a
specialist who has additional skills in the various equipment.
Maintenance of basic accounts (accounting) is under the assumption that
every individual will have to do minimal tracking of their own expenses
(food purchases, travel expenses, buying gas). Another specialized role may
be an accountant to perform fuller accounting.

needed
Language (includes mission language and country- BEING ABLE TO
based language[s])
Use of interpreters BEING ABLE TO
Driving skills BEING ABLE TO
Map reading BEING ABLE TO

using the manual
Ability to maintain basic accounts (tracking BEING ABLE TO

expenses and allowances)
Appropriate electronic technology, including basic BEING ABLE TO
maintenance (camera, camcorder, computer, global
positioning system [GPS], etc. as necessary)

Training
Curriculum
40
curriculum
Training Curriculum At A Glance
Morning Session Afternoon Session Evening Session
(3 hours) (4 hours) (3 hours)
Day 1 Welcoming Ceremony Team-building 1: Work Culture and Rank 3:
General Introductions teams Gender Awareness
(logistics, agenda review) Culture and Rank 1: and Sexual
Personal Awareness 1: Being Culture sharing Harassment
a good learner Culture and Rank 2:
Personal Well-being 1: Building capacity
Introduction to Buddy Personal Awareness 2:
Pairs Handling fear
Day 2 Personal Awareness 3: Self- Culture and Rank 4: Culture and Rank 5:
care and the Team Operating as a team Participant-led
Team-building 2: Team Personal Awareness 4: Session (Culture
Types Meta-skills for Group Sharing)
Reflection
Day 3 Theory of TPNI 1: Spectrum Team-building 3: Personal Awareness 5:
of peacework Teamwork skills Lessons learned
Evaluation 1: Getting a Team-building 4: Capacity Personal Well-being 2:
baseline through buddies Creating Physical
Theory of TPNI 2: Exercise Practice
Deterrence theory Groups
Day 4 Personal Theory of Personal Well-Being 3:
Well- TPNI 3: Peer counseling
being: Three Personal Well-Being 4:
Morning applications Creating Spiritual
Practice of Practice Groups
EVENING OFF
(Exercise/ nonviolent
Spiritual) action
and Creation of
Morning Listening
Ritual Committee
Day 5 Team-building Personal Awareness 7: Accompaniment
Team- 5: How to Handle Fear Technique 2
building: Introduction Accompaniment
Morning to Morning Technique 1:
Ritual Rituals Dynamics of State
Personal Terror
Awareness Theory of TPNI 4:
Continues 6: Reflection Nonpartisanship
until last on learning Security 1:
day… Communicating the
Organization to
Others
Training Curriculum 41
curriculum
Day 6 Culture and Rank 6: Rank Immediate Conflict Immediate Conflict
and Accompaniment Skills 1: De-escalation Skills 2: Projecting
skills confidence
Theory of TPNI 5:
History of TPNI
Day 7 Accompaniment Accompaniment Accompaniment
Technique 3: Simulation and Simulation debrief
Simulation simulation debrief
Day 8 Accompaniment Team-building 6:
Technique 4: Facilitation skills EVENING OFF
Simulation debrief
Day 9 Security 2: Report writing Team-building 7: Conflict Security 4: Information
Security 3: Writing to resolution skills flow
international players
Day 10 Personal Well-being 5: Technical Skill: Camera/ Team-building 8:
Sharing spiritual Photography Participant-led
practice Culture and Rank 7: Session (Developing
Personal Awareness 8: Photographic Culture the team)
Relationship to Sharing
Nonviolence Monitoring/Observing
(NV)/TPNI Technique 1: Observing
Skills
Monitoring/Observing
Technique 2: Basics of
monitoring theory
Day 11 Personal Awareness 9: Security: Intelligence Personal Awareness

Team and learning collection (continued) 10: Presentation of
check-in Security 6: Threat analysis self
Security 5: Intelligence Security 7: Protecting
collection information
Day 12 Team-building 9: Technical Skill: Cell
Understanding the phones
organization (alert Security 8: Using
system/structure) immediate conflict skills EVENING OFF
Monitoring/Observing 3:
International Law
Day 13 Monitoring/Observing Monitoring/Observing Monitoring/Observing

Technique 3: Simulation Debrief Simulation Debrief
Simulation
Day 14 Personal Awareness 11: Evaluation 2: Mid-training Team-building 11:

Maximizing one’s check-in Participant-led
learning Session (Increasing
Team-building 10: learning capacity)
Maximizing one’s
learning
42 Training Curriculum
curriculum
Day 15 6 Simultaneous Sessions:
Day 16 Personal Well-being 6: Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Introduction
Culture and Rank 8: Rank and Privilege
Technical Skills: Driving skills – off-roading
Technical Skills: Driving skills – defensive driving and basic maintenance
Personal Well-being 7: Reflection on Spiritual well-being
Technical Skills: Basic first aid
Day 17 Theory of TPNI 6: Power Personal Well-being 8:
Analysis Inner Resources for
Immediate Conflict Skills Self-care
EVENING OFF
3: Practicing power-
with-others and power- (Possible afternoon off)
from-within
Day 18 Team-building 12: Presence Technique 1 Culture and Rank 10:
Creating new teams Immediate Conflict Gender Sensitivity
Culture and Rank 9: Rank Skills 4: Practicing (dealing with
and Privilege Presence stereotypes)
Personal Well-being 9:
Deep Listening/Peer
Counseling
Day 19 Presence Technique 2: Personal Well-being 10: Technical Skill: Video
Responding to Chaos De-stressing camera
Video Challenge Personal Awareness 12: Presence Technique 3:
Stamina and Presence skills arena
Motivation
Day 20 Technical Skill: Map Any Needed Thread:
Reading Open Session (Catch- EVENING OFF
Interposition Technique 1 up session)
Day 21 Interposition Technique 2: Interposition Simulation Interposition Simulation
Simulation Debrief Debrief
Personal Well-being:
Critical Incident
Stress Debriefing
Day 22 Personal Well-being 11: Technical Skill: Basic Any Needed Thread:
Healing Ritual account maintenance Open Session (Catch-
Security 9: Personnel Personal Awareness 13: up session)
Policies, Security Professional Identity
Procedures, Personal
Safety and Health
Day 23 Review of Material Personal Well-being: Ceremonial Closing
Personal Support
Network
Evaluation 3: End of
training
Training Curriculum 43
curriculum
Week 1
Day 1 Welcoming Ceremony Team-building 1: Work teams Culture and Rank 3:
General Introductions Culture and Rank 1: Culture Gender Awareness
(logistics, agenda review) sharing and Sexual
Personal Awareness 1: Culture and Rank 2: Building Harassment
Being a good learner capacity
Personal Well-being 1: Personal Awareness 2:
Introduction to Buddy Handling fear
Pairs
Day 2 Personal Awareness 3: Self- Culture and Rank 4: Operating Culture and Rank 5:
care and the Team as a team Participant-led
Team-building 2: Team Personal Awareness 4: Meta- Session (Culture
Types skills for Group Reflection Sharing)
Day 3 Theory of TPNI 1: Spectrum Team-building 3: Teamwork Personal Awareness
of peacework skills 5: Lessons learned
Evaluation 1: Getting a Team-building 4: Capacity Personal Well-being
baseline through buddies 2: Creating
Theory of TPNI 2: Deterrence Physical Exercise
theory Practice Groups
Day 4 Theory of TPNI 3: Personal Well-Being 3: Peer
Three counseling
applications of Personal Well-Being 4: Creating
nonviolent action Spiritual Practice Groups EVENING OFF
Personal Well-being: Morning Practice
Creation of
Team-building: Morning Ritual
Listening
(Exercise/Spiritual) and
Committee
Day 5 Team-building 5: Personal Awareness 7: How to Accompaniment
Introduction to Handle Fear Technique 2
Morning Rituals Accompaniment Technique 1:
Personal Dynamics of State Terror
Awareness 6: Theory of TPNI 4:
Reflection on Nonpartisanship
learning Security 1: Communicating the
Organization to Others
Day 6 Culture and Rank Immediate Conflict Skills 1: De- Immediate Conflict
6: Rank and escalation skills Skills 2: Projecting
Accompaniment Theory of TPNI 5: History of confidence
TPNI
Day 7 Accompaniment Accompaniment Simulation Accompaniment
Technique 3: and simulation debrief Simulation debrief
Simulation
Training Curriculum: Week 1 45

curriculum
Day 1: Orientation to the organization, training, and building a group for learning
GOALS:
• Build the group learning environment;
• Create support systems (one-on-one and work teams);
• Build a “learning group,” including themes of cross-culture and diversity issues (sexism,
racism, etc).
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Welcoming Ceremony
• General Introductions (logistics, agenda review)
• Personal Awareness: Being a good learner
• Personal Well-being: Introduction to Buddy Pairs
• Team-building: Work teams
• Culture and Rank: Culture sharing
• Culture and Rank: Building capacity
• Personal Awareness: Handling fear
• Culture and Rank: Gender Awareness and Sexual Harassment
SPECIAL MATERIALS NEEDED:

• Any materials needed for the welcoming ceremony;
• Copy of the “Agenda” written up on a newsprint;
• Music to play (for creating buddy pairs);
• Long rope;
• Handout: Copies of rules for Dadoo Village;
• A4 size paper; pairs of scissors; crayons & pens; 12 inch flat rulers; tubes of glue;
• Copy of organization’s policy on Sexual Harassment.
SPECIAL STAFF NEEDED:

• If needed, guest speaker on the TPNI organization holding the training for welcoming
ceremony;
• Logistics Coordinator;
• Any other people desired for the welcoming ceremony.
DESCRIPTION:
When individuals first come to a training, their main concern is usually relating to the
group. They each ask: "Who am I in this group? How do I fit in?"
Thus, as facilitators, one goal of the first day is to encourage people to begin to know
each other -- to build what we call the group "container." A container is where people have
some familiarity with each other and some sense of safety and trust with each other as a
group. When people feel safe to be themselves, they are able to integrate the learning more
deeply.
46 Training Curriculum: Day 1

curriculum
We therefore use tools that build familiarity and trust early. One specific form that
helps build the container is small groups of various sizes. Many of the early exercises make
use of small groups so that people are less intimidated by “the whole” and begin making
working relationships.
We also establish “buddy pairs,” which we make use of throughout the training.
Through buddy pairs, participants share an on-going, one-on-one relationship throughout the
entire training. Throughout the workshop buddies watch out for each other, seek each other
out as sources of support as they need to and generally offer each other mutual support.
After intense experiences, facilitators may call for “buddy pairs” to get together and talk. This
too gives chances for ongoing practice for participants in giving/getting support to do the job.
Since the training will be emotionally very strenuous and challenging, we want to
make sure all participants are getting support. And, since participants are seeking support
mainly from each other rather than from the facilitators, it encourages self-reliance and
teamwork.
We made a decision to emphasize buddy pairs over small group support -- although
we encourage that elsewhere -- as a conscious choice. Individuals can more easily "get lost" in
a group if they are of lower social rank than others. A young woman might, for example,
defer to elders or men in a group setting and not receive the support she needs no matter how
much she gives to others.
We also establish work teams of about five (using the size expected on the ground).
These teams are not primarily for support: they are work teams. They are used for working
together to achieve specific tasks. These teams model the kind of team they will actually
experience on the ground in size and thus provide practice for real life.
We found through experience that it is tempting to “overload” the first couple of days
with the many different threads (TPNI theory, cultural sensitivity, technical skills, and
morning spiritual sessions). Instead, although the threads are diverse, the goals of the first
day are strongly about building a highly functional team and little else (not, for example,
introducing theory of TPNI).
One step in building the team is through the container. Another step is teaching
people to learn. Knowing how to learn is not a skill everyone necessarily comes in with. For
various reasons people often come into trainings with attitudes that are not conducive to
learning nor as active learners. Our evaluator of the curriculum, for example, reported that fear
was a major reason people would try to take a posture of “knowing” instead of “learning”
(“be strong” instead of “be open”).
So we spend the day supporting people to develop attitudes of learning. Learning is
all about making mistakes, being curious about the dynamics going on and being open.
We also aim to bring in culture early -- especially since in a
multicultural/multinational setting culture can be a large piece of "where do I fit in this
group." It also helps to set a tone of addressing intercultural communication, a thread
throughout the training.
The bottom line: we spend this day (and the next several) focussed intensely on
building a group ready for learning. In highly cross-cultural settings, this is key. The group
must have a container. And the group must be ready to be active learners.
(An additional note: For those participants who love theory and are anxious for it we
offer them some assists. In the morning we introduce people to theory about why team-
building is important. As reported by people in the field, team-building is the most important
Training Curriculum: Day 1 47

curriculum
area to work on. Secondly, through the agenda review we emphasize the conceptual
framework of the training, using the four modules of TPNI. So theory people know what’s
coming!)
AGENDA FOR DAY 1:
ORDER OF ACTIVITIES AND DESCRIPTION DESIGN NOTES

TRAINING FRAMEWORK: WELCOMING CEREMONY
• Welcoming Ceremony In many cultures, no program can officially start without
The welcoming ceremony a formal welcoming ceremony. (We recommend
should include any appropriate separating assessment and training, having an
information on the organization assessment far before the training. If there is an
(using the guest speaker, if assessment immediately before the training, this is also a
necessary). time to change the chair set-up, location of the front of
room or other changes to distinguish this from the
assessment – to make a psychological break. To read
more on our assessment/training outline or format, make
sure to read the Explanation of the Core Training.)
TRAINING FRAMEWORK: GENERAL INTRODUCTIONS

• Agenda Review This short activity reassures
In broad strokes, reviewing what participants may participants about what will
expect on various topics in the next three weeks. A happen and builds confidence in
key point to also mention as a trainer (for reasons of the facilitators. Also it gives to
explicitness, safety and transparency): one reason the those who want a cognitive
agenda is not completely spelled out is because the roadmap for the upcoming
training will be adapted to what emerges from the training, emphasizing the overall
group, including conflicts and teachable moments. agenda, which is based on the
Trainers are here to support the group. four techniques being taught
(accompaniment, interposition,
Trainers might introduce a "Loose Ends List," a list of observing/monitoring, presence).
loose ends posted on newsprint (to note items not
germane to the discussion at hand, that can be
covered later.)
• Mingle: Introduction This tool is designed to help

Facilitators get people out of their chairs to walk people get to know each other. It
around the room and introduce themselves one-on- is a good tool for “warming up
one. People try to meet as many people as possible. the room.”
They are given short “tasks” to do (such as share one Getting participants out of their
reason why they decided to be here). chairs early on sets a tone that the
workshop is not merely a place to
“take notes” and become receptive
but about actively engaging in

curriculum
the material. This is emphasized

by the nature of the “team-
building” tools below.
• Logistics Introduction Again, more assurance and

Introducing logistics: the layout of the facilities, how making sure people are having
eating will happen, where to report one's needs, etc. their basic needs taken care of.
PERSONAL AWARENESS: BEING A GOOD LEARNER

• Guidelines We introduce “guidelines” instead of participant-
In this section we share with created “ground rules.” Ground rules are often
participants guidelines for the about the mainstream of the group determining how
training: the margins should operate. For example, a common
ground rule is no interruption – which excludes
• Use everything for your own many cultures which consider interruptions an
advancement; acceptable form of communication (even a sign of
• Take care of yourself so you can interest and excitement!).1 Or “no side
take care of others; conversations”, which research shows is common
• Complete the training (unless you among numerous lower ranked communities.
are asked to leave by the The guidelines are shared to support the participants
organization); to get the most they can out of the training.
• Refrain from using alcohol or non- Facilitators should be sure to discuss these with the
prescribed drugs. organization, especially the third and fourth. When
you put these guidelines up on a chart in the front of
the room, explain them and invite questions, you are
most likely to get questions and objections to the
third and fourth. You'll need to be prepared with a
procedure for the third.
• Dynamica
This is one of many dynamicas (energizers or games)
used throughout the workshop. We know trainers
have their favourites and can pick ones appropriate
for the group. Rather than explaining each of the
games and where they will be placed, we trust
trainers to choose appropriate ones. We expect
dynamicas to come at points other than those written
in the curriculum based on the group’s needs. For
example, after short breaks (which are not in the
curriculum) we hope participants will use additional
dynamicas.
1
African-American culture, as one example, values interruption as a way of keeping the energy of a conversation
moving. For more, see Black and White Styles in Conflict, by Thomas Kochman (University of Chicago Press,
1981).

curriculum
• Maximize/Minimize Learning When people arrive in a new

In this exercise, facilitators write up the phrase place for a training, they may
“Maximize Learning.” Participants brainstorm ways not always be prepared to
that they, personally, can maximize their learning. become active learners. Being
Facilitator gives lots of warm attention and supports an active learner is an important
people to go deeper or, in some cases, claim skill in cross-cultural work,
responsibility (not how does the teacher maximize learning about the environment,
your learning, how do you personally do it?). Then, and functioning as a team. This
facilitator writes up “Minimize Learning” and does exercise is about setting a tone
the same, supporting participants to be honest and early on of taking responsibility
open. Small groups to reflect on list. for one’s personal learning (as
opposed to placing that
responsibility on the facilitator,
the group, or something
external).
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: INTRODUCTION TO BUDDY PAIRS

• Creating buddy pairs Taking responsibility for learning
As mentioned, buddy pairs are one-on-one, is not easy. In fact, experience
intentional, on going (throughout the training) shows that learning best happens
relationships where people can practice giving and when someone is supported in the
getting feedback and support. Here buddies are process of being an active learner.
created and, in a structured way, are introduced to Introducing support systems as
each other. soon as possible can help create a
safe learning environment and
Facilitators then also make a statement about how help participants to begin to trust
team-building is the #1 issue in third-party each other.
nonviolent intervention work. Examples abound,
such as Balkan Peace Team. Use handout on The
Value of the Team.
• Curiosity Challenge: Getting to know facilitators One of the key skills in this work,
(part 1) which is also related to being an active
Participants write down questions that they learner and handling cross-cultural
have for facilitators: things they would like to work is curiosity. Participant anxiety,
know about them. which can be high in trainings like this,
often curbs people’s curiosity. This
design is to support curiosity and to
support relationships between
facilitators and trainees. (This design
is used later to support relationships
among trainees.)
Lunch
• Dynamica After lunch people are often in a
low energy state and so

curriculum
afternoons are generally dedicated

to more physical activities. After
lunchtime, our training
curriculum encourages
dynamicas to wake people up.
Dynamicas can also serve to
bring the group back together
after dinner or working intensely
in small groups.
• Curiosity Challenge: Getting to know facilitators (part This gives lunchtime for the lead
2) facilitator to sort through the
The lead facilitator, using many of the questions questions while other facilitators
submitted by the participants, interviews the other spend time connecting with
facilitators. participants.
TEAM-BUILDING: WORK TEAMS

• “I am the center…” Allowing people to “stand” for
This tool encourages people to map out, physically, their geographical location allows
where they are from (i.e. the floor is a big map of the people to see who else is here and
world or the region of Asia). Participants get to sort helps people answer the question,
themselves out to figure out where they are in in another way, “where do I fit
relation to each other. They introduce each other and into this group?”
then count off by a number that will form work teams Since participants count off
of appropriate size. (For a group of 24 to create 4 around the room where they are
work teams, count off by 4’s, for example.) These standing from the "I am the
work teams will last till near the end of the training center" exercise, the work teams
(emphasize these are not actual teams, just work will be inherently multinational.
teams through the training).
CULTURE AND RANK: CULTURE SHARING
• Culture sharing: 3 strengths and 1 concern Culture is another way for people
In those newly created work teams, which will have to know each other better. At this
people from a range of different parts of the world early in the training, it is
(because of the way they were created), individuals important to bring in culture as
are given two tasks: something to be acknowledged
share three things that they like about their culture and valued as a resource.
and one thing that concerns them about their culture; Team names can help build
and identity within the work teams.
based on their sharing, create a team name that For the first week, the focus is on
represents their work team. the internal dynamics of the work
team. In week 2 and 3, more gets
explored regarding how teams
work together in the larger
structure of the organization.

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• Buddy Pairs Designing the alternation

Returning to buddy pairs, each person gets a chance between buddy pairs, work teams,
to share what it was like to share about their culture buddy pairs, and then (below)
in their work teams (NOTE: some buddies may be in work teams again allows
the same work team and others not, which is fine). facilitators to emphasize that
Especially of interest is any new insights they may people will have two intentional
have gotten about their own culture or how they on-going sets of relationships
relate to it. (buddy pairs and work teams).
This design helps clarify them. It
also helps emphasize that buddy
relationships are for getting
support (while still encouraging
buddies to learn more about their
cultures via the answer to the
question they are sharing).
CULTURE AND RANK: BUILDING CAPACITY

• Closed-eye Process: Cross-Cultural Successes Continuing the theme of “who
In groups of threes, participants come up with a major is in the room” from the
difference that they have successfully handled (such as geographical mapping, this
culture). They each share the time and how they exercise examines different
handled the situation. ways of looking at who is in
Participants then share 1) what were the challenges? 2) the room. It is placed here
Among the methods of handling the situation, what were because it helps people focus
similarities? 3) What were differences? on a success (draw on
Handout on Personal Tips for Handling Cultural Clashes. participant wisdom), identify
certain margins early on (as
opposed to ignore major
differences of language,
culture, religion in the room).
The tool also supports
participants to think pro-
actively about handling
culture.
PERSONAL AWARENESS: HANDLING FEAR

• Step in: Step out To balance the previous visual
Participants stand up and get into the center of the and audio section, here is a
space. A large rope is spaciously placed on the floor kinesthetic tool. It helps confirm
encircling the participants. The “inside” represents the theory around comfort zones
our comfort zone. The “outside” represents our (from maximize/minimize
discomfort zone. Facilitators begin by asking: “What learning) in a “body” way. It
feelings right now can you notice inside of you that does it in a way that encourages

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you are comfortable with in this group?” As feelings stepping into discomfort,
get named, people stand next to the person to show acknowledging feelings (even
they feel that, too. Continues for a while. tough ones: like fear!).
Facilitators then ask: “So how about feelings outside
of your comfort zone?” As someone names a feeling,
they step outside of the rope, name it, and people join
them. Then everyone returns to their comfort zone.
• Buddy check-in
Dinner
CULTURE AND RANK: GENDER AWARENESS AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT

• Dadoo Village This exercise helps participants
In this simulation, a small team is selected to be the consider issues around cultural
"outsiders" and the rest of the participants make-up sensitivity and developing skills
the villagers. The task of the outsiders is to help that will be used through the
villagers build a water pipe. The villagers are given training. It is placed here 1) as
several specific made-up "cultural norms" which an opportunity to launch into an
make the task harder to achieve (such as women important conversation about
cannot touch certain items, men cannot touch others). sexual harassment (setting a tone
Though the task is shared, the cultural norms, which for the workshop); and 2) directly
are also very gendered, make achieving the task look at sexism and gender
difficult and require serious cultural negotiation. awareness from day one. Like
Extended debrief, including sexual harassment many of the threads, this issue of
policy. sexism (also opened up in the
afternoon session), gets carried
out through the curriculum at
different points.
• Closing circle
Nearly every evening will end with a closing circle or
some sort of ritualized ending. E.g., ending with
singing, a word that describes their learning for the
day, or turning and sharing something to the person
to their right and left.

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Day 2: More capacity building, culture, team-building
GOALS:
• Continue to build the group learning environment;
• Support learning about individual self-care during stress of the training;
• Deepen issues of cultural sensitivity and diversity issues;
• Begin self-reflection for personal motivations;
• Build “meta-skills” for group self-reflection.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Personal Awareness: Self-care and the Team
• Team-building: Team Types
• Culture and Rank: Operating as a team
• Personal Awareness: Meta-skills for Group Reflection
• Culture and Rank: Participant-led Session (Culture sharing)

• Pieces of carpet or heavy paper (“stepping stones”).
DESCRIPTION:
The major focus of this day is to continue building the container as started on day one.
These tools are also chosen because they elicit participants’ knowledge about self-care. The
concepts also set a tone, such as self-care, that will need to be carried throughout the next
weeks.
So the first part of the morning is devoted to looking at methods of self-care. This tool,
in particular, helps participants look at what it means for them to be “balanced”: what
depletes them, what strengthens them and how that affects the team. Thus, the remainder of
the training is set up as a “laboratory” to expand on what people already know about
themselves and to be open to new lessons from each other throughout the training.
After that, participants will get an opportunity to look deeper at the group dynamics
through “team types.” Team types is a unique way to look at different roles in groups. Our
experience is that this tool is highly effective in helping participants find a new, non-
judgmental way to think about themselves in context of group work.
The major exercise of the afternoon is a kinesthetic adventure-based learning exercise
called Stepping Stones. Kinesthetic activities, such as "adventure-based learning activities,”
are especially useful for cross-cultural work. The premise of adventure-based learning (ABL)
activities is to present a “group challenge” – such as building a bridge across a “river” on the
floor together. Through struggling with the challenge together, the team gets to work on
issues of team-building, decision-making and other elements that appear as the team works
together. Stepping Stones is also debriefed in relation to comfort zones (to support a positive
learning attitude) and the roles of team types (team-building).

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We then introduce a particular tool: noticings. Noticings is a chance for participants to

do group reflection on how the group is doing and how they are doing personally. We call
that level of reflection a “meta-skill” (reflecting on the nature of what is going on and its
implication).
Meta-skills are key in cross-cultural work. Let’s say in the next few days a conflict
arises around culture (which is inevitable at some point). One attitude would be to fight the
conflict as if it was a mono-cultural conflict: about someone being rude or someone being
disrespectful. Participants’ ability to notice the group level is critical in successfully
processing the conflict, by being aware of the cross-cultural aspect.
The evening is devoted to cultural sharing. Before dinner, participants are given the
challenge of designing a group cultural sharing that would be 1) participatory; and 2) one-
hour long. This is an application of some meta-skills (matching group needs with a design).
In the evening, several groups get to actually implement their design.
AGENDA FOR DAY 2:

• Buddies Many mornings will begin with
buddies. The morning is a great
time to check-in and remind
people of a support system they
have available to them.
• Agenda Review (reminder) Again, for the learners who learn

Briefly, highlight the upcoming four modules of primarily through theory, this is a
third-party nonviolent intervention: accompaniment, reminder that the “theory” that
interposition, presence, and monitoring/observing. they are looking for will come!
When time is taken first to build
the individual and group capacity
for learning, theory is then
internalized more deeply and in a
more nuanced way.
PERSONAL AWARENESS: SELF-CARE AND THE TEAM
• Sustaining Self-Care: a tool for personal awareness This tool is placed at this point to
This tool uses participants’ experience to learn about have participants begin to reflect
what self-care takes for them. Participants share, on how they take care of
after a moment of silence, with a person they have themselves. Participants must
not shared much with: 1) ways they do self-care and understand that this is an intense
increase their energy; 2) ways they deplete their training and they will get an
energy; and then share 3) how do those lists relate. opportunity to stretch and
The application is centered around this as a learning practice self-care. The tool’s
laboratory to try out new things. In buddies, share design also sets a tone: this is not
“How can I support my own self-care more?” “the training” teaching you
everything about self-care – you
already know a lot! It uses

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participant self-knowledge to help

expand thinking about self-care.
TEAM-BUILDING: TEAM TYPES
• Team Types This tool emphasizes
Team Types, which has roots in a number of different introspection with regards to how
cultures, suggests four distinct personalities: those one operates in a team setting
who operate in teams primarily as logical, data (and thus a great chance to get at
oriented people, those who operate as visionaries, personal motivations). It also
those who emphasize relationships, and those who allows for looking at work teams
operate on teams with an eye to the challenge and the as a whole and discussing this
fight. These four different personalities are read out question of "how do we interact
loud (with more description) and people place better" which is a constant theme
themselves, physically, in the description that they for this training.
think fits them closest. Then, in small groups, they
discuss one issue at a time and then present it.
• What do they most like about their team types?
• What annoys them about other team types?
• What do other team types need to know in order
to work with them better?
• Curiosity Challenge: Getting to know fellow Similar to yesterday’s exercise

participants (part 3) before lunch, this is about
Have participants brainstorm: “What are questions I building curiosity (a key cross-
might want to know about other folks in the room?” cultural skill) and the team. It is
Then, get together with people in the room and ask another opportunity for
them those various questions (including facilitators). facilitators to show warmth and
Facilitators cut when energy is high (then during model curiosity, too. Unlike last
lunch participants are encouraged to share more). time, the lead facilitator will not
perform an interview, but instead
trainers will put out the
expectation that participants will
use lunch to learn about each
other.
Lunch
• Dynamica
CULTURE AND RANK: OPERATING AS A TEAM

• Intercultural Communication: Stepping Stones Back in their work groups, this
"Stepping Stones" is one of what are sometimes called adventure-based learning activity
"adventure-based learning" tools that will be used helps solidify work teams and
throughout the training. Adventure-based learning thus helps with team building.
(ABL) tools present the group with a physical This specific activity will be

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problem-solving opportunity – a group challenge. debriefed with an emphasis on

In this case, the challenge is for the work teams to cultural sensitivity and what
get the entire group across an imaginary polluted helps teams function when they
river. The challenge is: are made up with a number of
• the entire group must figure out how to be in different cultures.
physical contact the entire time; Because of the nature of the tool,
• cannot touch the river or the entire team must it also emphasizes the point that
return to the bank; for a group to function the whole
• can only cross the river with a limited number of group must have the skills as a
"stepping stones" (pieces of carpet) which will whole to complete the task: in this
float away if nobody is touching them; and case, every individual needs to
• do all of this within some time limit (optional). know where they are stepping and
The team then needs to figure out how to solve how. This theme of everyone
the situation. All the work teams will do this activity knowing the skill will be
simultaneously, followed by an extended debrief important especially when
including on: teaching technical skills, for
• what makes for a successful team; example, and everyone in the
• how do the different “team type” roles operate group will need to know the skill
together; and of how to use a cell phone. Using
• what is the relationship between comfort zones a physical activity helps set a tone
and successful teamwork? here about kinesthetic movement
– that the whole body is part of
Important note: each facilitator at this point will take a the training.
work team to watch. Throughout the entire training the
facilitator will follow the development of that work team,
especially during future ABLs.
PERSONAL AWARENESS: META-SKILLS FOR GROUP REFLECTION

• Noticings In order for the group to be as aware as possible,
Noticings is a tool where participants we encourage individuals to be self-reflective,
make non-judgmental, observations reflective on the cultures in the group (cross-
about the nature of the group’s cultural work as in the afternoon) and also
interactions. It is a chance for trainers to group reflective. Noticings is a tool to achieve
share some more theory, but also a the latter skill. Being able to look at the
chance for participants to self-reflect on process of the group is a meta-skill useful in
the nature of the development of the processing group conflicts. That meta-skill
team. helps one take responsibility for oneself as a
positive learner by also taking responsibility for
the overall group dynamics (not merely leaving
responsibility to facilitators or to just whatever
happens).

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CULTURE AND RANK: PARTICIPANT-LED SESSION (CULTURE SHARING)

• Participant-led Session (Culture Sharing) Continuing the theme of taking
Participants, in their work teams, are given the task of group responsibility, this is
designing a way to lead the group in 45 minutes of accessing people’s ability to make
culture sharing. The requirements are that the “interventions” on the behalf of
exercise can be done in 45 minutes and is the group. Designing is also a
participatory. There may be several work teams (four facilitation skill, one of the themes
or more), so only some of them will actually get to try throughout the training.
it out in the evening
Dinner
• Participant-led Session (continued) Though it would be great if all the work teams
Then, work teams lead cultural sharing could share, the work teams will get other
Three randomly selected work teams will chances in the future to design exercises for the
lead their 45 minutes of culture sharing whole group. Therefore, we limit it to a
methods that they come up with. reasonable number (3) this evening (which
Facilitators will participate. Then a short includes time for a break, buddies, any
debrief with buddies. necessary debrief, closing circle and people
taking too much time).
A reason for having facilitators participate is
that this is a chance for facilitators to all show
“warm” energy. Participants will probably
come in with a certain amount of anxiety and
fear, warm attention from facilitators can help
build trust with facilitators and allow
participants to relax.
• Closing Circle

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Day 3: Background for TPNI
GOALS:
• Develop an understanding of the theory of TPNI;
• Get a baseline for evaluation (step one of the evaluation process);
• Develop an understanding of deterrence theory;
• Continue team-building;
• Begin the self-care technique of morning physical exercise.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Theory of TPNI: Spectrum of peacework
• Evaluation: Getting a baseline
• Team-building: Teamwork skills
• Team-building: Capacity through buddies
• Theory of TPNI: Deterrence theory
• Personal Awareness: Lessons learned
• Personal Well-being: Creating Physical Exercise Practice Groups

• Evaluation materials (baseline set);
• Copies of the Buddy Assessment Instrument;
• Sets of cards for the Deterrence Relay Race.
DESCRIPTION:
Day 3 continues some of the stage setting, but this is also the day when we introduce
the theory of third-party nonviolent intervention. As mentioned, our goal in the first several
days is to introduce a few of the major threads over time (as opposed to all at once!).
The morning, when people tend to best learn theory, is devoted to learning about the
various types of peacework: peacebuilding, peacekeeping and peacemaking. We introduce
this piece of theory because it is a broad framework. For people who have a large amount of
experience in peacebuilding or peacemaking work, it is helpful to differentiate the work they
have done and peacekeeping work, which includes TPNI. (We encourage them to bring
lessons they have learned to see which ones work in peacekeeping work.)
In introducing the conceptual framework of TPNI, our goal is to share cases of
nonviolent intervention and theoretical tools for distinguishing it from other forms of
intervention. A big emphasis in all of the theory sessions will be stories, to share as much
about the experiences of various organizations in doing third-party nonviolent intervention as
possible.
We also begin, on day three, the evaluation process. The evaluation time is a chance to
do some "base-lining," testing participants before the training with regards to skills and
knowledge associated with the skills of TPNI. In this way, by testing after the training one
can learn more about the training's effectiveness. This allows for deeper analysis into the

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training itself and its applicability in different settings (for example, certain cultures may not
learn particular skills in this training due to the training’s cultural bias – this is a way for
getting feedback about that).
In the afternoon we continue the thread of team work. This time we focus on how to
access two key sources of support and group learning throughout the training: work teams
and buddies. Work teams do another adventure-based learning activity together. The
emphasis of the debrief this time is what patterns are we noticing about the group. (Applying
the meta-skills developed yesterday and using those to look at the work teams and what’s
working well and what’s not working well.) Then facilitators assist buddy pairs to become
more effective in giving and receiving support.
Finally, the remainder of the afternoon is devoted to the deterrence relay race: another
kinesthetic tool to explore deterrence theory. This continues the process of introducing the
thread of “theory of TPNI.” We will revisit deterrence theory, but we want to, experientially
(see the exercise below), get participants to begin integrating the theory early on. In the
debrief, facilitators will include examples of deterrence stories.
The evening then gets devoted to creating groups for physical exercise and a time of
inner self-reflection. The opening of the evening is an “open sharing” type of process: “How
is it going for you? What are you learning? Here’s a chance to share deeply with each other.”
Participants get to settle a little more deeply into the group with honest sharing. A break, and
then creation of physical exercise groups that will begin in the morning.
Using the mornings, we want to set a tone for healthy exercising and inner spiritual
work. We are expecting that every other day, throughout the entire training, participants will
engage in some form of physical activity (yoga, walking, running, stretching). On the
alternating days, participants will engage in some practice for inner work, such as religious
ritual or spiritual practice.
One goal in the physical training is getting the body in shape. The major goal,
however, is dealing with stress. Consistency and particularly physical health are important in
staying emotionally healthy under the stresses of this work. Physical exercise is one of the
most recommended treatments for stress!
Another source of reducing stress can be relying on a spiritual practice. The
effectiveness of TPNI work depends not only on a strong body but also a strong inner self (or
spirit). People may use different language for this experience. Participants will get a chance
to practice or share spiritual practices tomorrow and the following alternating days.
AGENDA FOR DAY 3:
• Buddy check-in
THEORY OF TPNI: SPECTRUM OF PEACEWORK

• Spectrum of Peacework At this early stage it is helpful to
This session is to look at third-party nonviolent give participants a cognitive
intervention and its relationship to other forms of framework in which to put third-

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peacework. The process is: party nonviolent intervention. It

• brainstorming kinds of peacework which is helpful to contrast and compare
participants have done – as professional work or it with other forms of peacework.
in personal/interpersonal settings (such as a Also, by connecting it to personal
particular civil disobedience campaign or working experiences (not just “work
in Kosovo/a distributing food or stepping into the experiences”) it validates the
middle of a fight among one’s children); greater range of peacework done
• then group those examples into modes of by participants (such as with
peacework (such as Nonviolent Direct Action or one’s neighbors, workmates,
Humanitarian Assistance); fellow villagers, etc).
• break into small groups of four to six people
around the room via the various modes listed (a
Humanitarian Assistance group, a Direct Action
group, etc.);
• each group creates and then presents a physical
sculpture to the whole group on their mode of
peacework;
• back in their groups, groups are asked to
physically orient themselves on a spectrum of
peacework (after the facilitator reviews the three
types of peacework: -building, -making and
–keeping). Lots of discussion and debate is
encouraged here, along with facilitators listing
different aspects;
• Together the group looks at third party nonviolent
intervention’s place in the spectrum of peacework
(where does it fall in, how do we know, etc).
Group walks over to the peacekeeping section and
comes up with a sculpture that represents that
work. This will include lots of stories and
clarifications, along with theory around
peacemaking, peacebuilding and peacekeeping.
EVALUATION: GETTING A BASELINE

• Evaluation: Getting a Baseline In this period, we establish a base
In this series of tools, participants use paper and line from which to do evaluation
pencil methods and other methods to show their on the effectiveness of the
current knowledge and practice. training.
For more details, see “Evaluating the Training,” page 139.
Lunch
• Dynamica

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TEAM-BUILDING: TEAMWORK SKILLS

• Ankle Walk ABLs tend to be especially
In this ABL, participants are given the task of walking powerful as participants go
as a group from point A to point B. The challenge: through several and get to reflect
each person must be touching the ankle of the person on past behaviour and notice
next to them. patterns. This relatively short
ABL gives a chance for that,
especially looking at leadership.
TEAM-BUILDING: CAPACITY THROUGH BUDDIES

• Buddy intervention Giving and receiving support is
Individuals first complete a buddy assessment an art like anything else. Almost
instrument, then share the results with their buddy. everyone has room for increased
The facilitation then allows two buddy pairs to report effectiveness. Buddy pairs
to the group, with facilitation interviewing to draw sometimes tacitly collude with
out lessons and suggest next steps. each other to resist learning and
growth. The reason to intervene
at this point is to stop such
collusion early on and challenge
everyone to excellence.
THEORY OF TPNI: DETERRENCE THEORY

• Deterrence Relay Race As part of building the cognitive
Based on the concept of “relay races,” the set-up for map needed for effectively
this tool is as follows. On cards will be written a understanding TPNI, this is a
number of different tactics used in peacework (not major piece. Understanding
just TPNI), such as “Meet with local police officers,” deterrence theory is about being
“Hold a vigil outside of international embassies,” able to determine what is creating
“Accompany local activist all day and night,” and so safety in any situation and so
on. being able to accentuate it –
In small groups of four, each group gets a set of cards. understanding political space.
Facilitators read an abbreviated story of Peace Understanding why one’s action
Brigades International1 in Guatemala before they is working is associated with
started accompanying the Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo. dealing with issues of boredom.
They explain that participants in their small groups The work is more boring if one
are going to have to figure out what they will do. On does not understand the
the wall opposite the teams are three headings: WILL usefulness of “simple” activities.
INCREASE THE SAFETY OF LOCAL HUMAN This is also a way of introducing
RIGHTS FOLK TO ACT, WILL DECREASE THE stories of accompaniment, the
SAFETY OF LOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, first skill set of the four that are
1
For information on Peace Brigades International (PBI), see the tool “Historical Roots Quest” and its associated
tool materials, which include a sketch history and description of their work.

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and MAY GO EITHER WAY. being taught. It may also be

As fast as possible, each group gets a new card and helpful to point out that not all
with agreement from everyone within the group will nonviolent action may increase
place the card under the heading they think applies to the safety of the activists. In fact,
the tactic. some nonviolent actions may
Debrief for what got placed where. Facilitators then increase the danger! This
finish the story of what Peace Brigades International prepares people for the
actually did and what worked. They will also conversations later around the
introduce the concept of deterrence theory using the three types of nonviolent action.
theory of political space created by Liam Mahoney Although theory tends to be
and Luis Enrique Eguren (see Unarmed Bodyguards in absorbed best in the morning, this
the Recommended Reading, page 157). exercise is highly physical and
therefore appropriate for
afternoon. Deterrence will get
referenced and expanded upon the
next morning.
Dinner
PERSONAL AWARENESS: LESSONS LEARNED

• Reflection on lessons learned With such an intense training, it is important to
In this tool, participants take explicitly make time for self-reflection. This time of
some time to reflect over the reflection is an open sharing in the sense that it is less
course of the training: what guided, more personal. It is a chance for people to notice,
have they been learning? This what they are learning and how they are doing with the
tool is highly participant training. If a safe container is successfully built, people
directed with regards to will be willing to share deeply. And by sharing deeply
content, to allow for with someone whom they do not know so well (risk-
participants to reflect wherever taking), the container increases. In some trainings,
they need to reflect. cliques form or people have interacted more with people
similar to them (racially, geographically or otherwise).
The design encourages people to share deeply with new
people in the group.
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: CREATING PHYSICAL EXERCISE PRACTICE GROUPS

• Creating Physical Exercise Practice Groups Rather than determining which physical
This is a process to create groups to exercise exercises people have to learn (such as
together in the morning using various football or jogging) this allows the
techniques members can teach each other. participants to learn from each other. This
This process of creating the groups goes process emphasizes two important points:
through identifying practices people have that fellow participants are a major
already found useful, looks at practices resource for each other and that one is
people interested in doing and then creating responsible for one’s own learning (if
practice groups to do the exercises every walking does not work for you, then you
other morning. should find another exercise modality to
Trainers then explain the overall concept of try that does work for you!).

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the physical practice groups and the spiritual Introducing spiritual practice in
practice groups and how they will alternate conjunction with exercise practice may
days. reduce the levels of resistance to the
concept of spiritual practice. Religion can
be very divisive; by introducing inner work
as "another thing that we're going to
learn" as opposed to making a big deal of it
may also reduce resistance to learning.
• Closing Circle

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Day 4: More theory of TPNI and personal well-being skills…
GOALS:
• Begin morning exercise practice;
• Introduce theory on three applications of nonviolent action;
• Develop practices to cope with stresses;
• Introduce and create spiritual practice sessions.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Personal Well-being: Physical exercise practice
• Theory of TPNI: Three applications of nonviolent action
• Creation of Listening Committee
• Personal Well-Being: Peer counseling
• Personal Well-Being: Creating spiritual practice groups
• Evening Off

• Write out a description on newsprint of the Listening Committee.
DESCRIPTION:
Day four opens with the physical practice session as begun the night before. Day four
continues the theory work established by the spectrum of peacework. This time the content of
“third-party nonviolent intervention” is compared to two other applications of nonviolent
action. Skits are used as the technique to make real and alive the differences between various
applications of nonviolent action.
This section will also link deterrence theory from yesterday evening. The major idea is for
people to get a more concrete sense of what TPNI work is and is not.
This day is the last day of the “setting up” module – before the four modules begin on
accompaniment, monitoring/observing, presence, and interposition. So to finish off that
module, the focus of the rest of the day will be on tools for personal well-being.
Pedagogically it is appropriate to support stress management at this point. During the
past three days individuals have been learning under some potentially stressful situations
(long hours, working in a country new to many of them, highly multicultural setting, learning
skills and theory for difficult work). Three longs days. So day 4 will be their first of a series of
evenings off. To support their wisdom on how to use that time off and how to take care of
themselves we put in this section.
The afternoon covers stress management – such as identifying specific strategies for
dealing with stress: causes of stress and ways to handle stress. Many of those strategies will
already have emerged from the group – from exercises, religious/spiritual practices
individuals use, and so on. We will encourage participants to try strategies in addition to
their own in the remainder of the three weeks. Rather than a didactic explanation of how

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individuals should deal with their stress, it gives people a chance to experiment with what
works for them personally.
We plan to teach peer counseling as a stress reduction technique drawing on the theory
and practice of re-evaluation counseling. Re-evaluation counseling is a peer-based method of
releasing distress through emotional release. The Guatemalan Accompaniment Project (GAP)
teaches re-evaluation counseling (or co-counseling) theory as one way to handle stress in the
field. Recommendations from African nonviolence trainers to the Christian Council of
Sweden's Empowerment for Peace Service also emphasize using co-counseling as a natural form
of dealing with stress – so we include teaching some theory of co-counseling here. 1
The afternoon follows up on the theme of "practice" of exercise from yesterday, in
introducing the creation of spiritual practice groups. Just as there is a diversity in modalities
for exercising the body, so also there is a diversity in ways of doing inner work. We will give
an opportunity to participants to find others who share their affinity for a style of inner work
(meditation, singing, praying), discuss their preference with each other, and organize
themselves to practice their inner work together if they so choose. Participants will, every
alternate day, spend a portion of the morning with their spiritual practice groups. In late
afternoon they will create spiritual groups for practice, which they will implement beginning
on day 5.
Finally, as part of setting a tone for a healthy, balanced person, a break! This is a chance
for participants to relax. Participants, of course, may not do things that relax – but that’s only,
as the expression says, “more grist for the mill.” That is to say, there’s lots of learning that can
come from participants not taking care of themselves or making use of rest time, since that is
an issue in the field!
AGENDA FOR DAY 4:
• Buddy check-in
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: PHYSICAL EXERCISE PRACTICE

• Exercise Practice After the first full-length practice sessions for
• Buddy pairs: what was that like? spiritual and exercise practice (today and
• In buddy pairs, get participants to think tomorrow), it makes sense to help confirm the
about exercising and its relationship to connection between the various practices and
stress. reducing stress. The use of the practice times
is diminished if people do not integrate the
practice with their own lives. Reflection time
is thus designed into this days work.
1
For more information on the Guatemalan Accompaniment Project see their website: www.nisgua.org. The
Christian Council of Sweden’sEmpowerment for Peace Service is available through Margareta Ingelstam at
info@skr.org. As an example of an African organization using co-counseling: Institute for Healing of Memories
in South Africa (www.healingofmemories.co.za).

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THEORY OF TPNI: THREE APPLICATIONS OF NONVIOLENT ACTION

• Pantomime for Three Applications of Nonviolent This allows people to actually
Action experience the differences. Unlike
Three groups design different pantomimes lecturing on the three
(pantomimes are action but without talking or applications, this design allows
sound). Each pantomime will represent a different people to encounter and learn
form of nonviolent action (NVA). Participants about the various differences of
analyze the distinctions between the three different the three applications.
pantomimes and how they felt different, how they The four types of TPNI, while not
acted differently, and how they might generalize for introduced inductively, will be
themselves. Then the three applications of NVA are sketched out here. Participants
introduced. (Four techniques of TPNI are sketched will get lots of chances to
out: accompaniment, interposition, presence, understand each of them in turn
monitoring/observing.) for the next weeks!
• Parallel lines: dog beating role-play

Then, using parallel lines, participants get to
experience doing a small version of TPNI.
TRAINING FRAMEWORK: CREATION OF LISTENING COMMITTEE

• Creation of Listening Committee Given the length and complexity
Over lunch, participants can decide who to put on the of this training, this mechanism
Listening Committee. The committee is a small is used to give feedback from
committee of participants to elicit feedback from participants. Rather than
fellow participants and deliver that feedback to the introducing it earlier when it
trainers. Facilitators and the Listening Committee might signal to participants
will meet once every couple of days. “facilitators are here to keep you
happy,” we introduce it after
participants have been
encouraged to take responsibility
for their own learning.
Lunch
• Dynamica
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: PEER COUNSELING

• Peer Counseling: Practicing intentional support Since for most individuals in the
Series of exercises to encourage people to think about field, the major sources of support
the role of emotion in stress and to get some practice are the people within the team, we
in intentionally supporting each other based on want to set a tone around that.
participants' experience and some methodology from Offering theory and skills, in day

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co-counseling (or re-evaluation counseling): four, for individuals to

• Review role of emotions in stress (plenary intentionally support each other
brainstorm) including theory from facilitators; helps to set a tone for individuals
• Practice intentional support for handling emotions to rely on each other for support
in buddy pairs; and improve their skills for
• Debrief in plenary with theory around burn- handling stress. We draw on
out/flame-out and supporting each other in the practices from participants and
field. theories from re-evaluation (or co-
counseling) for this session.
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: CREATING SPIRITUAL PRACTICE GROUPS

• Creating Spiritual Practice Almost every day after this, each morning will begin with
Groups 30-minutes for physical exercise or spiritual practice
Similar to creating physical followed by a short morning ritual led by participants.
exercise groups, participants This provides regularity. The only exception is on some of
list spiritual practices that they the simulation days and, depending on logistics, the
do or consider doing (e.g., “rotation days” when people are out of the training
meditation, gospel singing, rooms.
yoga). Through a series of For those who do not at the moment have an established
tools, participants create practice, we ask them to explore the practices of others for
spiritual practice groups based two reasons: 1) to gain familiarity with the diversity of
on common interest. A sheet is approaches to inner work and increase their ability to
introduced listing which relate to people whose approach is different from theirs
groups are meeting and where and 2) to consider exploring one of the practices for their
(participants can add to that list own strengthening and development.
over the course of the training). This element of the curriculum has deep implications
considering the widespread intolerance and prejudice
which is taught in almost all societies toward faiths and
spiritual practices not mainstream in those societies.
Unless intolerance is confronted in the organization, it
can have a hugely divisive impact. Growing evidence
suggests that peaceworkers who have or find a viable
practice for inner work will be stronger as individual
peaceworkers in the field.
• Closing Circle
Dinner
EVENING OFF

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Day 5: Introduction of Accompaniment
GOALS:
• Begin morning spiritual practice;
• Introduce the concept of morning rituals;
• Support personal reflection on lessons learned;
• Begin first module on a technique of TPNI: accompaniment;
• Integrating theory of nonpartisanship.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Personal Well-Being: Spiritual Practice
• Team-building: Morning Rituals
• Personal Awareness: Reflection on learning
• Accompaniment Technique: Dynamics of State Terror
• Theory of TPNI: Nonpartisanship
• Security: Communicating the Organization to Others
• Accompaniment Technique

• Sign-Up Sheet for Morning Rituals (with certain days to be led by facilitators);
• Peace Brigades International video: In The Company of Fear (short version);
• Video player;
• Uniforms for dressing up as military during role-plays.
DESCRIPTION:
Day 5 begins the spiritual practice in the morning. We also introduce the concept of
morning rituals, though not doing it this morning. Training for the Shanti Sena1 emphasized
the importance of morning ritual as a team-building activity. Every morning of this training,
as people gather from their various forms of exercise/spiritual practice, there will be a
ceremony, ritual or welcoming activity of 10-15 minutes. This will be led by a small group of
three or four (fewer in smaller groups) participants who design the ritual. Every participant
will get a chance to help lead a ritual one morning. This is a chance to experiment with
themes around team building, spirituality, sharing culture, and practice designing ritual.
Rituals of healing, community and sharing are a major strategy of many cultures, especially
cultures from the Global South, in dealing with stress and team building.
Morning rituals also give the participants a chance to “own” the workshop. That is, by
taking responsibility for a piece of the workshop, they increase their investment in it and thus,
are likely to learn more.
The morning is used for reflection: personal learning and group level. After several days,
this is a chance for trainers to hear about where the participants are with regards to the
1
For information on the Shanti Sena, see the tool “Historical Roots Quest” and its associated tool materials,
which include a sketch history and description of their work.

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content and their learning. It is foremost a chance for participants to increase their personal
awareness of themselves.
The rest of the day will introduce accompaniment. Accompaniment will begin through
Peace Brigade International’s video “In The Company of Fear.” The advantage of watching
this video is several fold. For one, it provides visual as well as auditory descriptions of
accompaniment. The video gives a reality-check for those who may be inclined to glorify
nonviolent intervention.
Another aspect of “reality-checking” is it also is helpful in reducing the shock upon
witnessing or experiencing traumatic events. The United Nations’ handbook on stress points
out that exposing participants to the “types of atrocities which might occur can help to protect
peace-keepers psychologically.”2 Debriefing after the video is very key in making it a learning
experience and helping to prepare people for the dangers and the emotional stresses involved.
The afternoon will be filled with role-plays, debriefing and discussion in order to develop
skills in various elements of accompaniment. Debriefs will continue with examples of TPNI.
The concept of the nonpartisanship will also be emphasized here.
Finally the evening will help participants process theories and techniques emphasized in
the afternoon and integrate them into their own experience and self-image.
AGENDA FOR DAY 5:
• Buddy check-in
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

• Spiritual Practice
• Buddy pairs: what was that like?
In buddy pairs, get participants to think about
spiritual practice and its relationship to stress.
TEAM-BUILDING: MORNING RITUAL
• Introduction to Morning Ritual Rather than introduce all the spiritual morning sessions,
(includes morning ritual sign- physical exercise sessions, and various threads all at once,
up sheet) we try to introduce them over time. Therefore, rather than
starting morning rituals early, we introduce it five days
into the training.
The advantage of the sign-up sheet is to help people prepare
(so the group knows who is going when). It helps quieter
people participate, they can agree to write up their names
without group pressure at the time.
2
The “UN Stress Management Booklet” is available from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations
Training and Evaluation Service (801 United Nations Plaza, 5th Floor; New York, NY 10017; peacekeeping-
training@un.org).

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PERSONAL AWARENESS: REFLECTION ON LEARNING

• Noticings Throughout the training we make
Noticings are an opportunity for participants to use of “noticings” to help
notice – without judgement or blame – what is going participants reflect on their
on for them. Noticings are observations without status. Our experience is that
judgement. The noticings shared might be a piece of judgement inhibits people taking
personal awareness or dynamics in the group. This risks and learning process (which
noticing is especially oriented towards what are is about exploring new things).
people noticing about their learning process. Noticings is a structured way of
supporting openness (in the form
of observations) over judgement.
Lunch
• Dynamica
PERSONAL AWARENESS: HOW TO HANDLE FEAR

• Brainstorm: Ways to handle fear In this session, participants get to
Participants first share in small groups ways that they remind each other about skills
have used to deal with fearful situations. In the that they have and use to reduce
plenary, participants list various skills/techniques fear. Consciously identifying
that they have used. Facilitators support participants skills one uses to handle fear can
as they think, including by telling stories. be very powerful. It is introduced
early because fear is such a major
issue and one that will recur
throughout the training.
ACCOMPANIMENT TECHNIQUE: DYNAMICS OF STATE TERROR

• Peace Brigades International (PBI) video: Videos can transmit the seriousness and the
In The Company of Fear stories of folks involved in accompaniment in
PBI's video describes the theory of ways that people cannot get elsewhere. This
accompaniment and gives some details video helps to wake people up who might be
of accompaniment in the form of a glamorizing the work of TPNI. At the same
compelling, emotional story. time, it allows folks to learn about
• buddy pairs debrief (using peer accompaniment and the nature of how
support) accompaniment protects.
• plenary debrief on the dynamics of The emotions that arise from the video also
state terror support a chance to practice peer support –
application of the previous days’ learnings.
THEORY OF TPNI: NONPARTISANSHIP
• Nonpartisanship Quick Decisions One of the realities of the team is that they
In order to raise the issues of will be called upon to make decisions under
nonpartisanship, participants will practice time pressure. In this exercise, quick

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handling various situations in "quick decisions will help flesh out concepts around
decisions." nonpartisanship (what does it mean on the
In quick decisions, participants are in small ground!) and give facilitators a chance to
groups and have to make a decision in a help participants carefully evaluate their
very brief time. The situations and the decisions and decision-making process. One
debrief will center on issues of of the hardest things to train for is a unified
nonpartisanship as distinguished from sense of a concept like nonpartisanship and
neutrality and impartiality. how it operates in the field. Since
nonpartisanship, however, is so crucial to
the safety and success of the mission, this
session serves as a time for clarification.
SECURITY: COMMUNICATING THE ORGANIZATION TO OTHERS

• Role-plays: Communicating the As communicating with international and local
Organization players has already been done today, these role-
Role-plays to practice skills of plays provide a chance to confirm some of the
explaining the organization and its lessons and go deeper in that skill. By addressing
role to others in the field (such as an it directly, we set enough of a baseline that
international aid worker and an participants can spend the evening practicing
interested local). more finesse regarding talking with
local/international players and information
security.
Dinner
ACCOMPANIMENT TECHNIQUE
• Accompaniment Role-plays Placing accompaniment role-
Additional role-plays on accompaniment skills. plays here gives practice to the
security role-plays and theory of
accompaniment of the afternoon.
• Closing Circle

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Day 6: More accompaniment, rank work, and de-escalation skills
GOALS:
• 2nd day of physical exercise;
• Begin morning rituals;
• Expand the theme of accompaniment, including issues of rank and privilege;
• Begin thread on de-escalation skills;
• Introduce history of third-party nonviolent intervention;
• Increase confidence in the face of violence;
• Prepare for tomorrow’s simulation on accompaniment, including prepping participants.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Personal Well-Being: Physical Practice
• Team-building: Morning Rituals
• Culture and Rank: Rank and Accompaniment
• Immediate Conflict Skills: De-escalation skills
• Theory of TPNI: History of TPNI
• Immediate Conflict Skills: Projecting confidence

• Extra socks (for sock wrestling)
• Blankets or mats for wrestling
• Handout: Case studies of TPNI organizations
• Numerous (at least 10) really long ropes attached to the case studies;
• Batons (rolled up newspapers).
DESCRIPTION:
Day 6 is to prepare participants for the accompaniment simulation the next day.
Throughout the day there should be an emphasis on skills needed by participants to
successfully complete the simulation. Specifically, we expect: more understanding of the
privilege issues involved in accompaniment (including rank awareness) and confidence in the
face of violence and other de-escalation skills (being able to stand up to soldiers with guns).
The morning thus addresses the rank issues in accompaniment, allowing people some
chances for personal exploration as well as application to accompaniment theory.
The afternoon is for a range of de-escalation skills.
The remainder of the afternoon is for history of third-party nonviolent intervention. That
tool is also placed there to be flexible – if other skills need to be covered from the days before
for the simulation, the history of TPNI can simply be moved to later. (However, some people
do love having a historical context early on, so it can be useful to do earlier.)
Finally, the evening is to confirm people’s confidence to stand up in potentially physically
dangerous situations.

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AGENDA FOR DAY 6:
• Buddy check-in
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: PHYSICAL PRACTICE

• Physical Exercise Practice

• Morning ritual welcome (led by participants)
CULTURE AND RANK: RANK AND ACCOMPANIMENT

• Identifying Personal Rank Rank is not something to try to
In this tool we help participants look at their own hide but is best when a person is
rank and privilege by look at various forms of rank conscious of their rank. We try to
(institutional, social, psychological, etc.). Since rank help people become more
can be a source of shame and yet is also something conscious of their rank, especially
people normally cannot change, this tool encourages because knowledge of how that
people to understand their rank and how it plays out affects one’s TPNI work is a key
in TPNI work. to being secure.
Lunch
• Dynamica
IMMEDIATE CONFLICT SKILLS: DE-ESCALATION SKILLS

• Voice Barometer Afternoons, when people often go
A warm-up tool for practicing voice projection and to sleep (after lunch), needs
presentation of self. higher energy, physical activities.
Role-plays based on various
• De-escalation Skills Role-plays scenarios give people that
A series of role-plays in de-escalation skills; includes physical engagement after lunch.
theory on pacing/leading and active listening. These are also important skills to
be getting across as participants
get closer to the accompaniment
scenario.
THEORY OF TPNI: HISTORY OF TPNI
• Historical Root Quest This placement allows for trainers
In the History Root Quest, participants learn about to move it, if they realize
the historical roots of TPNI. They are given the ends participants are not prepared for

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of a number of pieces of rope ("roots"). Their the simulation.

challenge is to get to the ends of those roots/ropes, For some people, history can be
which, in fact, lead to another room and are set-up in something that puts them to sleep
an obstacle course style (wrapped around objects, (hence the design of the tool to be
etc). Only one participant, however, can have their upbeat). For others, they would
eyes open and he or she cannot touch the rope or the love to spend hours reading and
other people. The others should stay attached to the investigating historical
rope and must keep their eyes shut until they reach complexities. As always, we are
the end of the rope. balancing a range of diversities.
Once they reach the end of one of the ropes they read In this exercise, participants have
the paper they find, which will be descriptions of to work for the pieces of the
various historical/contemporary TPNI organizations historical puzzle that they reach.
(for example, Peace Brigades International [PBI], This way, since participants have
Nonviolent Peaceforce [NP], World Peace Brigade "earned" these pieces of history,
[WPB], Shanti Sena, Balkan Peace Team [BPT], and so they are more likely to take them
on). They will not be allowed to keep the paper, so it seriously and, since they have to
is important that they all try to memorize the paper. memorize them, internalize them,
Participants then go back to the other end and pick too. At the same time, as the
up the end of another root and find the pieces it has pieces of the puzzle get put
to offer. together for the timeline, it allows
After time is up, participants get together and build a those with lots of historical
timeline of the various organizations to get a interest to examine the
historical sense of growth in theory (coming a long complexities and interesting
ways from the WPB), along with discussing the lessons around, for example, the
differences of various organizations (their different development of nonpartisanship,
relationships to nonpartisanship, for example). the emergence of the tool of
accompaniment and so on.
Dinner
IMMEDIATE CONFLICT SKILLS: PROJECTING CONFIDENCE

• Confidence in the Face of Violence Series Confronting fears related to
In this series of exercises, the introduction can be physical hurt is not easy but
particularly helpful. In the introduction, explain that necessary if people are to think
they are going to look at tools for dealing with clearly when actually in a
physically dangerous situations. Remind participants physically threatening situation.
that they can rely on their buddies or other people for TPNI work does offer the distinct
intentional support. On flipchart will be three possibility of physical injury. In
options we want to explore (as one framing): Flight, a training situation, immediately
Fight, and Nonviolence – based on some cultures’ moving into physically dangerous
popular notions of responses to physical danger. situations can damage the
Participants will go through each in turn. container: raising the level of
• Flight concern and decreasing the level
In this section, participants will go through a of trust. We want to continue to
series of tools to "practice" flight. These will make this training a safe learning

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include several forms of "tag." In tag, one person environment, while at the same
(or a few) is "it" and has to touch or tag another time facing physical fears.
person. Everyone else runs away and tries not to These tools are carefully ordered
be tagged. If they are tagged, they become "it" in a way to open people up to
and the game continues. their physical selves. Tools like
• Fight tag, which can encourage
In this section, participants get to practice “fight” awareness of one's body in
response – in the face of danger, running towards relation to others is an example of
it. In the trust run, participants get in a line and that. Being okay with one's
hold hands. One participant, several yards away physical self is a major piece of
from the line, faces the line and, as fast as they are projecting confidence.
willing, runs into the line of participants. The This increased confidence can be
participants try, collectively, to absorb the runner relied upon in times when one
without any injury. does not have much physical
As another part of "fighting", participants practice control over the situation.
a facilitated form of wrestling called “sock These streams come together in
wrestling.” In socking wrestling, the goal is to practicing them in relationship to
take your partners’ socks off his or her feet. a potentially dangerous physical
• Nonviolence encounter that might happen in
Finally comes the third phase, which goes by a the field.
variety of names: Community, Nonviolence,
Transforming Initiatives, The Third Way, and
others. In this phase, participants practice
responding to potentially violent situations in
nonviolent ways: without either physically
resorting to violence and without fleeing the
scene. An example for them to role-play is facing
a very hostile and physically aggressive police
officer.
• Prepare participants for the accompaniment simulation

Trainers may briefly explain the scenario tomorrow and
say coyly, “The simulation will start when you wake up
tomorrow.”
• Closing Circle

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Day 7: Accompaniment Simulation!
GOALS:
• Read TPNI Simulations: applications of the techniques.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Accompaniment Technique: Simulation

• Sounds of tanks, flares and automatic weapon fire;
• Soldier uniforms and guns/realistic batons;
• Glass to smash;
• Car to drive in (or some appropriate form of transportation for folks to arrive with);
• Signs for the community center and a neighborhood "terror-free" sign.
• Any additional props to set the scene as a neighborhood in a refugee camp.

• MINIMUM ACTORS NEEDED:
• 4 people to be soldiers;
• 4 people to be human rights workers;
• 8 people to be local citizens.
ACCOMPANIMENT SIMULATION
Scenario
BACKGROUND
In this situation there are two countries: A and B (you might give them more appropriate
names when doing the simulation). A-landers are people from Country A; B-landers are
people from Country B.
Country A is occupying country B after a war that A won many years ago. The war created a
lot of bitterness on both sides as well as many refugees in country B, who fled areas of their
country that were annexed by A. Thousands of B refugees live in camps which at first were
composed of tents, but which over time became built up as houses, markets, temples for
worship, and community centers.
Many B people still resist the occupation and want to regain control of their country,
including the annexed parts. They formed an armed struggle movement but have had little
success except for winning much international support and putting the spotlight on Country

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A. Country A has a peace movement that wants to end the occupation, but is hampered by
the armed struggle tactics of the B's. Politically, it is a stalemated situation and yet commands
world attention.
The TPNI organization has been asked to come in and accompany B individuals and
neighborhoods, which are especially vulnerable to reprisals from the A army for suspected
participation in the violent attacks on A (which include attacks on the A people who have
built houses and farms in the annexed territory formerly controlled by B). Team member's
mission in B is to expand the political space for B activists to mobilize for new approaches
other than armed struggle. Before entering the situation, the organization has carefully
explained to the government and the major factions of all sides that it is nonpartisan
regarding the issues in dispute, but wants to assist people to stay alive to work out their
destiny.
The locality where we explore accompaniment for this simulation is a neighborhood in a

refugee camp where the neighborhood association has declared a "terror-free neighborhood"
and asked for accompaniment.
Scene 1. The TPNI fieldworkers are sleeping in a community center in a refugee camp known
to be a place where armed struggle B-landers sometimes hide. The neighborhood association
says it has made them unwelcome. At 3:30am participants are awakened by shouts, "They're
coming! A-land Army is coming! Please come and help!" In the next minutes, we hear the
rumbling of tanks, flares, and occasional bursts of automatic weapon fire.
The six B-landers who yelled and woke up the team members urge them to come to the street
where the tanks are now proceeding. Before the team members can get there, A-land soldiers
appear. The soldiers want the TPNI fieldworkers out of the way, inside, while the soldiers
smash windows and go into houses "to search for terrorists."
There are repeated encounters as team members try to cope with the soldiers abusing refugee
families. Soldiers push team members around. After some time, soldiers withdraw. It's
unclear if they will return.
Scene 2. A crowd of B-landers gathers on the street. They are furious, and speculate on
whether soldiers will return and what to do if so. (They speak in a language different from
that of most participants in the training.) The crowd gets more hysterical.
Scene 3. Leadership emerges among the B-landers. After much time, they create a plan to call
everyone out of the house if the soldiers return, and create a silent nonviolent vigil. B-landers
ask for TPNI protection by the team. Calm settles in the wake of the decisions made.
Scene 4. Soldiers return to "search for more terrorists." B-landers implement their plan as best
they can. Soldiers are rough and abusive, and the team implements its plan. A carload of A-
land human rights activists suddenly show up and very aggressively confront the soldiers.
At first the soldiers are outraged at their countrymen's apparent disloyalty, and respond by

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attacking the A-land human rights activists. The A-land activists appeal to team members for
help.
End of simulation.
SUGGESTED DEBRIEF QUESTIONS
Buddy pairs: What were your feelings at various points of the simulation?
(Being awakened with shouts and gunshots; first encounter with the soldiers; response to the
soldiers roughing up B-landers; response to being roughed up; feelings during the crowd
scene; feelings during the planning for the next encounter; accompanying the vigil; feeling
response to soldiers; response to human rights activists and the treatment of them.)
In work teams (one facilitator for each team): Share the strongest feelings that are remaining
and facilitate work on any that seem to need more expression. General overall reactions: "We
were great!" "We did terribly!" "Most of the time we didn't know what to do!"
Then reflections on each scene, one at a time, with the underlying themes: What worked?
What didn't work? This stage of the debrief is (in the experiential education model) step two:
reflection. As participants discern what worked and what didn't in their behavior at many
points, facilitators make sure to include the following questions:
Scene 1: When you were awakened, did you find your team-mates? Your buddy? How did
you organize yourselves? How did you call on your inner resources for support? What was
your major objective as you went out to meet the soldiers? How did you stay aware of the
dynamics in the neighborhood? How much did you trust the neighbors who woke you up?
In what ways? How did you project confidence? What did you do when you saw neighbors
being roughed up? What nonviolent options did you experiment with when the soldiers
roughed you up and pushed you into the buildings out of the way?
Scene 2: How did you place your bodies in relation to (a) your team, (b) the crowd? What
was your objective at that time? How did you handle the confusion and difficulty in
understanding what they were saying when talking all at once? What nonviolent options did
you try as the crowd became more hysterical and possibly violent?
Scene 3: As the crowd shifts into a town meeting planning its next response to the soldiers,
what role did you play? Did you want to help them plan? When B-landers asked for TPNI
protection by the team, what considerations seemed important to you in deciding how to
answer? When the TPNI team goes into planning mode, what do you do? Did you support
the planning process? If so, how? What if calm had not descended, and the soldiers had
come back immediately? Was there any way that the team could have been planning even
while the crowd was doing its thing? What communication links could be used to make sure
all TPNI team members knew what they were to do? How could the team get key
observations and feedback to the leaders in a timely and supportive way?
Scene 4: How close was the implementation to the actual plan? What did you do in light of
discrepancies? What were your judgement calls and what do you think of them now? What

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did your team do about continuing communication with the team’s leadership, and how did
you attain a vantage point to assist your team in its movements? When the A-lander human
rights activists showed up, what did you do? What nonviolent options were you considering
as the confrontation heated up? Which principles and policies were you thinking about if the
activists turn to you for help? What were pluses and minuses of how the team responded to
the activists' request?
The next phase of the debrief happens in the whole group, and is used to develop
generalizations (step three of the experiential education model). This is where the reflections
from this simulation interface with TPNI theory. The facilitators use the following methods to
draw out generalizations from the participants:
- harvesting lessons from the team reflections previously
- citing case lessons from TPNI work at other times and countries
- citations from relevant nonviolent theory, deterrence theory
- brainstorming still other options that might be used in situations resembling the
simulation
The facilitators will use a variety of formats (writing assignments, small groups, oral sentence-
completions, etc.) to keep the whole group in good shape for learning while it works over the
very complex material it generated.
Some debrief methods that we suggest:

• journaling;
• small group sharing on particular questions;
• sentence completions (i.e.., Trainers give participants part of a sentence [like, “I was
pleased with myself during the simulation because…”] and participants keep finishing the
sentence with a new answer over and over again; a great tool for self-discovery to be used
with buddies);
• drawing exercise (a personal “journey” of the simulation: highpoints, low points, exciting
points, boring points, etc.);
• skits on actions that we did that opened political space and actions that closed political
space;
• brainstorming;
• forum theatre (taking a particular scene from the simulation and using participants as
actors to re-enact that scene; this time participants can step into the situation as actors and
try new interventions);
• writing a brochure (for example, what are the three things you would put in a brochure
about the organization in that context – to teach conciseness and clarity when describing
one’s mission and work).

curriculum
Week 2
Day 8 Accompaniment Team-building 6:
Technique 4: Facilitation skills EVENING OFF
Simulation debrief
Day 9 Security 2: Report Team-building 7: Conflict Security 4: Information
writing resolution skills flow
Security 3: Writing to
international
Personal Well-being: Morning Practice (Exercise/Spiritual) and
players
Day 10 Personal Well-being 5: Technical Skill: Camera/ Team-building 8:
Sharing spiritual Photography Participant-led
practice Culture and Rank 7: Session (Developing
Personal Awareness 8: Photographic Culture the team)
Relationship to Sharing
Nonviolence Monitoring/Observing
(NV)/TPNI Technique 1: Observing

Skills
Technique 2: Basics of
monitoring theory
Day 11 Personal Awareness 9: Security: Intelligence Personal Awareness 10:

Team and learning collection (continued) Presentation of self
check-in Security 6: Threat analysis
Security 5: Intelligence Security 7: Protecting
collection information
Day 12 Team-building 9: Technical Skill: Cell phones
Understanding the Security 8: Using immediate
organization (alert conflict skills EVENING OFF
system/structure) Monitoring/Observing 3:
International Law
Day 13 Monitoring/Observing Monitoring/Observing Monitoring/Observing
Technique 3: Simulation Debrief Simulation Debrief
Simulation
Day 14 Personal Awareness 11: Evaluation 2: Mid-training Team-building 11:
Maximizing one’s check-in Participant-led
learning Session (Increasing
Team-building 10: learning capacity)
Maximizing one’s
learning

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Day 8: Finishing debrief of accompaniment simulation; facilitation skills
GOALS:
• Continue learning from yesterday’s simulation and provide a space for the variety of
responses that arise from a long-day of simulation;
• Build skills in group facilitation: observation skills, leadership development and
summarizing skills.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Accompaniment Technique: Simulation debrief
• Team-building: Facilitation skills
• Evening Off

None
DESCRIPTION:
After long simulations, there are huge amounts that can be mined and learned. While
significant debriefing has occurred after the simulation yesterday, this morning will be a time
to recognize new awareness people gained overnight, additional issues that need to be
covered, and perhaps some resentment pent up against the facilitators. The morning will give
a chance for additional reflections and more learning.
Then lunch. Psychologically the afternoon is inviting participants to take a “break” from
the morning and the simulation. While some people will want to continue talking about the
simulation (and as facilitators we will encourage them to do so), others will want to get “over
it.” Given the length and intensity of the simulation, we chose to help the group make a shift
from the simulation into skills of facilitation. The afternoon opening session, using skits, is an
exercise that allows people to laugh at bad meetings (a shared experience!) – an energizer
unto itself. The rest of the afternoon focuses on skills for facilitation (and other leadership
skills in groups).
Finally, since everyone deserves a break at this point, we give everyone the evening off!
AGENDA FOR DAY 8:
• Buddy check-in


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ACCOMPANIMENT TECHNIQUE: SIMULATION DEBRIEF (continued)

• Continued debrief Additional thoughts about the simulation come as people get a
chance to ruminate in the evening and as they sleep. This
debrief gives people further opportunity to learn from the
simulation and more time to come up with questions they might
have about the simulation and accompaniment.
Lunch
TEAM-BUILDING: FACILITATION SKILLS
• Fishbowl: “Worst meeting ever…” As mentioned,
This tool replaces the dynamica, because groups tend to create facilitation is offered
such laughter during it. Several participants act out in the center here as a
an example of the “worst meeting ever.” Trainers then cut and psychological break
have participants replay that scenario with “the best meeting from the intensity of
ever.” the accompaniment
simulation. This
• Task & Maintenance: What makes groups work? section works on four
Using a quick brainstorm, participants examine what leadership key leadership skills:
skills are needed to make groups work. Theory about two types role of facilitator,
of leadership – task and maintenance – are introduced. types of leadership,
noticing dynamics in
• Facilitation Practice with Observers a group, and the skill
In small teams, participants are given a small decision to make of summarizing.
(with the first task to get a facilitator). Several people observe
the process. Debrief on what makes for good facilitation.
As part of this tool, participants are put into groups of three and
asked to “summarize” the process of the group: practicing the
skill in summarizing.
• Closing circle
Dinner
EVENING OFF

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Day 9: Security (report-writing, information flow, relating to others) and Conflict

Resolution
GOALS:
• Build report-writing skills;
• Increase skills of relating to international players;
• Develop conflict resolution skills;
• Address issues of security and the protection of information;
• Continue team-building skills and especially address issues of leadership.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Security: Report writing
• Security: Writing to international players
• Team-building: Conflict resolution skills
• Security: Information flow

• Organization’s report forms (or generic report forms);
• Copies of documents about/by relevant international players (i.e. UN, ICRC, etc);
• At least ten tinkertoys or Lego sets (for Tinkertoy tool).
DESCRIPTION:
Before entering the next module on monitoring/observing, this day focuses on more
skill-building. This is a “skill-up day,” especially related to security (a major issue in
monitoring/observing) and conflict resolution.
In the morning, we want participants to learn to write reports using the simulation of
two days ago. Included in report writing will be understanding to whom the different reports
are being written and knowing something about their cultures and their goals as
organizations. The second exercise in the morning develops the security-conscious skill of
writing to various international players (especially INGOs). The issue of information flow
returns in the evening using the ABL tool called Tinkertoy, which looks especially at internal
information flow.
The afternoon continues some of the skills (such as summarizing) from the facilitation
skills the day before. We use those skills to build conflict resolution skills for the team.
Attention in this session is given to cross-cultural conflict resolution processes.
AGENDA FOR DAY 9:
• Buddy check-in

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SECURITY: REPORT WRITING

• Report writing challenge Report writing about a "real"
From the simulation that happened two days ago, incident (something that
have participants write up a report of the events they happened to them) helps to
remember, using the organization’s official report solidify the skill and increase
forms. After writing individually, divide participants appreciation for its usefulness.
into small groups and have them share and critique Since this is several days after the
each other’s reports. accompaniment role-play, it also
Return to the plenary and get reflections on pieces serves as yet another chance for
that need to be in reports, what is easy to leave out of reflection (here is what I saw and
reports and so on. Debrief. did, and here is why I did it at the
time).
SECURITY: WRITING TO INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS
• Macro-Analysis Tool: International players Within the context of report
Hand out to participants information on various writing, understanding various
international players. Have them in small groups organizations’ roles helps
reading different information sheets. After some participants understand the
time, have each group present the international usefulness. Since the ICRC is
player to the group. Debrief with clarifying focused and directed entirely by
information, including teaching skills for researching its Mandate, for example, calling
international organizations (and getting that them to report something only
information). Include application around report makes sense if it is related to their
writing. mandate.
Lunch
• Dynamica
TEAM-BUILDING: CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS

• Childhood stories about conflict We expect that some
As an opening, participants share in small groups stories, (but not necessarily all)
fables, folktales, proverbs, poems or sayings related to conflict. of our participants have
Short debrief regarding worldviews. had some sort of
conflict resolution

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• Concentric circles: Success in conflict training before. We do

Participants sit in concentric chairs of equal numbers (so each not want to repeat that
participant has a partner across from them). Each participant training, but instead
shares: “What’s a time I had some success handling a conflict?” deepen their skills,
Partners thank each other and then the outside moves one to especially on active
the left (so each person has another chair). The opposite circle listening,
then shares a time they successfully handled a conflict. The understanding their
process continues until each person has shared two or three cultural approach to
different stories. Debrief: “Handling conflict: what works?” conflict, and taking
responsibility (of which
• Active Listening in Controversy Challenge “I-statements” are one
In this tool participants brainstorm: “What topics might there expression). Therefore,
be strong disagreements about in this room?” After a list is we suggest some less
created, participants get into pairs. In their pairs they pick an well-known tools in
issue (from the list or elsewhere) that they strongly disagree conflict resolution.
about. Then they take turns sharing, each time giving a chance
to practice active listening (including paraphrasing what the
other said). Pairs are encouraged to really stand up for their
viewpoint. Debrief on what works for active listening.
• Structured Journaling: Owning Responses to Conflict

Using a structured journaling exercise, participants do some
personal reflection on their attitude and behaviour. For
example: “When I noticed someone did something that people
in my culture do not do, I felt _____. I said to myself ____. I
said to the person _____. I said to the group ______.”
Dinner
SECURITY: INFORMATION FLOW
• Tinkertoy This team-building activity also
In this activity, participants are shown a copy of a looks at a key theme of security:
"tinkertoy" (a toy assembled from a number of parts). information flow (including how
In small teams, participants have to assemble the isolated individuals may become
tinkertoy with the parts they are given. The catch: less security conscious). Since
within the team there are structural communication TPNI organizations function
gaps and stratified roles. For example, only certain with real communication gaps
people can see the original tinkertoy and others are and stratified roles, this will help
the only ones able to see and build the team’s participants gain skills for
tinkertoy. And some of the people in the middle are handling those issues.
given limited communication abilities (some of them, Information flow will be revisited
for example, are not allowed to talk verbally). The more deeply later and addressed
team must overcome these obstacles to be successful. in the simulation.
• Closing Circle

curriculum
Day 10: Introduction to monitoring/observing and moving the team forward
GOALS:
• Help people share lessons from their spiritual practices;
• Increase people’s personal awareness of their relationship to nonviolence;
• Learning technical skill: using a camera;
• Learn observing skills: keeping an open vision, photography and awareness skills;
• Introduce formally theory of monitoring/observing;
• Provide more opportunity for team-building.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Personal Well-being: Sharing spiritual practice
• Personal Awareness: Relationship to Nonviolence (NV)/TPNI
• Technical Skill: Camera/Photography
• Culture and Rank: Photographic Culture Sharing
• Monitoring/Observing Technique: Observing Skills
• Monitoring/Observing Technique: Basics of monitoring theory
• Team-building: Participant-led Session (Developing the Team)

• Music (if desired; for the Peripheral Vision Milling)
• At least ten still cameras (preferably the same type that will be used in the field) capable of
providing immediate feedback (such as a digital camera, where the image can be
immediately viewed);
• At least ten notepads and writing utensils;
• Costumes for military role-play.
DESCRIPTION:
The first half of the morning is spent helping participants share and reflect on the
personal-well-being thread, specifically their spiritual practices: how is it going? What are
they learning? What lessons do they want to share with others?
The rest of the morning is follow up work to the security and conflict work participants
did yesterday, and is a chance for participants to express themselves regarding issues of
nonviolence. Knowing where your fellow participants stand can be an important piece of
knowledge for one’s security and potentially one’s reassurance, too. And, since there may be
important areas that emerge, participants conflict skills may also be used.
This is the first major day on the technique of monitoring/observing. The purpose of this
day is to introduce people to some of the associated skills – including the technical skills. Our
experience is that people learn technical skills when they are spread out as opposed to learned
all at once. In a specific in-country training they may receive additional training based on
their mission, such as election monitoring. Our goal is to teach them the general skills.

curriculum
The afternoon opens with expanding one’s visual awareness and other visual-related
skills. The rest of the afternoon is devoted to more theory of monitoring/observing.
Our experience is that some groups of people – such as humanitarian or certain
international human rights workers – have a lot of experience with monitoring/observing
skills: after all, it is the most widely practiced and respected of all the TPNI techniques. So
some groups might already have a lot of monitoring/observing experience. Some groups,
however, might not have that much experience (for example groups coming more out of the
social change wing of nonviolent action). Therefore, we provide an option of tool choices to
reflect one’s group experience.
Finally, the evening is devoted to team-building work – again tapping participant’s own
wisdom.
AGENDA FOR DAY 10:
• Buddy check-in
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: SHARING SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

• Spiritual Practice Sharing In doing spiritual practices, one
During this practice, unlike the others, participants of the goals is to help participants
will come together as a large group and get to explain become more aware of, tolerant of
or share (as they wish) parts/pieces/lessons of their and capable of learning from
respective spiritual practice they have been engaged other's religious practices (a
with. needed skill in the field). This
sharing, after the container is
strong (near the end of week 2),
supports that goal.
PERSONAL AWARENESS: RELATIONSHIP TO NONVIOLENCE (NV)/TPNI

• Nonviolence sociograms This session allows participants to get to know each
In sociograms, participants get to other as a team members better and allows for self-
identify where they stand on exploration on these issues of TPNI and NVA.
certain issues and engage with Trainers might open by connecting this session to the
others in discussion. Participants conflict resolution of the day before.
are given a statement or issue
(often used in spectrums), such as Also in this section, facilitators can clearly emphasize
the issue of “killing an animal” or the difference between one's personal stance and one's
the statement “Yelling at someone organizational stance (to ready participants for being
can be nonviolent.” The trainer individuals and organization members, who may have
stands in the center of the room to do things they would not naturally do for the sake of

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and participants then put the mission). Knowing yourself and your teammates
themselves in the room in a way in this area supports security.
that shows their relationship to
that statement (for example, We intentionally avoided spectrums, a common
standing far away from it or sociogram used in nonviolence trainings. (Spectrums
sitting down with their back to it). presents the issue as a line, such as “Eating meat is
People are then given a chance to wrong” at one end to “Eating meat is fine” and people
discuss with each other why they place themselves along that continuum.) Spectrums by
positioned themselves as they did. their design are about showing polarization of an issue
by showing the positions in the room and allowing
people to speak. We like to open the discussion in a
way that emphasizes the numerous criteria (instead of
the “two sides” the design of spectrums displays). In
the case of eating meat, for example, one side tends to
make a philosophical/environmental argument about
why they do not eat meat and the other side is left to
defend themselves. Using this form of sociogram,
however, emphasizes the criteria or interests people
use or have over the position they stand in.
Lunch
• Dynamica
TECHNICAL SKILLS: CAMERA/PHOTOGRAPHY

• Camera introduction
Still cameras are distributed into groups of five and
people are given a chance to experiment with the
cameras and make sure that everyone in the team can
use them.
For information on leading technical skills, see the Technical

Skills Mini-thread (page 130).
CULTURE AND RANK: PHOTOGRAPHIC CULTURE SHARING

• Photographic Culture Sharing This tool allows individuals to
Individuals are given time to take three pictures. One walk away and be alone – a time
is to take a picture that describes their mood right appreciated by introverts. This
now, the second is something that is a source of form of culture is used as a way
inspiration or hope, and the third is something that to practice some more culture
concerns them. sharing.
Participants, with their pictures on the digital camera,
return to the group and share.

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MONITORING/OBSERVING TECHNIQUE: OBSERVING SKILLS

• Peripheral Vision Milling The Peripheral Vision
Without talking participants walk around the room however Milling tool allows
they desire (slowly/quickly, high/low, etc.) without touching people to express
anyone (with background music). Participants are then themselves in their
challenged to, while continuing to walk around and not touch bodies in whatever
anyone, identify one other person in the room to make sure they way they want to.
always know where that person is in the room. They should not This continues the
follow that person or keep track of them by moving their head – slightly artistic
just keep them in their peripheral vision. Participants continue modality (instead of
walking around. with a camera, this
Then, adding to the challenge, participants pick another person: time with one's
tracking two people in the room at once. This continues for a body). It is a "low
little more time. Finally, the last challenge is given: keep key" energy activity
between the two people as they walk around while continuing to (and the music can
not touch anyone and keeping them in one's periphery! help with that, too).
At the same time, this
• Fishbowl Observation Challenge tool helps people open
In this exercise several participants will be acting out a role play their visual
watched by participants who will be observers. While the role perception that they
play in the center will be a simple and engaging de-escalation will get to
role play, the focus for the purposes of this activity will be on the immediately practice
observers on the outside. They will have the challenge to as observers using
observe and document (on paper or with a camera) as much as cameras and
they can. Some will have pieces of paper to write down notes. notebooks to
Others will have cameras to capture the action. document incidents.
After the role play ends or is cut off, the debrief will center
around what notes people took ("what information do you need
to document?") and what kind of pictures did people take ("what
kind of pictures are most useful? For what purposes?").
MONITORING/OBSERVING TECHNIQUE: BASICS OF MONITORING THEORY

• Monitoring/Observing theory This session will focus more
OPTION A: Information Stations on Monitoring on introducing election
(for groups with lots of experience in monitoring) monitoring, cease-fire
A couple of participants (in most groups 3) with monitoring and other forms
experience in monitoring serve as the head of an of monitoring/observing.
“information station.” At each information station, Since some organizations
participants come up with questions about monitoring and will have participants with
the information station answers, using their own personal a lot of expertise in this area
experience as a reference point. and group wisdom in the
room, we rely on that using

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OPTION B: Monitoring/Observing 101 “Stations on Monitoring.”

With a combination of role-plays and historical Other organizations may
introduction, participants learn about the theoretical basis not have that, so we offer
of and ideas for monitoring/observing. another option.
• Ethics of monitoring/observing
Using role-plays and quick decisions, participants look at
various ethical and nonpartisanship questions with
regards to performing monitoring/observing.
TEAM-BUILDING: PARTICIPANT-LED SESSION (DEVELOPING THE TEAM)
• Participant-led Session (Developing the Team) Continuing the theme of taking
Participants, in their work teams, are given the task of group responsibility, this session
designing a way to lead the group in 45 minutes. The is about helping the group
task this time is to help the group “move forward” as continue to take ownership. The
a group – to support its own growth. The particular task here is to help the
requirements are that the exercise can be done in 45 group gear up for the next intense
minutes and is participatory. There may be several week. While participants plan,
work teams (four or more), so only some of them will his time can be used by
actually get to try it out in the evening. facilitators to read the evaluations
and talk over any changes to
make in the upcoming design.
Dinner
• Participant-led Session (continued)
Three randomly selected work teams will lead their
45 minutes of developing the team using the methods
that they come up with. For transition, a short
debrief with buddies.
• Closing Circle

curriculum
Day 11: More security, personal reflection, and preparation for upcoming
simulation
GOALS:
Provide an opportunity for personal reflection and increased self-awareness of the group;
Build skills in “intelligence collection” and analysis;
Increase more awareness of security;
Develop increased self-awareness of one’s “self presentation” (appearance).
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Personal Awareness: Team and learning check-in
• Security: Intelligence collection
• Security: Threat analysis
• Security: Protecting information
• Personal Awareness: Presentation of self

• A laptop to only practice connecting to the Internet (does not need to be connected to the
Internet, although ideal);
• All the information sheets for the players in the Intelligence Collection Drill (i.e. Mother,
Military Ambassador);
• Uniforms for the military;
• Handout: Descriptions of military, peacekeeper and media culture;
DESCRIPTION:
This day focuses almost entirely around security. One way of thinking about security
is the ability to pay attention to numerous additional considerations (personal safety, where
your cell phone is, who is around you at the moment) on top of your basic techniques.
Because security is about considering additional factors, we introduce it after people have had
a chance of developing the basics of three of the TPNI techniques.
Throughout the day we look at aspects of security: information collection and analysis,
threat analysis and then protecting information.
The evening session is devoted to a security-related theme: presentation of self. In that
session, people get to look at the way others view them (through mirroring) and examine
ways they may want to change their physical presentation of themselves.
AGENDA FOR DAY 11:
• Buddy check-in

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PERSONAL AWARENESS: TEAM AND LEARNING CHECK-IN

• Noticings The last noticings occured early
During these noticings, trainers support participants last week, so this check-in is
to look at “how is the team doing” and “how is my designed to give participants
personal learning going.” This is a chance to take some time to reflect with each
responsibility for learning (a key cross-cultural and other and “how is our learning
TPNI skill). going” and “how is our team
life.” Noticings is a
nonjudgmental way to move a
team forward.
SECURITY: INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION

• Intelligence Collection Drill This day highlights
In this tool, participants get a chance to practice “interviewing” skills for relating to
skills, practice cross-cultural sensitivity as they try to get local players.
information, and explore issues of leadership. This tool is the first
First, participants quickly brainstorm: “What are sources of time that risk
information for our team in the field?” Facilitators may add to management is
the list and help participants to think about the different ways addressed directly,
they would interpret information from the various sources. as part of the first
Connect this to the tool. full day of security
A few volunteer participants become actors who will act out (though addressing
the roles below. The rest of the participants are divided into ambiguous
medium-sized (6-8) teams. Those participants are given a situations has
scenario (such as a rumor that there is going to be a serious already been raised
attack on all the teams) and are asked to get information for in the previous
their teams about the situation. Team members are then given section on
their “contacts” for certain pieces of information (in actuality accompaniment:
things like a national newspaper, website information, phone including during the
numbers for various contacts [those in-role volunteer simulation, quick
participants on cell phones] and addresses for contacts decisions, role-plays
[locations for other in-role volunteer participants]). Roles that and elsewhere.)
in-role volunteer participants may play include an embassy A note on the
official, a local mother, an international agency, a political brainstorm: opening
science professor in the country, some young children on the with a brainstorm
playground and so on. helps participants

curriculum
For the morning, participants gather as much information as they pro-actively think
can and share it with their team members. By the end of the time, about intelligence
they have to finish writing a report for submission to the collection.
organization. Facilitators will point out that those reports will be
used by a small group of folks (the “in-role volunteers”) over
lunch to analyze the situation and come up with an action
decision.
Lunch (with a small group doing analysis over lunch)
• Dynamica
SECURITY: INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION (CONTINUED) AND THREAT ANALYSIS
• Intelligence Collection Drill , continued This design allows the theme

More debriefing from the morning activity as needed. around leadership to surface in a
Then the small group that created the analysis and specific, highly TPNI-related
the decision from lunch presents their results. context. How to recognize that
Discussion and debrief. Since some participants will leadership might have the “big
have almost certainly been given results different picture”? This is especially
from the final analysis of the small group, emphasis important for organizations with
will be placed on debriefing around those issues of more hierarchical relationships.
leadership. A second half of the debrief will cover The debrief can also cover issues
issues on threat analysis. around cultural sensitivity, time
management and working
together as a team to weigh
various pieces of information
("information assessment").
A major piece of the second part
of the debrief is information
assessment and threat analysis.
SECURITY: PROTECTING INFORMATION

• Security of Information role plays Since earlier in the day people
Starting from easier (personal support network) to gathered an array of information,
harder (media), participants will go through a series an important question is: how
of role plays of various formats. In each scenario much of that information can be
participants will be offered a chance or, in the case of shared and with whom (especially
the media especially, pushed to share information. outside of the team)? This session
The question for the participants to wrestle with is explores that question. It also
how much can they share. Interspersed between the allows deepening of appreciation
role plays will be some conversations about the roles for the various players and their
beforehand. For example, handouts and discussion culture (e.g., military culture).

curriculum
on military culture before role playing the military.

The same process applies for role playing
peacekeepers and the media. In all, participants will
have role played media, military, peacekeepers,
human rights workers and their personal support
network (family/friends at home).
Dinner
PERSONAL AWARENESS: PRESENTATION OF SELF

• Presentation of Self Series From the moment participants enter the room,
Through a series of mirroring facilitators set a tone in this session to be both playful
exercises, participants get to and supportive. Almost all cultures have lots of blame
experiment with their and shame surrounding one's physical self, appearance
“presentation of self.” Focus is or identity. For this reason, as people explore their
especially on supporting people to presentation of self there is lots of room for laughter
grow to be more aware of their (hence the games), emotional support (hence the
current behaviors and open to frequent use of buddies) and reflection (hence the
finding new gestures/behaviors intentional use of journaling).
while doing TPNI work. The bottomline of this session is for participants to be
able to be flexible (choiceful) in their presentation of
their self as professional peaceworkers. If they are often
shy and soft spoken, for example, they may be required
– for the sake of the mission – to appear confident and
loud at one point. Rather than encouraging
participants to put on a fake behavior, this series is
designed to assist participants in reaching inside
themselves for a greater range of options. This series of
exercises acknowledges culture while still allowing
people to gain power by stepping outside of their
culture.
• Closing circle

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Day 12: More monitoring/observing and understanding the organizational

structure
GOALS:
• Give participants tools to understand the organizational structure and alert system (as
appropriate);
• Learning technical skill: using cell phones;
• Practice more de-escalation skills when being security conscious;
• Build more monitoring/observing skills.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Team-building: Understanding the organization (alert system/structure)
• Technical Skill: Cell phones
• Security: Using immediate conflict skills
• Monitoring/Observing Technique: International Law
• Evening off

• Organizational chart of organization (as handout and, preferably, a copy big enough for
everyone to see);
• Signs with names of various roles in the organization;
• Any materials needed for addressing organization’s alert system;
• At least ten cell phones along with available phone numbers to call for practice.
DESCRIPTION:
As yesterday was a security “skilling up” day, this day is focused on pulling more of
the threads together: security, immediate conflict skills. In this day some of the threads, like
security, gets applied in a particular context of immediate conflict skills.
The morning is spent learning details of the organization, including its structure and
alert system (if applicable).
The first half of the afternoon participants develop cell phone skills and, then apply
immediate conflict skills and security skills in handling a particular role-play with soldiers.
The rest of the afternoon returns to the module of monitoring/observing, particularly
introducing more about international law.
The evening is free time for participants.
AGENDA FOR DAY 12:
• Buddy check-in

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TEAM-BUILDING: UNDERSTANDING THE ORGANIZATION

• Sociogram of Organization’s Structure This exercise is designed to be
By this point, participants will have some general active to keep bodies in motion.
sense of the organization’s structure. Facilitators will Organizational structural
put out signs with various roles in the organization conversations tend to be boring to
(e.g., General Secretary, several International Steering many people. As facilitators walk
Committee, and Field Team Members). Participants around and help people identify
will be asked to grab a sign and, with their bodies, their location in the
create the organization’s structure (organizational organizational structure and as
chart). Facilitators will walk around helping people they take questions, there are
identify where they are (e.g., "who do you report to?", chances for referencing the
"who are your fellow team members?"). previous days' exercises.
• Organizational Chart: Question and Answers Participants have already
After participants are in essentially the right practiced gathering information
location, facilitators put up a copy of the actual and reporting it, addressing
organizational chart of the organization and leadership and now the structure
answer questions for clarifications. for reporting becomes explicit
• Organization’s Alert System within the organization’s
If the organization has an alert system, this session framework. For this exercise,
will teach it (how to initiate it, when to initiate, then, facilitators can reference the
who can initiate it). discussions on information flow
(To be designed as appropriate by the organization.) and leadership issues.
Lunch
• Dynamica
TECHNICAL SKILLS: CELL PHONES

• Cell phone introduction Participants get to practice cell
Cell phones are distributed into groups of five and phone use in the upcoming
people are given a chance to experiment with the simulation and elsewhere.
cell phones and make sure that everyone in the Breaking up the technical skills
team can use them. (as opposed to doing them all at
once) allows participants not to
get overwhelmed by the technical

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For information on leading technical skills, see the Technical aspect. Almost every technical
Skills Mini-thread (page 130). skill (except driving skill) is
immediately followed by
application of it.
SECURITY: USING IMMEDIATE CONFLICT SKILLS

• Cell phones and Using Immediate Conflict Skills Transition from cell phone and
Role-play international player to de-
Using cell phones, participants get a chance to escalation skills and
practice immediate conflict skills. The debrief centers observing/monitoring in hostile
especially around security questions, especially situations (with the support of a
protecting information. team this time!).
MONITORING/OBSERVING: INTERNATIONAL LAW

• International Law Game Show Some people can go to sleep when
In this game show format, people learn about learning about international law.
international law (especially human rights law). If This design, placed in the
there are one or several people with a lot of afternoon, is to help people stay
knowledge of international law (as is often the case), awake and learn an important
they serve as the game show hosts. skill set. Also, since increasingly
Participants are given a number of basic handouts on TPNI organizations have people
international human rights law, including the history with a lot of knowledge about
and practice. They get a number of minutes to study international law, this design
it. Then, in teams of four, participants come up with supports using their wisdom.
answerable questions relevant for TPNI organizations
about international human rights law.
In each round of the game show, each group asks a
question and other groups try to come up with the
answer as quickly as they can. Questions are given
points and answers are given points (on a scale from
0-50 points, double in the 2nd round and tripled in the
3rd round).
Final debrief with lessons related to
monitoring/observing (“what do we monitor? Who
do we tell?”).
• Closing circle
Dinner
EVENING OFF

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Day 13: Monitoring/Observing Simulation!
GOALS:
• Read TPNI Simulations: applications of the techniques.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Monitoring/Observing Simulation

• Cell phones and still cameras;
• Ambulance (something that can represent it);
• First aid kit;
• Outfit for the soldiers;
• Sign for the hospital, for the checkpoint and for a cave;
• Other props to design hospital, checkpoint and cave.

• MINIMUM ACTORS NEEDED:
• 5 people for citizens;
• 2 people for media reporters;
• 3 people for soldiers;
• 5 people for tourists.
AGENDA FOR DAY 11:
• Buddy check-in

• Physical Exercise Practice This is the only
simulation day that
participants will be able
TEAM-BUILDING: MORNING RITUAL to have their morning
• Morning ritual welcome (led by participants) practices and morning
welcoming ritual.
MONITORING/OBSERVING SIMULATION

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Scenario
BACKGROUND
In this situation there are two ajoining countries: T and U (you might give them more
appropriate names when doing the simulation). T-landers are people from Country T; U-
landers are people from Country U.
Two adjoining countries, T-land and U-land, have for a long time been in dispute over a
province that both sides claim. The people of the province, who have a history and language
of their own, dislike being a political football between the two countries and want to become
their own nation. Two social movements have arisen within Province-land to fight for
nationhood, one choosing nonviolent means and the other violent means. They are fighting
T-land, which has been occupying the province since it changed hands twenty years ago.
Even though U-land offers the Province-land movements support, the movements refuse it
because they know that U-land would also like to incorporate their province into itself.
T-land and U-land have recently developed nuclear weapons, bringing their tension to
worldwide concern. While different countries have different opinions about whether
Province-land would become an independent nation, all agree that de-escalating tensions
within the province would increase the chances of an ultimate peaceful resolution, and so the
United Nations and major powers are all pressuring the parties to find peaceful next steps.
Several major international NGO's are also involved in the situation, including the human
rights groups Amnesty International and Continental Watch, as well as Provinceland NGO's
like the Monks Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) and Provinceland Citizens for
Democracy (PCD).
The Province-land Liberation Front, which uses armed struggle, sometimes uses medical
vehicles and services to convey arms and bombs. The occupying army of T-land refuses to
respect the red cross on medical vehicles, often blocks their way at checkpoints, and does stop
and search procedures. After intense international pressure, T-land and the Province-land
Liberation Front (PLF) agree to de-politicize the medical services as a step toward peace.
They agree that:
• Provinceland ambulances will not be blocked or slowed by T-land's army on their way to
the hospitals;
• The PLF will not use ambulances or other medical services as part of their armed struggle;
• Paramedics will be respected and allowed to do on-site paramedical work.
• These agreements will be monitored by the TPNI fieldworkers, with weekly reports
certifying the degree to which each side has lived up to its agreements.
Scene 1. Team members are at a checkpoint in Provinceland staffed by T-land soldiers. They
have their cell phones and still cameras. An ambulance arrives. T-land soldiers at the
checkpoint say it must wait until a T-land officer can check it out, and he is away at the
moment. A crowd of Provincelanders starts to gather during the confrontation and throw

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stones are thrown. Media reporters arrive. After a time, the T-land officer comes and permits
the ambulance to proceed; the crowd dissolves.
Scene 2. Team members are standing by the emergency room of a Provinceland hospital in
the same city. They see an ambulance drive up, an injured person taken out, and two armed
men get into the ambulance. Fieldworkers intervene. While the confrontation is going on, a
crowd of Provincelanders starts to gather asking what's going on. A patrol of T-land soldiers
appears on the scene and demands to know what's going on. They escalate, threatening to
open the ambulance and see for themselves. Media reporters arrive.
Scene 3. A group of T-land tourists is visiting an unusually large and beautiful cave in
Provinceland, in the suburbs of the same city. All but one are inside the cave. The one
outside gets into a fight with a Provinceland person over an apparently trivial
misunderstanding. The T-land tourist is hurt badly, and the other tourists come out of the
cave and call for medical help. A Provinceland paramedical team arrives with a TPNI team
and begins to work on an injured tourist. In the meantime T-land soldiers arrive, grab the
Provinceland assailant and begin to beat him, encouraged by the tourist's friends. A crowd of
Provincelanders arrive and urge the paramedics to back off, calling them traitors for treating a
hated T-land tourist. The situation escalates.
Buddy pairs: What were your feelings at various points of the simulation? (When the T-land
soldiers didn't follow the agreement you were supposed to monitor; when Provincelanders
start to throw stones; when you see two armed men getting into the ambulance; when the
crowd arrives; when the T-land soldiers appear and escalate; when media arrive; when the
fight with the tourist starts; when T-land soldiers are beating the Provinceland assailant; when
the crowd comes; when the situation escalates.)
did better than before!" "We stayed confused most of the time!" "We're lucky we survived!"
Then, reflections on each scene, one at a time, with the underlying themes: What worked?
What didn't work? This is step two of the experiential learning model: reflection. As
participants discern what worked and what didn't in their behavior at many points,
facilitators make sure to include the following questions:
Scene 1. How did you relate to the T-land soldiers while hanging out at the checkpoint? At
what point did you use your cell phone to alert the organization’s structure that tension was
developing? To alert other interested parties such as the UN, international NGOs, and
Provinceland NGOs? How did you respond to the T-land soldiers detaining the ambulance?
What nonviolent options did you consider when the Provincelander crowd started throwing
stones? How did you relate to the media reporters? Did you have a communication
relationship with commanders in the T-land army? How did you use the relationship during
this incident? How did you handle communication with the TPNI organization’s structure

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when the situation was at least momentarily resolved? What implications did this incident
have for the larger picture and how did it affect your planning and communication?
Scene 2. While you were standing by at the hospital, how were you relating to local people in
the street? What nonviolent options did you consider when two armed men got into the
ambulance? Which did you use and why? When the crowd of Provincelanders gathered?
Which did you use and why? When the patrol of T-land soldiers came? Which did you use
and why? During the escalation? Which did you use and why? How did you relate to the
media? What kind of communication were you doing during this scene with the
organizational structure, international NGOs, Provinceland NGOs, UN? Did you have a
communication relationship with the PLF? If you did, how would you have used it during
this incident?
Scene 3. What were the first things you did on arrival? How did you find out what had
happened before you got there? What did you do about the possibility of an unruly crowd
gathering? Did you ask in communicating with organizational structure about other
incidents, about a pattern? What nonviolent options did you consider when the T-land
soldiers arrived? When the beating happened? During the escalation? How were you using
communication with international NGOs, Provinceland NGOs, the UN?
simulation

• journaling;
with buddies);
• drawing exercise (a personal “journey” of the simulation: highpoints, lowpoints, exciting
space;
• brainstorming;

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Day 14: Mid-training check-in, evaluation and moving the group forward
GOALS:
• Provide an opportunity for participants to reflect on how they are maximizing their
learning;
• Get evaluation from the participants in order to do any major or minor “course
corrections”;
• Provide another opportunity for participants to move the group forward.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Personal Awareness: Maximizing one’s learning
• Evaluation: Mid-training check-in
• Team-building: Participant-led Session (Increasing learning capacity)

• The Maximize/Minimize Learning list from Day 1;
• Evaluation questionnaire/interview form of the midpoint evaluation.
DESCRIPTION:
This day is almost entirely devoted to the midpoint learning assessment. That
assessment time is a chance for participants get feedback from each other about how they are
doing in relation to the training and how they might use this training even more effectively.
As a (nearly) midway activity, it is a good chance to push participants to really engage and
make as much use as possible of the training.
The day is broken into four sections: personal reflection, group-level reflection, training
reflection and finally application. The morning is spent having participants reflect on their
learning process and reflect on the group’s learning (especially work teams). The afternoon is
devoted to evaluation of the training. And the evening participants design sessions to help
move the group forward even further in increasing their learning capacity.
AGENDA FOR DAY 14:
• Buddy check-in


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PERSONAL AWARENESS: MAXIMIZING ONE’S LEARNING

• Reflect on Maximize/Minimize List As part of the mid-training
Participants look at how they have been minimizing evaluation, we have participants
and maximizing their learning during these past two reflect personally on how they are
weeks. First, participants individually review day doing with regards to the task of
one’s “Maximize/Minimize Learning” list while learning (taking responsibility).
sitting with their work teams. Participants are We place it here before the mid-
encouraged to journal about noticings they have, training evaluation, so that
successes they have made, lessons about themselves people can get more clear about
or challenges for the future. Participants then share what is personal (versus what is
those with their buddy. the training) and come from a
place of taking responsibility.
• Feedback mingle Sitting with one’s work teams
As part of the maximizing one’s learning, participants may support participants to look
give/received feedback. at their behaviour over time in
that team (since people sometimes
can get stuck in thinking at a
micro or highly personal level).
TEAM-BUILDING: MAXIMIZING ONE’S LEARNING

• Blindsquares Participants get another
In this exercise, participants in small teams are opportunity to reflect as a team
given a long piece of rope. They are blindfolded about how they are doing and also
and are given the task of shaping that piece of apply some of the personal lessons
rope into a square. They can only touch the rope they are learning.
with their hands. Once they touch it, they cannot
let go. There is one exception to that rule,
however, which is one person who – while still
blindfolded – can let go of the rope and move
around freely. Debrief regarding lessons learned
and application of people’s personal reflections
from the morning.
Lunch
• Dynamica
EVALUATION: MID-TRAINING CHECK-IN

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• Evaluation: Mid-training Check-in A little after halfway through a

In this series of tools, participants use paper and training some honest reflection
pencil methods and other methods to (1) give and encouragement can help
feedback to trainers about how the training is going people who are "sliding through"
and (2) share for evaluation purposes their current or struggling. It can help people
learning. boost their energy to engage and
learn from the training. The mid-
For more details, see “Evaluating the Training,” page 139. training evaluation is placed here
– as opposed to exactly in the
middle or even a little early –
because this is about halfway
through the four TPNI
techniques.
TEAM-BUILDING: PARTICIPANT-LED SESSION (INCREASING LEARNING

CAPACITY)
• Participant-led Session (Increasing Learning Continuing the theme of taking
Capacity) group responsibility, this is about
Participants, in their work teams, are given the task of helping the group continue in its
designing a way to lead the group in 45 minutes. The taking ownership. The particular
task this time is to help the group increase its learning task here is to help the group gear
capacity for the remainder of the training. The up for the next intense week.
requirements are that the exercise can be done in 45 This time can be used by
minutes and is participatory. There may be several facilitators to read the evaluation
work teams (four or more), so only some of them will comments or talk over any
actually get to try it out in the evening changes to make.
Dinner
• Participant-led Session (continued)
Three randomly selected work teams will lead their
45 minutes using methods that they come up with.
As transition, a short debrief with buddies between
work teams.
• Closing Circle

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Week 3
Day 15 6 Simultaneous Sessions:
Day 16 • Personal Well-being 6: Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Introduction
• Culture and Rank 8: Rank and Privilege
• Technical Skills: Driving skills – off-roading
• Technical Skills: Driving skills – defensive driving and basic maintenance
Personal Well-being: Morning Practice (Exercise/Spiritual) and
• Personal Well-being 7: Reflection on Spiritual well-being

• Technical Skills: Basic first aid
Day 17 Theory of TPNI 6: Personal Well-being 8: Inner
Power Analysis Resources for Self-care
Immediate Conflict
Skills 3: Practicing (Possibly afternoon off) EVENING OFF
power-with-others
and power-from-
within
Day 18 Team-building 12: Presence Technique 1 Culture and Rank
Creating new teams Immediate Conflict Skills 4: 10: Gender
Culture and Rank 9: Practicing Presence Sensitivity
Rank and Privilege Personal Well-being 9: Deep (dealing with
Listening/Peer stereotypes)
Counseling
Day 19 Presence Technique 2: Personal Well-being 10: De- Technical Skill:
Responding to stressing Video camera
Chaos Video Personal Awareness 12: Presence Technique
Challenge Stamina and Motivation 3: Presence skills
arena
Day 20 Technical Skill: Map Any Needed Thread: Open
Reading Session (Catch-up
EVENING OFF
Interposition session)
Technique 1
Day 21 Interposition Interposition Simulation Interposition
Technique 2: Debrief Simulation
Simulation Debrief
Critical Incident
Stress Debriefing

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Day 15 and 16: Rotating Sessions: CISD, Rank and Privilege, Driving Skills,
Spiritual well-being and First Aid
GOALS:
• Develop driving skills in off-roading, basic maintenance, and safe, defensive driving;
• Examine privilege issues and practice offering/receiving feedback;
• Develop skills for basic first aid;
• Reflect on and learn more skills for spiritual practices;
• Develop familiarity with critical incident stress debriefing and examine other skills for
emotional and mental well-being.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
6 Simultaneous Sessions of:
• Personal Well-being: Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Introduction
• Culture and Rank: Rank and Privilege
• Technical Skills: Driving skills – off-roading
• Technical Skills: Driving skills – defensive driving and basic maintenance
• Personal Well-being: Reflection on Spiritual well-being
• Technical Skills: Basic first aid

• Two cars (preferably not new, ready to be dirty);
• Handout: Rank and Privilege questions;
• First aid kit.

• Outside trainer for driving skills off-roading1
• Outside teacher for defensive driving and basic maintenance
• Outside trainer for basic first aid
DESCRIPTION:
After two weeks of hard work in the same location, it’s “Break-out!” Participants will
physically be transported to a new location. The main reason for the new location is because
training for off-roading skills requires a location with some rugged terrain and, preferably,
mud (many sites cannot offer that easily).
At that new location, the whole group will be separated into smaller groups. Those
groups will switch between different sessions. So, while group #1 is at the session on off-road
1
International driving instructors are available around the world. Driving instruction organizations like “On
Course Uganda: driving courses for African roads” (www.oncourse4wd.com) may be very tailored for certain
parts of the world. They can be found through contacting UN peacekeeping forces (who often know or even
utilize such resources), by contacting humanitarian organizations working in similar fields and through internet
searches.
108 Training Curriculum: Day 15 & 16

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driving skills, group #2 is at the session on spiritual well-being, and so on. After the
approximately 3-hour session is over they switch: group #1 goes to spiritual well-being,
group #2 goes to the next session (say, privilege issues) and so forth. Each group thus, in the
next two days, will attend every session once.
In a large training, this might mean six groups of up to eight in each group. For most
trainings, however, there may only be four groups (with five or so people). Benefits of this
design: to maximize the time of the outside trainers, to give the core training trainers some
time off, and to make sure everyone learns the skill well (you cannot easily teach a group of 12
people hands-on driving skills all at once).
The sessions listed are chosen for several reasons. For one, several of the sessions require
outside trainers (driving skills and basic first aid). This means the date needs to be stable –
while other days are bound to have some flexibility based on where the group is, this day
needs to be stable. We also don't want the trainees to “storm” that day and be particularly
unruly (a phase in group development). That is one reason the group is separated into
smaller groups: it is nearly impossible for trainees to have a full-fledged storm in small
groups. By putting many of the outside trainer days together we can make sure the group’s
internal dynamics does not prevent the group from learning the skills these trainers were
brought all the way in to teach!
Another bonus of the timing, since three of them require outside trainers, is that some
trainers can get a full day's break (depending on the number of trainers on the core training
team). (The other trainers get a day's break a few days later.) This is half-way through the
training and trainers will doubtlessly deserve lots of breaks (more than they may get)!
The particular sessions that have been chosen have been chosen because they can (with the
exception of the driving skills) be done nearly anywhere. They also balance technical skills
(driving in rough terrain/defensive driving/first-aid) with emotional/spiritual skills (critical
incident stress debriefing/privilege/spiritual well-being).
The emotional/spiritual skill sets are also ones that can make good use of being carefully
facilitated. Since this is the first time trauma concepts will be specifically named, it is
important to be able to carefully explain the concepts especially across cultures and small
groups can help facilitate that. Similarly, since there are many different practices, beliefs,
disagreements and concerns regarding spirituality and religion, it is another issue that can be
better facilitated in small groups.
So for the next two days individuals will be involved in going to various small sessions
led by various trainers in a new location – a new pace, a new environment!
AGENDA FOR DAY 15 AND 16:
ACTIVITIES (BY SESSION) AND DESCRIPTION DESIGN NOTES
• Buddy check-in
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: SPIRITUAL/PHYSICAL PRACTICE
Training Curriculum: Day 15 & 16 109

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• Physical Exercise/Spiritual As able, participants will

Practice continue to get time for their
spiritual/exercise practice
TEAM-BUILDING: MORNING RITUAL sessions. The morning rituals
• Morning ritual welcome (led by participants) may happen if the space and time
factors permit.
SESSION: PERSONAL WELL-BEING: CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS DEBRIEFING
(CISD) INTRODUCTION
• Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) Participants will actually get a
Introduction chance to use the CISD process
Facilitators go through some basic theory around after the Interposition Simulation
trauma and critical incident stress debriefing week 3. At this point, this is
experientially. Then participants role-play a CISD mainly preparatory and
session as practice. introductory to the theory.
SESSION: CULTURE AND RANK: RANK AND PRIVILEGE

• Tool Material: Mainstream/Margin Exercise This is one of the few sessions
Using a document with pre-designed questions and that are not facilitated by
instructions (“tool material”), participants read about staff. A major reason for this
issues of rank and privilege in groups. They also discuss is that, by skipping a
issues that they have seen, experienced in their lives and facilitator on this session, an
even in this group. They also make use of “Mainstream additional facilitator can get
and Margin” handout. an entire day off.
SESSION: TECHNICAL SKILLS: DRIVING SKILLS – OFF-ROADING

• Off-roading The majority of UN peacekeeper deaths are due to
This session will cover driving on accident fatalities – most of those due to carelessness.
rough terrain and be taught by an We want to emphasize the importance of safe driving,
outside professional (perhaps from which is often the first thing personnel forget when
a professional driving school, they arrive in the field.
likely outside of the country). There are skills that can be taught in this arena: hence
covering defensive driving and driving in rough
For information on leading technical terrain (which is likely for many TPNI missions).
skills, see the Technical Skills Mini-thread (Important note: A requirement may be that all
(page 130). participants get an international license before the
training.)
SESSION: PERSONAL WELL-BEING: REFLECTION ON SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING
• Reflection on Spiritual Well- By having this conversation around midway (and in
being small groups!), participants are at a good point to
For the past two weeks and a recognize their accomplishments and, for the next half,
half, various participants have go deeper and more boldly. For some, they may choose
been practicing "tools" for their to challenge themselves to find creative ways to deepen
110 Training Curriculum: Day 15 & 16

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inner work (e.g., meditation, their own practice, be inspired to share their practice
yoga, gospel singing, and with others, or participants may decide to even try out a
morning devotions). With a new practice. This point here is not about encouraging
facilitator-led discussion, everyone to subscribe to a particular practice nor
participants discuss how their creating a common spiritual practice that works for
practice is going and generally everyone.
check-in on what is working, In de-escalating of conflict situations, people bring a
sharing different practices that diversity of tools: some use humour, some use grounded
are helping people in their inner wisdom, some use lots of smiles. Also in inner work, we
work. want people to know what "practices" work for them in
times of struggle, so that they can rely on those practices
when their work seems overwhelming.
SESSION: TECHNICAL SKILLS: DRIVING SKILLS – DEFENSIVE DRIVING &
BASIC MAINTENANCE
• Defensive driving and basic maintenance
This session will cover defensive driving skills along
with some basic knowledge of one's car and will be
taught by outside personnel (perhaps from a local
driving school, which most cities can offer).
For information on leading technical skills, see the Technical

Skills Mini-thread (page 130).
SESSION: TECHNICAL SKILLS: BASIC FIRST AID

• Basic first aid As mentioned, basic first aid fits
This session will cover basic first aid and be taught by here as it will be taught by an
outside personnel (perhaps from a local Red outside facilitator, balances the
Cross/Crescent). technical skills (3 technical skills
and 3 personal skills) and is an
For information on leading technical skills, see the Technical important proficiency to cover.
Skills Mini-thread (page 130). First aid will be revisited in the
interposition simulation.
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Day 17: Power analysis and its use in conflict situations, plus de-stressing
GOALS:
• Develop a deeper analysis of power;
• Apply that analysis of power to real situations;
• Help participants de-stress and learn skills for self-care.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Theory of TPNI: Power Analysis
• Immediate Conflict Skills: Practicing power-with-others and power-from-within
• Personal Well-being: Inner Resources for Self-care
• Evening Off

• Four move-able chairs.
DESCRIPTION:
Today’s morning session brings participants together to look at issues of power. To do this,
we will use an interactive tool from Theatre of the Oppressed: chair power. Participants will
look at different aspects of power along with TPNI stories. Facilitators will eventually offer a
framework for power (3 types of power). Participants will then get to apply those lessons
with practice in power-with-others and power-from-within rather than power-over.
The afternoon session is very flexibly designed. We recognize that in an intense three
week training some people may find only evenings off (no days off) hard to handle. We do
encourage facilitators (and participants!) to make the most of the stress in the room and learn
from it: use it for learning. We also recognize that around this time in a training participants
may experience some level of extended fatigue, despite all the support and resources made
available. If that is the case, we offer this afternoon in addition to this evening for participants
to take off. If, however, participants could use a session on de-stressing for their learning, we
offer a design to facilitate that. (It is designed so it could end early.)
And then, an evening off.
AGENDA FOR DAY 17:
• Buddy check-in


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THEORY OF TPNI: POWER ANALYSIS

• Chair Power: Three types of power This particular theoretical lens we
Set-up chairs and have participants play with the find very adaptable. Though it is
question: "Which one is more powerful?" (trying to placed here, we have used it
identify different forms of power – allowing each one effectively in the beginning of
to, in its own way, be the most powerful chair). workshops, in the middle or near
Change the chairs to continue to examine different the end: it is flexible in that way.
forms of power. Groups can take it to a very deep
Then using several TPNI stories, facilitators spur a level, since using it requires deep
conversation on power and introduce the model of paradigm shifts. We place it here
three types of power: to spread out theory over the
• Power-over weeks and because the notion of
• Power-with-others “power-from-within” is especially
• Power-from-within. useful as a resource to draw upon
for the presence technique.
IMMEDIATE CONFLICT SKILLS: PRACTICING POWER-WITH-OTHERS AND

POWER-FROM-WITHIN
• Practicing Power-with-others and Power-from-within As in all cases, immediate
Using immediate conflict skills, participants are application of a concept helps to
encouraged to access their power-with-others and clarify it and helps participants to
power-from-within more deeply and with more deeply integrate it through
intentionally. Debrief centers around how to develop practice. (The important fourth
and increase positive forms of power in a situation step in the experiential model:
(not power-over but cooperative power and accessing application.)
inner resources).
Lunch
• Dynamica
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: INNER RESOURCES FOR SELF-CARE

OPTION A: Personal Reflection on Stress During the past several weeks,
(for some or all of the afternoon) people will have to rely in some
way on their inner strength
• Open Sharing ("power-from-within"). In this
Facilitators open a group process where participants short session, we want to help
get to share personally from their hearts about how people identify their internal
they are doing. This is not a time for conversation, strengths that helped them during

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but for personal expression and reflection. the previous sessions. This re-
Facilitators may invite participants to go deeper into emphasizes the discussion around
their work or provide some assistance in working the three types of power,
through certain blocks. emphasizing the type of power
most often left out, and leaving
OPTION B: Afternoon Off people on a positive note for the
deep reflection work tomorrow.
• Closing Circle
Dinner
EVENING OFF

curriculum
Day 18: Introducing Presence
GOALS:
• Introduce skills and knowledge needed for effective presence;
• Develop skills for building teams;
• Increase skills for functioning with relationships inside team dynamics;
• Increase participant’s awareness of rank, stereotyping especially pertaining to sexism and
gender.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Team-building: Creating new work teams
• Culture and Rank: Rank and Privilege
• Presence Technique
• Immediate Conflict Skills: Practicing Presence
• Personal Well-being: Deep listening/Peer counseling
• Culture and Rank: Gender Sensitivity (dealing with stereotypes)

• Four or five ropes.
DESCRIPTION:
On this day, participants will be first formally introduced to Presence and begin to
develop skills in that technique. Since participants will be coming back from a break, we start
the day with a team-building activity. In this case, however, it will not be in the work teams,
which most previous team-building exercises have been in. Instead, we will create new work
teams. This process of creating new teams can help participants to consciously realize the
skills they have been using for team building. It also is used, here, to address issues of
relationship dynamics – the fact that in new groups some people will know each other better
than others will. This is a real dynamic in TPNI work, such as when a team member gets
placed into an already formed team or when there are sexual relationships between certain
team members. The morning is spent addressing those issues.
The afternoon is where the presence technique gets formally introduced. Since presence is
perhaps the least defined of the four techniques, it is inductively described – through
participants' past experience and through their immediate experience (e.g., "Walking down
the line"). In this way, as opposed to leading with theory, participants are more likely to
deeply understand presence, which can be more nebulous to describe than theoretically
precise. Participants immediately get to practice presence, helping to confirm their intuitive
sense, and distinguish it from interpositionary forms of de-escalation (physically getting in
the way).
In the evening, we support the group to look at gender sensitivity and/or other
pertinent privilege/rank issues. Since different issues may show up in the group, we use a

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tool that will help the group notice rank issues that trainers think are important and that have
not gotten attention yet. The tool is applied towards TPNI work and the dynamics of the
team.
AGENDA FOR DAY 18:
• Buddy check-in


TEAM-BUILDING: CREATING NEW WORK TEAMS

• Goodbye to work teams As will happen in the field,
After the morning ritual, facilitators explain that the participants will be placed in new
"work teams" participants have been in are ending teams. In this case, they will
and they will each be placed in another team. already have contact with most
Participants are given a chance to appreciate each everyone in their team. They will
other in their work teams and say goodbye. get a chance to create a new team.
• New work teams Some people may know each other
Randomly, people will be put in entirely new teams very well (some may be buddies,
(in the same sizes as last time). have been in a work team
• Electric fence (ABL) together, etc) and that is another
Participants are given a short group challenge, piece of politics that exists in real
getting the entire group from one side of a high rope teams. They will get several
to the other. The challenge: all participants must chances as a team to operate and,
always be in touch and no jumping over the rope. most importantly, intentionally
Debrief centers around team dynamics and especially reflect on their progress in what
paying attention to relationship dynamics (some helps to create a new functioning
people know each other better, some people have team. In this session, we offer
worked together in previous work teams before and them a chance to begin to build
the experience of coming into a "new" group). their team with a short ABL.
CULTURE AND RANK: RANK AND PRIVILEGE

• Step With Me In their new work teams, we give
Participants gather in a circle. The facilitator explains them a chance to immediately
what will happens: a person will step into the circle. reflect on the composition of the
They will say "Step to me if…" – and finish with group. This is an important

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something that is true for them. For example "Step to awareness tool as group norms
me if you are male" or "Step to me if you are African" form and develop, especially as it
or "Step to me if you were scared by the last exercise". relates to rank and privilege. It is
If that is true for other people in the circle, they can one extension of the previous
step forward. Short pause. Then everyone returns to day's conflict work skills. The
the circle and the process continues. The entire self-awareness around one's rank
exercise is done in silence. This exercise is led in work and how one fits in a group also
teams and followed by a debrief around helps lead directly into presence,
rank/privilege in a team and how that showed up which is based very much on
during the electric fence exercise. awareness of self and others'
reactions.
Lunch
• Dynamica
PRESENCE TECHNIQUE
• Walking down the line Presence is the least theoretically
In this exercise, participants line up facing each other defined concept of the four skill
so that there are two parallel lines and a space sets. This adds one more reason
between them for a person to walk comfortably down to introduce presence inductively.
the middle. One-by-one participants get to practice Since presence is very much
"walking down the line" (from one end to the other), about affecting the field of
with as much confidence as they can offer. The conflicts through modeling or
debrief centers around projecting confidence. other tactics, it is less clear in the
political theory of TPNI than,
Participants will then get a second chance to walk say, accompaniment or
down the line, again projecting confidence. This time observing/monitoring. The
the people on the two sidelines will be internally presence section thus includes
"cheering" for the person walking down the line. more immediate practice in
"Internal cheering" is about sending love and positive presence skills and techniques
energy to someone: a skill of presence! and less theory.
This session begins to give people
• Presence Theory and Introduction an exposure to presence with lots
Based on the experience of the second Walking down of stories and, in the following
the Line, participants will be introduced to some of sessions, participants get practice
the basics of "What Presence is" and, using their to hone what it means
experience, begin to understand what the concept experientially.
means.
Participants will be asked to think of a time when

they saw "presence" operating in their life. Using lots
of stories of presence as done by various
organizations and participant's stories, facilitators
will weave in the theory that exists around presence.

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IMMEDIATE CONFLICT SKILLS: PRACTICING PRESENCE

• Practicing Presence This session follows as a practice
Given the presence technique that got developed in session of presence but is of a
the last series of exercises, participants get to practice slightly different type of de-
presence. In the first role-play, participants practice escalation conflict skill than has
presence with two participants yelling at each other. generally been taught before. Up
Debrief. In the second scenario, participants practice until now the majority of role-
presence with more than two people engaged in plays have been teaching
heated debate (such as a group situation). Debrief intervention – physically getting
with more stories. in the way or verbally negotiating
an end to the violence. In this
case, participants practice the tool
of witnessing: a form of presence.
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: DEEP LISTENING/PEER COUNSELING

• Peer counseling Peer counseling is placed here partly because of
Participants find someone to give and the possible intensity of the presence exercises.
get peer support with and practice Even more so, it is placed here because the skill of
deep listening with each other. presence is about offering attention/deep
listening. Giving focused attention (i.e. presence)
can be exhausting and getting attention is also a
way of effectively debriefing.
Dinner
CULTURE AND RANK: GENDER SENSITIVITY (DEALING WITH STEREOTYPES)

• Gender Sensitivity (dealing with stereotypes) Our main approach to handling
In this tool, participants look at gender roles and their rank issues is through using the
stereotypes in their groups/movements. General teachable moment. We introduce
lessons an analysis can be made, to allow the group to this tool because of its flexibility.
create strategies for countering negative stereotypes It has been field-tested in several
within their team and in their TPNI work. cultures and can be adapted for
other issues. We place it here as
an opportunity to support the
group wherever it might need
support in handling rank (late
enough to allow the group several
opportunities to learn through the
teachable moment; and early
enough to apply lessons during
the rest of the training).
• Closing circle

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Day 19: Deepen Presence
GOALS:
• Give participants a chance to jump into practicing skills for presence;
• Develop skills for handling fear;
• Increase skills for effective listening;
• Share skills for increasing stamina;
• Raise awareness of personal motivation and its connection to one's stamina;
• Develop awareness skills in conflict situations and in relationship to presence.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Personal Well-being: De-stressing
• Personal Awareness: Stamina and Motivation
• Technical Skill: Video camera

• Several TV/VCRs hooked up to each other;
• Copy of "Video Challenge" video;
• Video cameras (numbers to be determined, maybe as many as one fourth of the number of
participants);
• TV/VCR or some way to view the videos from the video cameras;
• A fake (but realistic looking) gun.
DESCRIPTION:
Today’s entire focus will be on learning about skills for presence work. So today’s first tool
is applicable in other settings but especially great for presence: Responding to Chaos Video
Challenge. Much of presence is about staying grounded and aware even in the midst of a
chaotic situation. So in the video challenge, participants are given chances to practice those
skills under a challenging situation.
After the activity, which participants may experience as stressful, participants will be
given a long lunch and an afternoon filled with de-stressing activities they find works for
them: be it a physical practice, a spiritual practice or more.
As participants gear up for the final week and its particular challenge and intensity, we
give them a session on dealing with stamina and re-rooting themselves in their personal
motivations. In this session, we especially look for helping participants determine specific
behaviors that they do which help them with their stamina. This serves a reminder for them
to identify and practice those behaviors in the remainder of the training.
After dinner participants get yet another challenge! It will definitely be an intense day.
They will get more presence practice, this time in role-played heated situations. In the
evening exercise, participants will videotape each other being a presence in various situations.

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The purpose in videotaping is to help in debriefing and as a technical skill to be taught. The
session will close with extended debriefing and unpacking. All around the room will be
stationed various scenarios to try out different aspects of presence actions. For example,
presence when a gun is involved. The session will end with a debrief and, like most days,
with a closing circle.
AGENDA FOR DAY 19:
• Buddy check-in


PRESENCE TECHNIQUE
• Responding to Chaos Video Challenge Since part of presence is being
Participant's name various skills that they have present (not shut-down) – even in
found, in their own experience, have helped them the midst of violent situations –
stay grounded or aware even in the midst of a chaotic this tool helps participants
or stressful situation. Using these skills (and others practice grounding in the face of
facilitators introduce), participants are exposed to violence. Experience shows that
videos showing scary or violent situations they might exposure to the kinds of violent
experience in the field. A series of escalating videos situations one might face in the
(in length and challenge), participants practice field before entering the field
staying grounded and multi-tasking (being aware of results in people being less
their surroundings and doing some task). Lots of shocked when they see it in the
debrief and time for decompression. field. So instead of entering a
state of alarm, this tool helps
participants continue to act even
with violence. Its placed later in
the workshop because of the
intensity of this skill.
Because of the stressful nature of

Long Lunch the previous exercise, this lunch
will be extra long and luxurious
(no rushing here!).
• Dynamica

curriculum
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: DE-STRESSING

• De-stressing Studies show that immediately
After lunch, participants will be encouraged to after a stressful activity is when
practice techniques for de-stressing. After the long de-stressing techniques are most
lunch participants will be asked: "How did you use effective. So after a potentially
your lunch break?" and encouraged to think about stressful exercise, participants are
their natural habits when stressed. encouraged to implement their
Participants will be given a chance to check-in de-stressing practices.
extensively with their buddies. After that,
participants will get to do what they find is good for One may notice that in the
them to de-stress: spiritual practice, physical practice afternoon on day 17, 18 and 19
or other practices for releasing stress after the we emphasize self-care. Because
morning. of the rigor of the training, we
When participants are eventually pulled back expect these days to be particular
together, theory is given about the importance of de- exhausting and, therefore, want
stressing as soon after a stressful event as possible to develop participants’ ability to
(within 72 hours after a stress event). maximally handle the stress.
PERSONAL AWARENESS: STAMINA AND MOTIVATION

• Stamina & Personal Motivation Participants have been engaged in some deep
Using buddies and a series of guided work on practicing skills that require a lot of
questions, participants reflect on the stamina in order to keep them up. This
question of stamina and what they are session allows reflection on that. Addressing
learning about themselves. stamina here also is to help build the skills to
handle with grace the next week, which may
be the most intense.
Dinner
TECHNICAL SKILL: VIDEO CAMERA
• Using video cameras As with nearly all the technical skills, we
Participants are put into small groups with assume the ability to use the technology is
one person comfortable with using within the group. This helps emphasize the
technology in each group. These groups point that team members need to rely on each
are handed a video camera each. They other, even to learn skills. In the field, they
will be given several minutes for will need to share and seek out each other's
participants to share skills so that wisdom and expertise.
everyone in their team knows how to use From a pedagogical perspective, it is also
the video camera (each of them will get a helpful that participants learn the
chance to practice using the video camera). technological skill (video cameras) and
immediately apply it in the following activity.
For information on leading technical skills, see the
Technical Skills Mini-thread (page 130).

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PRESENCE TECHNIQUE
• Presence Skills Arena This exercise allows
In this activity, participants will get to practice presence in participants to
several different contexts (in the "arena"). They will be continue to practice
videotaped as they do presence at various "stations." At each presence. In this way,
station will be a different situation in which they get to practice participants get to
presence. Those stations will each have a different "what do increase their
you do with" question, for example: "presence capacity"
• Guns even in the face of high
At this station, two people will be arguing. At one point, conflicts. Participants
one of the participants will flash a gun. The presence also get to explore
intervenors will be videotaped the whole time and try out issues of presence
some presence (not interposition!) technique. (such as physical
• "Button-pushing" safety and cultural
At this station, the Presence intervenors identify something norms) and get
that pushes their buttons (such as being called a certain individual feedback
derogatory name). Then the two actors role-play a conflict about their own style
and, while the intervenor is trying to use presence (using the video
techniques to affect the situation, they use that "button" to tapes). Video feedback
potentially throw off the intervenor. is very helpful for
• Culture and physical distance: increasing self-
At this station, the role-players will have a cultural norm of awareness.
expecting large (or very small) physical distance between
people. Thus, they would interpret the person with
presence getting too close as invasive.
• Level of emotional expression/body language
At this station, the role-players will be highly expressive and
actually (in their role) have a cultural norm that is okay with
lots of threatening body language.
Each of these stations will explore a different aspect of presence

– emphasizing that presence is very much about awareness (as
taught in the conflict work skills session). Participants, in
addition to being intervenors, will also be the people
videotaping and the actors at the various stations.
Facilitators will have stations for debriefing, too, after
participants are intervenors at a station. At those stations,
facilitators will teach participants specific skills. For example,
one station will teach breathing skills.
At the end, participants will watch their video tapes and
debrief.
• Closing Circle

curriculum
Day 20: Introducing Interpositioning
GOALS:
• Introduce the theory and practice of interpositioning;
• Teach map reading and use of various technology;
• Continue to build capacity for handling strong emotions and high conflict;
• More evaluation of the training (close to end of training).
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Technical skill: Map reading
• Interposition Technique
• Any Needed Thread: Open Session
• Evening off

• Maps of the local area.
DESCRIPTION:
Yesterday was an intense day, filled with a lot of practice on presence. Today shifts the
focus to interposition. After the morning practice and ritual welcome, participants will learn
one technical skill needed (often in interposition) – basic map reading. Trainers lead an
overview of the theory of interposition (brief since there is little theory out there!), including
tools for enlisting allies and crowd control. (Since crowd control theory can include using
maps – e.g., identifying exits, knowing certain street corners – that skill can be integrated into
this section.)
The evening is an open session, to be designed by trainers. Because trainers make use of
the “teachable moment” during the training, we fully expect sessions to be shifted around and
for trainers to get behind the written schedule. We include this session as a chance to “catch
up” for any sessions that were missed. It may involve putting in a section that was missed or
creating a new exercise to support participants in an area they need more development.
Finally, after a very intense series of days, participants get a well-deserved break.
AGENDA FOR DAY 20:
• Buddy check-in


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TECHNICAL SKILL: MAP READING

• Map reading Again, we introduce technical
Participants are put into small groups. These groups skills right before we use them.
are given several maps (such as the local
village/city). They will be given several minutes for If there are additional technical
participants to share with each other how to read the skills such as using a global
map. positioning system (GPS) or
using a compass, they could be
covered here.
INTERPOSITION TECHNIQUE
• Enlisting Allies Tag Team In these exercises, participants
In this exercise, participants will each get a chance to learn about interposition
be both actors and intervenors. As intervenors, specifically, as well as general
participants will run in the room and quickly try to lessons about crowd control and
identify a potential ally who will help them handle how crowds operate. Because de-
the conflict (actually just facilitators pretending a escalation has been a major focus
fight in yet another room). When successful, in the past two weeks, this
intervenors will run to the next room with someone introduction helps connect
and then the next person begins the same process. participant’s knowledge of de-
The actors will each have cards with some role, escalation to doing interposition.
suggesting their behavior when they are asked to
intervene. Debrief with theory around de-escalation
techniques for getting allies with larger scale
interposition.
• Crowd control and Interposition Quick Decisions

Facilitators will explain that today's focus will be on
interposition. Using some stories and theory,
facilitators will introduce participants to the concept
and history of interposition and tell them they will
get a chance to practice its skills. This particular set
of role-plays emphasizes “crowd control” skills, using
quick decisions, to help look at larger scale
intervention (than just de-escalation work).
Lunch
• Dynamica

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ANY THREAD NEEDED: OPEN SESSION

• Open Session: to be determined by trainers We expect trainers to use the
This session is left open as a “catch-up” time and for “teachable moment,” especially to
trainers to train in any area participants were weak work on team dynamics that arise
on in the simulation. Trainers may use tools that (such as around rank & privilege
were missed from before, use other tools they know issues, cultural sensitivity, or
or create new exercises for this session. other conflicts). To balance that,
we have two open sessions (this
and one on day 22) as a chance to
“catch up” and put in any
material that may have been
missed.
• Closing Circle
Dinner
EVENING OFF

curriculum
Day 21: Interposition Simulation!
GOALS:
• Read TPNI Simulations: applications of the techniques
• Learn additional skills for dealing with trauma.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Interposition Simulation;
• Personal Well-being: Critical incident stress debriefing session.

• Cell phones and video cameras;
• Several soldier outfits and guns (at least 10);
• Lots of fake, realistic looking guns (batons, etc);
• Sound of gunfire;
• First aid kit;
• Fake injuries;
• Torches of some sort;
• Fire extinguisher (in case);
• Sign for the peace community and council members;
• Props to help make the peace community look like a realistic village.

• 10 to 30 people for villagers;
• 30 people for guerillas;
• 20 people for the army patrol.
INTERPOSITION SIMULATION
Scenario
BACKGROUND
A cluster of farming villages in the mountains have banded together to declare a peace zone.
The guerrilla force is seeking to overthrow the government and establish democracy and
economic justice, while the government presses for peace and stability so international capital
will invest and create jobs.
The villagers want the government's army to stay out as well as the army of the guerrillas.
Both these forces want not only to be able to claim control of the area, but also to conscript
young men and to raid food for their forces. The peace villages have asked the TPNI

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organization to protect them from incursions. The organization has assigned its teams at
regular points along the natural border of the zone, which includes a river that curves around
on two sides, a high cliff face, and a dense forest.
Each team has a cell phone for communication, still camera, and video camera to document
possible incidents. There are rumors of an armed force in the area, so the teams take their
positions before daylight starts. (In the simulation the teams are placed out of sight of each
other.)
Scene 1. Through their cell phones each team is placed on alert. A group of armed men is
believed to be in the area. Two hours pass with no action. Suddenly out of the jungle come
30 heavily armed guerrillas who want both food and conscripts. After a prolonged encounter,
guerrillas retire. (This may be precipitated by the sound of gunfire coming from an army
patrol, if trainees aren't able to manage the situation.) An hour goes by, during which there
are sounds of fighting between the two forces.
Scene 2. An army patrol of 20 men appear, 4 wounded, demanding information on the

guerrillas and medical help. The army demands to meet with the village council. The council
appears to meet them. The demand for medical help and information on the guerillas is
repeated. The army patrol then escalates and demands food and conscripts. Escalation of
threats, then beatings of a couple of council members. Council members ask for first aid.
Soldiers withdraw.
Scene 3. Army patrol reappears from the forest with lighted torches to burn down nearby
houses to "teach this village a lesson." Council members stand in front of houses and implore
the soldiers not to burn them. Army physically harasses a couple of the fieldworkers, takes
several captive, and leaves.
End simulation.
Buddy pairs: What were your feelings at various points of the simulation? (Being placed on
alert then nothing happening for two hours; sudden appearance of guerrillas; period of
sounds of combat nearby; appearance of army; feelings about their demands; feelings toward
the wounded soldiers; feelings toward the council of villages; intention to burn; beatings;
captives taken.)
were great!" "We did terribly!" "Most of the time we didn't know what to do!"
Then reflections on each scene, one at a time, with the underlying themes: What worked?
What didn't work? This stage of the debrief is (in the experiential education model) step two:
reflection. As participants discern what worked and what didn't in their behavior at many
points, facilitators make sure to include the following questions:

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Scene 1: When you were waiting with nothing happening, how did you support each other?
How did you support yourselves? How did you stay alert? How did you use
communication? When the guerrillas came out of the jungle, what was your objective? What
did you do with your bodies? How did you project confidence? What nonviolent options did
you consider in response to them? Did you communicate promptly with the other teams?
How did you coordinate teamwork? Did you consider that this might have been a ruse and
the major incursion come from another direction? Did you consider ways of taking the
initiative? When the guerrillas left and there were sounds of combat, how did you support
each other?
Scene 2: When the army came, how did you respond? Where did the decisions come from?
What was the state of coordination? Did you respond differently to the demand for
information from the demand for medical assistance? When the council of villagers came, did
you help set up the negotiation space? Why or why not? How did the set up impact your
role? When the army threatened the council, how did you respond? When council members
were beaten, did you give first aid?
Scene 3. When the soldiers returned with torches threatening to burn the houses, how did
you respond? When the council members went to the houses to block the torching, what did
you do? How did you respond to the beating of fellow fieldworkers? How did you respond
to the taking away of the TPNI fieldworkers as captives?
simulation

• journaling;
with buddies);
• drawing exercise (a personal “journey” of the simulation: highpoints, lowpoints, exciting

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space;
• brainstorming;
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: NORMALIZING REACTIONS TO STRESS

• Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Session CISD is a commonly used
Trainers lead the team in the seven stages of the debriefing technique to help
critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) process. The workers recover after a traumatic
seven stages are: event. We use it here to give
• Set-Up participants familiar with it and
• Sharing what happened in the incident because it emphasizes a lesson we
• Feelings about the incident think is important: that people’s
• Results of the incident reactions to stress are natural. In
• Reassurance about normal reactions to stress fact, some researchers cite
• Wrap-up normalizing reactions to stressful
• Follow-Up/next steps or traumatic situations as the
most important thing to do to
If trainers do not teach CISD, we offer an alternative heal. We highlight this here, after
that also promotes normalizing people’s reactions the most intense simulation
under “Supplemental Tools,” Handling Trauma: through the use of the CISD
Normalizing Reactions. session.
• Closing Circle

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Week 4
Day 22 Personal Well-being Technical Skill: Any Needed
11: Healing Ritual Basic account Thread: Open
Team-building: Morning
(Exercise/Spiritual) and
Security 9: Personnel maintenance Session

Morning Practice
Policies, Security Personal Awareness (Catch-up

Procedures, 13: Professional session)
Ritual
Personal Safety Identity

and Health
Day 23 Review of Material Personal Well-being: Ceremonial
Personal Support Closing
Network
Evaluation 3: End of
training
Training Curriculum: Week 4

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Day 22: Life in the Field; Professionalism; and skilling up in any area
GOALS:
• Learn additional skills for dealing with trauma, specifically ritual as a tool for healing;
• Review aspects of life in the field: health, diet/nutrition, security procedures, personal
safety, personnel policy;
• Assist participants to align their internal and external states with their new professional
identity as TPNI fieldworkers;
• Skill up participants in any area they may need extra support.
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Personal Well-being: Healing ritual
• Security: Personnel Policies, Security Procedures, Personal Safety and Health
• Technical Skill: Basic account maintenance
• Personal Awareness: Professional identity
• Any Needed Thread: Open Session

• Any materials needed for the healing ritual;
• Handout: Descriptions of personnel policies, security procedures, personal safety, and
health (hygiene, diet/nutrition);
• Handout: Organization’s accounting forms or procedure for accounting;
• Some money for participants (see the Professional Identity Challenge);
• Local phonebook or addresses for local shops (see the challenge);
• Access to phones for making phone calls;
• Up-beat music.
DESCRIPTION:
Somewhere around or during this day, the group will move into another of its group
stages to an ending phase. In this stage, many participants begin to get ready to leave (start to
go home, or to their jobs). In a way, this day signals the "winding down" of the training.
The morning will begin with a facilitated ritual of healing. There are several goals to the
ritual. The first goal is to help to deal with the stress of the past several days, especially the
simulation. The second goal is to offer another team skill for dealing with stress and trauma:
group rituals. Group rituals vary from group to group and are highly culturally influenced.
This morning will offer one ritual for reintegration.
The rest of the morning will cover specific policies dealing with life in the field (personnel
policies, personal safety & health, security procedures). These issues are highly mission-
specific and can only be fully dealt with when a site for the project is established, complete
with its mission and goals. So we only cover this generally in this core training.
The reason we put “Life in the Field” here, as opposed to at the beginning, is that the
importance of this training is on developing the necessary skills for the work generally – not

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the specific skills for living in this field or that field. Issues like nutrition, for example, are
strongly influenced by factors such as what foods are available, whether the teams will have
their own cook, what degree the staff will be traveling on their own into unknown country
side and so on. Thus, the “Life in the Field” section is not integral to learning the four
techniques (the main goal of this training). Depending on how organization’s use this
manual, they may want to expand this section and move it around, too.
In the afternoon, participants will first be introduced to basic accounting-tracking methods
(nothing difficult, basically how to get a receipt or write down the amount they spent). They
will immediately get to practice that skill in the next section: when they are given a small
amount of money and sent out into the field. The challenge, after getting feedback from their
work teams, is to change their appearance in a way to have their external self more closely
match their new internal landscape through the shift in the core training. The identity
challenge would also help build one's “professional” TPNI identity. For example, one
participant may choose to get their hair cut. Additionally, their cut hair (or other changes)
serves as a reminder (an anchor) to themselves of the lessons they have learned in the
training.
The evening is an open session, to be designed by trainers (while participants are out). It
may involve putting in a section that was missed or creating a new exercise to support
participants in a weaker area.
AGENDA FOR DAY 22:
• Buddy check-in

• Last physical Exercise Practice Since during the day of the
interposition simulation there is
no scheduled morning practice
session, participants return today
to the schedule of alternating days
doing spiritual practice.
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: HEALING RITUAL

• Healing Ritual The healing ritual (unlike the CISD session,
Facilitators, in place of the participant- which draws from mainly Western psychology)
led morning ritual, lead participants in roots itself in Global South traditions of
today's morning healing ritual, community healing
especially for the past days' hard work.

curriculum
SECURITY: PERSONNEL POLICIES, SECURITY PROCEDURES, PERSONAL

SAFETY AND HEALTH
• Skits Many of these "living in the
In six groups, participants will be handed a sheet of field" aspects are issues that
information (handout) on hygiene, personnel policy, cannot be fully addressed until
security policies (two), security procedures OR more information about the
diet/nutrition. Each team will come up with a short mission is established. Here they
skit to present the main theme or themes in their are dealt with on a more general
sheet of information. After each team presents, level. The skits are for issues that
facilitators will lead a short debrief. are even more general; the quick
decisions are for issues that need
• Quick decisions to be more internalized and
In small groups, participants will have the groups understood.
make "quick decisions"– where groups make The choice to put these issues
decisions in a short amount of time. Each of the quick later in the training is because
decision scenarios will be regarding various aspects participants are less likely to
of living in the field, especially personnel safety, other dismiss these issues as either
personnel policies and issues living as a community trivial or too detailed at this point
("community differences"). Each will get a debrief in the training. Earlier on most
and discussion. participants will look for skills
particularly around the work of
the organization.
Lunch
• Dynamica
TECHNICAL SKILL: BASIC ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE

• Basic account maintenance This activity is placed before
Facilitators briefly explain the organization’s people get money and go off on
accounting principles and, if applicable, handout any their professional identity
organizational forms for field accounting (basically challenge.
just keeping track of expenses). Depending on the
actual process established by the organization, more
tools may be needed to teach this skill.
PERSONAL AWARENESS: PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY

• Professional Identity Challenge The idea here is that by changing
In the "professional identity challenge," participants one's physical self, one helps to
are asked to make some change to their appearance build in one's mental and
(such as clothing, hairstyle) which might be emotional shifts learned

curriculum
permanent. In this challenge, participants first gather throughout the training. The
in their work teams and offer feedback to each other change thus serves as an
on possible changes they might make. Then, after "anchor" to remind participants
getting ideas, participants are given money, told to after the training is over.
get a receipt or at least keep track of any expenses The design also allows
(cost of a haircut), and are sent out with phonebooks participants to increase their
and addresses to go make that change. professionalism in appearance as
An hour before dinnertime, participants are told to appropriate.
come back, when they all will share with each other
the changes they have made.
Dinner
ANY THREAD NEEDED: OPEN SESSION

• Open Session: to be determined by trainers By this point, we have no doubt
This session is left open as a “catch-up” time and for that some shifting of the
trainers to train in any area participants were weak curriculum will have to happen.
on in the simulation. Trainers may use tools that This session is a chance to catch-
were missed from before, use other tools they know up and focus on an area that
or create new exercises for this session. participants are weaker on.
• Closing Circle

curriculum
Day 23: Final day: Review, Evaluation and Closing ceremony
GOALS:
• Review and confirm learning on the various threads
CONTENT OVERVIEW:
• Review of Material
• Evaluation: End of training
• Ceremonial Closing

• Newsprint from the previous sessions as needed (for the review sessions);
• All remaining handouts not yet used/covered (for the review sessions);
• Hundreds of Gummy bears (or other very small, edible animal-like objects, see Gummy
Bear exercise)
• Each person needs their journal
• Extra paper (preferably colored construction paper);
• Anything for the ceremonial farewell.

• Logistics coordinator;
• Any other people needed for the ceremonial farewell.
DESCRIPTION:
In the morning buddies have their last session together. That serves as a signal that the
training is ending. (Somewhere during the day, work teams should be able to say goodbye,
too.)
So, for this day, we engage participants in a lot of reflection and review. Using various
tools as needed (from role-plays to creative drawing exercises), trainers determine the best
tools to use to review the lessons in the training. Since the process of review is very related to
the actual content one is reviewing, we have chosen not to design a formalized process but
offer a selection of tools under “Review of Material.”
Both the morning and afternoon are devoted to review and address any sections that have
not yet been covered. This day includes helping participants think about the process of
relating to their personal network (friends/family) after the workshop. And, since this is the
last day, participants may have left over questions or issues to be raised and, as time permits,
they may get a chance to be addressed this final day.
Finally, the entire training ends with a celebration/ceremonial farewell! (Trainers will
remain for at least two days to debrief amongst themselves and write up a training report, as
determined by the organization/trainers.)

curriculum
AGENDA FOR DAY 23:

• Last Spiritual Practice
•
• Last morning ritual welcome (led by participants) Because of the tendency to have
extended goodbyes as part of the
last day of morning ritual, you
may have to remind the
participants designing this
session that they should still keep
the time (remind them about the
ceremonial closing!).
Buddy Goodbye As most of today is spent getting

Put participants in their buddy pairs. Remind ready to go (finish details, looking
participants that this is the last day of the workshop. ahead towards the field, people
So tell participants that this is their last formal time preparing to go home or wherever
with their buddies. Remind them they can share they next go), we want to allow
feelings with each other about how they are dealing buddies to have some special time
with it being the last day. Give them plenty of time. together outside of that rush.
They will have spent nearly three
weeks with their buddies – it is
only proper to have a real goodbye
and acknowledgement of each
other.
TRAINING FRAMEWORK: REVIEW OF MATERIAL
• Review Tools As mentioned, this day is all
Facilitators will lead a full review of all the four about reviewing! Parts of
techniques participants have learned over the past reviewing happen in the
three weeks along with covering other threads that evaluation, too.
seem most useful for participants to review. The introduction of HELPR here
Facilitators will also introduce the HELPR model is only as a confidence builder (as
(Handling fear, Enlisting allies, Listening and opposed to a piece of theory to
observing, Projecting confidence and Recalling and internalize): letting participants
creating new options). Participants will note where notice that they have already
they have learned the various skills. "covered" all the skills for that
model.
Lunch

curriculum
PERSONAL WELL-BEING: PERSONAL SUPPORT NETWORK

• Gummy Bear exercise As participants are gearing up to
In this exercise, participants are given a half-dozen or go, this sensitization to their
so gummy bears (or other small animal-like objects). personal support network can be
In the first phase of the activity participants identify very important (and is often
the gummy bears. First, they identify one of those neglected). The intention in this
objects to represent them. They put that object on the exercise is to help participants
ground or on their piece of paper. Next they think of relate to their personal support
various people in their "personal support network" network with more awareness.
(their friends, their immediate family, their extended And, as participants are
family, neighbors, and so on). As they identify a encouraged to journal on this,
person (or set of people), they put down a gummy will be given a chance to bring
bear to represent that person. those lessons back to their
In the next phase of this activity, participants literally network (friends/family) and
take the gummy bear that represents them out of the even, perhaps, share with them
picture and away from their personal support (both things they want to do and
network. Participant brainstorm things their personal things their personal support
support network can do before they leave, during network can do for mutual
their field work time and after they return. They also support). Having options and
reflect on the experience of the personal support being thoughtful about the
network and what things they can do to support their relationship can help decrease
personal support network while they are in-the-field stress in the field.
(as well as before and after field work)! Debrief. A note on the use of gummy
Participants are then encouraged to journal until bears: any small object that
dinner. participants can identify with
will work just as well.
EVALUATION: END OF TRAINING
• Evaluation: End of Training Following up on the Evaluation Pre-work and the
In this series of tools, participants use Mid-training Evaluation, this session gives us an
paper and pencil methods and other evaluative mark from which we can (comparing
methods to (1) give feedback to trainers to the baseline in the pre-work) determine how
about how the training went and (2) much participants learned. It can also be a
share for evaluation purposes their chance for participants to reflect on their growth
learning during the training. through the training. For the sake of the training
in the long-term, this data provides valuable
For more details, see “Evaluating the information about who is learning what and
Training,” page 139. suggests improvements for the training to make.
Dinner
TRAINING FRAMEWORK: CEREMONIAL CLOSING
• Ceremonial Closing Just as we started with a welcoming ceremony, so the
training will close with a ceremonial farewell.

Tools
Evaluating the
Training
138
evaluating the training
Evaluating the Training

Throughout the training, we teach participants skills in getting feedback for their
learning. We believe responsible organizations should get feedback for their learning, too. In
this section we offer some tools and theory in evaluating the core training.
In the first section, we explain our rationale with regards to evaluating the core
proficiencies. It would be great, but not practical, to evaluate everything. We select key
proficiencies that are most useful to an evaluation process and introduce that list in this
section.
In the second section, we offer two methods for implementation. Different organizations
will have different needs and abilities on how they carry out evaluation. We therefore offer
two methods for implementation that can be used on their own or combined.
We were attracted to both major methods to evaluation. We chose the first as our
major approach when evaluating the field-testing of this training, but we also used elements
of the second approach and include it in this section for organizations who prefer it. The first
approach is interviewing: the participants in the training are interviewed toward the end of
the training and then again after six months of field work. The second approach is a series of
tests which are given at different points during the training itself, providing before/after sets
of data on a number of specific learning goals.
EVALUATING THE CORE PROFICIENCIES
Our list of core proficiencies contains over 100 core proficiencies (see “Skills This
Curriculum Covers: Core Proficiencies,” page 25 for more information on core proficiencies).
Even recognizing that some of them do not need a high degree of skill to perform, there are
still too many core proficiencies to try to fit into an evaluation program.
We examined the core proficiencies and looked for which core proficiencies should be
highlighted. In examining the core proficiency list, we came up with several criteria to make
determinations. Our criteria were core proficiencies that are:
• the “bare essentials” for a fieldworker to operate (for example, HELPR skills);
• most key to the understanding and practice of the work (for example, deterrence theory);
• likely to be difficult to learn (for example, report writing);
• likely to be culturally more challenging to teach (for example, dealing with stress/trauma)
Core proficiencies which fit several of these categories are included in this list of
highlights.
Evaluating the Training 139

THEORY OF THIRD-PARTY NONVIOLENT INTERVENTION
TPNI in context of Nonviolent Action (3 applications)
This theoretical tool helps people have a larger context for the work that they do. In addition, the
context has implications about the nature of the work. By distinguishing TPNI from nonviolent
direct action we can operationally avoid falling unconsciously into solidarity activities.
Deterrence theory
In order to functionally do deterrence theory, we identified two major aspects: having an ability to
do a threat analysis to identify patterns and having an ability to use those patterns to notice where
the political space can be created.
Threat analysis (finding the pattern): Threat analysis is, in a nutshell, about carrying lots of pieces
of information at once and putting them together. For example, in Colombia TPNI fieldworkers
knew weeks ahead of time before an attack was launched through watching the behaviors of the
military: a pattern of scare tactics and other escalating intimidation preceded each attack. In some
cases it might not be weeks, but patterns are important to watch and be able to identify.
Judgements (knowing the pattern): Given the situation and the patterns, the question becomes: what
will provide security for our client – will we provide enough to keep them alive? This is about
probabilities not about precision; it is a judgement (educated guess) about whether or not something
will happen. These judgements need to be rapidly made even in ambiguous and tense situations and
with a lot of different factors happening at the same time (so participants need to learn to handle
more factors in their heads).
Knowing the individual's personal/political role within these patterns and how their presence
might affect the situation is a key piece of this (being international, African, having met with the
local military, driving an SUV, knowing the military commanders by first name, etc.).
Nonpartisanship
Not to take sides in a highly polarized conflict is difficult; and to appear not to take sides is even
more difficult! Participants need to demonstrate sensitivity to how others might perceive their
actions and how they can help the organization maintain its nonpartisan stance.
MISSION SKILLS
140 Evaluating the Training

Accompaniment
Presence
Interpositioning
With regards to evaluation, we believe that most people will get the basic concepts of the four TPNI
techniques. (People would not think they are doing accompaniment when they are actually building
a bridge.) For evaluation, the question is can they do the skills in real situations – and that is a bit
more complex. We asked ourselves the question: How would we know if they could not do these
skills? (What are the likelihoods?)
Some answers we came up with:

- They would run away from violence when it was happening or shut down (not handle fear);
- They would not answer the door if they thought it was soldiers (not handle fear);
- They would dump their fear on the client (not handle fear);
- They would develop little or no rapport with local people (enlisting allies);
- They would not gather relevant information for security (listening skills);
- They would be unable to be observant in a hot situation (listening skills);
- They would become the center of attention in a conflict situation (as opposed to just projecting
confidence);
- They would lose a sense of risk or lose alertness (not handle boredom);
- They would freeze in a tense situation and have no idea what to do (not handle fear and not recall
and create new options);
We boiled down the five mission skills we think are most important for people to learn, returning to
the HELPR skill set:
• Handling fear (and boredom)
• Enlisting Allies
• Listening/observing
• Projecting confidence
• Recalling and creating new options
TEAM-BUILDING
Cultural sensitivity/understanding (with team members and people in the country where the team
is working)

Conflict resolution/communication
Trust within the team
Rank and privilege issues within the team
Report writing, especially communicating to the organization
PERSONAL WELL-BEING AND AWARENESS
Personal motivations
A benefit of understanding one's motivations is knowing what temptations may be present in the
field. In the case of someone whose primary motivation is "wanting to help alleviate all suffering,"
a temptation might be to become distracted from the team's mission and devote themselves to
working with beggars on the street or becoming over-protective. Or in another case, if someone is
doing the work to be a "hero," they may needlessly expose themselves and others to danger.
Dealing with stress/trauma/critical incidents (with self and team members)
In our training, we teach a lot of methods for handling stress, trauma and critical incidents. Our
fundamental lessons can be generally summarized as such:
Before a critical incident or stressful event…

- create personal life patterns that support health and well-being: physical exercise, spiritual
practice, etc.
During a critical incident or stressful event…

- stress is okay to have (don't judge; it's normal)
- we're training people to "do what they need to do" in situations of hot conflict (don't make the
horror/shocked feeling your major focus)
After a critical incident or stressful event…

- it's good to express with talking/writing/drawing/rituals, etc (don't hold it in)
- after the event the stress should be released (don't ignore the event or pretend your life patterns
should not change because of it)
- continue or develop new life patterns that support health and well-being
METHODS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

There are many different approaches to evaluation and we highlight two that we think
are useful and doable by TPNI organizations.
Though we do highlight two differences, our bottomline is similar. In each case the
evaluation process is to look at whether or not people are learning the key core proficiencies.
Through the process of evaluation, we want to find out, at a minimum:
• Did participants adequately learn the skill?

• If so, which tools were most effective in learning that skill?
• If not, what are the patterns of people not learning the skill; for example, are they all from
some region of the world, a certain gender, etc?). (In this way we can identify biases in the
tools we choose or approaches for future revision.)
OPTION A: Interviews
Interviewing can be done by someone within the organization, or even a facilitator, or

it can be done by an external consultant. We chose the external consultant in order to get an
independent perspective on the field test. We realize that some organizations would not find
it affordable to hire an external consultant, but it might be possible through university peace
studies departments or other sources to find a consultant who could donate their services.
The first round of interviews can be done in 1 - 1.5 hours for each person, less if need
be. In the first round there are several objectives of the interviews: (a) to gather data on the
strengths and weaknesses of the training as perceived by trainees while it is still fresh in their
experience, (b) to feed back to the trainers any urgent information (anonymously) that needs
to influence the conclusion of the training, (c) to develop rapport with the trainees so when
they are interviewed in the field, in a possibly stressful situation, they will cooperate with the
second round, and (d) a preliminary report following the training, based on the data for the
first round, might be useful if curriculum and facilitation revisions need to be made before the
final report.
The second round of interviews are held 5-8 months after the trainees have been
working in the field. The questions in the second round are asked of people who have been
grounded by their actual experience, when they are in a good position to reflect on what
aspects of the training have best prepared them for what they have in fact encountered. They
are asked, based on their field experience, what additional preparation they wish they would
have had, and what suggestions they have for changes in the training.
In the field-testing of the first draft of this curriculum, we also used some before/after
tests and a mid-point evaluation which included paper and pencil questionnaires and group
discussion. We found the mid-point evaluation especially helpful in making course
corrections in the training.

OPTION B: Tools that assess impact within the training itself
This option relies heavily on “paper and pencil methods” for getting evaluation
information from participants. The idea behind paper and pencil method is twofold: (1) to
elicit participants’ feedback about what they think they are learning and (2) to gather data
based on participants responses over time to see increase (or a lack) of skill.
In some cases we provide written sample paper and pencil tools (for the
nonpartisanship questions, three applications of nonviolent action, and recalling and creating
new options [the “R” of HELPR]).
Other paper and pencil formats, however, we think an organization may easily create
and would need to frame based on the nature of their organization. As an example, we
recommend using paper and pencil methods for their personal motivations. Some questions
one might ask on a handout to participants are:
• What got you first interested in doing this work?

• What are you learning about your own personal motivations for this work?
• Name at least three ways your personal reasons for being in this work will strengthen the
organization’s work.
• Name at least two ways those reasons might hinder the organizations work & how will
you handle that?
An important note: The goal of these paper and pencil tools are to get written materials
early in the training and at the end of the training so as to compare people’s learning over
time. (In some cases we also have a midway check-in.) In order to make that happen, one
needs to track individuals’ responses over time.
We recommend using a random number system, where participants are given a
random number at the beginning of the training. Through the training they write their
number on each evaluation material. That way, participants can remain anonymous and the
organization can track growth and learning over time.
Assessment Tools
THEORY OF THIRD-PARTY NONVIOLENT INTERVENTION
TPNI in context of Nonviolent Action (3 applications)
Before: Paper and pencil testing with one sentence questions ("things this organization might do
are…") (see the sample evaluation materials: “Sample Nonpartisanship and Three Application
Questions,” page 151).
After: Paper and pencil testing with scenarios and applying three application of nonviolent action
(see the sample evaluation materials: “Applications of Nonviolent Action – situation analysis,”
page 148).

Deterrence theory
Before: Use the written reports from the Intelligence Collection Drill tool of individual's analysis
and recommendations.
After: Have written reports from a panel discussion of another situation of individual's analysis and
recommendations (either real or feedback)
Nonpartisanship
Before: Paper and pencil testing of nonpartisanship questions ("would the organization do this…")
(see the sample evaluation materials: “Sample Nonpartisanship and Three Application
Questions,” page 151).
Midway: Individual writing after nonpartisanship quick decisions for individuals to examine what
the organization would do and what dilemmas face them doing (or not doing) that.
After: Paper and pencil testing of nonpartisanship questions
MISSION SKILLS
Accompaniment
Presence
Interpositioning
Handling Fear
(a piece of handling fear is being able to identify one's fear and own it as opposed to ignore it)
Before: Paper and pencil have participants identify their fear during the training thus far (e.g., day
5) and how they handled it.
Before: Write a paragraph on each thing you're learning from your spiritual practice sessions on
handling fear.
Before: Have participants identify their usual ways of handling fear (and boredom) and other
methods they can use.
After: Paper and pencil have participants identify their fear after the monitoring/observing
simulation and how they handled it.
After: Write a paragraph on each thing you're learning from your spiritual practice sessions on
handling fear.
After: Have participants identify their usual ways of handling fear (and boredom) and other
methods they can use. (What in the training helped you handle fear better?)

Enlisting Allies
(a major element of enlisting allies is regarding seeing potential sources of support/allies wherever
one is)
Before: Have participants identify potential sources of support in the room.
After: Have participants identify sources of support they have used in the room.
Listening/Observing Skills
Before: During the first running of the Fishbowl Observation Role-play, have everyone write down
what is going on in the fishbowl (trainers are actors).
After: Run the Fishbowl Observation Role-play again near the end, have everyone again write down
what is going on in it.
Projecting Confidence
Before: Have participants do the exercise Walking down the Line and have paper and pencil
questions for participants and for their buddies.
After: Run again with the same questions.
Recall and create new options

Before: Have participants write short timed responses to various situations (participants are asked to
come up with as many feasible options as they can think)
After: Have participants write short timed responses to various situations (see sample evaluation
materials: “Sample Timed Scenarios: Immediate Responses to Conflict,” page 150).
TEAM-BUILDING
Cultural sensitivity/understanding (with team members and Sri Lankans)

Conflict resolution/communication
Trust within the team
Rank and privilege issues within the team
Evaluative methods:
Before and after: Paper and pencil testing adapted from The Group Management Questionnaire
(contact The Napier Group in Pottstown, Pennsylvania for a copy: rodnapier@aol.com ).
Report writing, especially communicating to the organization

Evaluative methods:
Before: Report writing after the accompaniment simulation
Midway: Report writing after the monitoring/observing simulation
After: Report writing after the interposition simulation
PERSONAL WELL-BEING AND AWARENESS
Personal motivations
Evaluative methods:
Before: Paper and pencil testing of participant's reflections on their personal motivations
Midway: Paper and pencil testing of the above
After: Paper and pencil testing of the above
Dealing with stress/trauma/critical incidents (with self and team members)
Evaluative Methods:
Before, middle and after: After each simulation give people cards to write about their reactions: rate
how expressive they have been, how well they "did what needed to happen", etc. (e.g. "On a
scale of 1-10, how many of you noticed making judgements about how you felt during this
simulation?")
Before: Have participants identify strategies they can use to handle stress (see "Handling Fear")
Midway: Have participants identify strategies they can use to handle stress
After: Have participants identify strategies they can use to handle stress

Sample Evaluation Materials

APPLICATIONS OF NONVIOLENT ACTION – SITUATION ANALYSIS
What application would you use?
The three major applications of nonviolent action are social change, social defense, and
third party nonviolent intervention. Different situations call for different applications.
Different activists might use different applications in the same situation, depending on their
role in the conflict. Which application or applications make most sense in the following
situations?
1. You are a worker in a store where the workers have gone without a raise for five years,
while the managers have received raises plus bonuses for three of those years. The holiday
rush has started. Management yesterday announced at a news conference plans to expand
the store. Although the workers have resisted past unionization attempts, this time their
anger is really high.
2. The state has decided to extend a busy freeway, which will involve putting an exit at the
edge of your town. You and a neighbor believe that the exit will trigger a new shopping mall
plus motels next to the exit, and will hurt the business center of your town.
3. In your city there is growing tension between a large Polish neighborhood and a growing
number of Southeast Asians settling on its boundary. The tension is expressed mostly in
teenage fights on the playgrounds. The city is building a new recreation center in the area "to
promote common recreation and the development of goodwill."
You are a citywide group of clergy. You have just been tipped off that hotheads in the
two groups are agitating to get the groups to fight it out to see who will control the new
recreation center. They hope that the big basketball tournament tomorrow night will be a
chance to start the fight at a playground, when each side believes it will be in the majority of
attendees.
4. A neighborhood school is run-down and not getting adequate supplies or support from the
city. The students are of color, 80% African American, 20% Puerto Rican. Your civic
betterment neighborhood organization is brand-new and wants to do a dramatic campaign
that will mobilize grassroots people to demand a better school.
5. Two countries, Veron and Ica, have been in conflict over the water rights to a major river
which flows between them. Veron believes it needs 75% of the water because of its large

irrigation-dependent farmlands. Ica believes it needs 75% of the water because of its large
urban population.
This year a serious drought has increased dramatically the need of each country for
water. Veron is threatening to invade Ica, take the water, and occupy Ica until the drought is
over. You are the president of Ica, you know your army is not strong, and your cabinet is
meeting tonight with the expectation that you have a plan.
6. Students in the largest high school in your city are outraged that they must go through
electronic gun checks, locker checks, and doubled police presence, a new policy created by the
school principal even though there has been no increase of school violence in your school.
• You are a student who is trusted by most other students. Like them, you are upset by the
new policy. You know better than administrators how dangerous other students are, and
you believe this is an over-reaction not justified by reality. You get together with a few
friends to decide what actions to take. Which application will you use?
• You are a leader of the teachers union, and other teachers ask you what to do. You believe
the new policy increases unnecessary tension, which reduces the ability of students to
learn. Which application will you use?
• You are a leader of the parents group, and have been asked by the president of the group
to come up with a plan. Like other parents you know you don't like the expense of the
new policy when the school is threatening to cut back on drama, band, and women's
sports. Which application will you use?
• You are a leader of the Action Alliance, an association of seniors advocating for just
treatment for older people. To you, this is another instance of uptight young managers
going for a technological fix, instead of dealing with the causes of problems. Still, you
recognize that there is anxiety in the school about security. You want seniors to play more
of a leadership role in responding to community problems. Which application will you
use?

SAMPLE TIMED SCENARIOS: IMMEDIATE RESPONSES TO CONFLICT
Situation #1: You are driving down a country road and you hear someone screaming behind
some bushes. You slow down and look out and see what looks like two soldiers and two
women struggling; the screams continue. What do you do?
Situation #2: You are in a small office building which has several human rights NGOs into it.
You are interviewing someone in the office of one of the human rights groups when you
hear shouts from down the hall and what sounds like furniture being thrown against the
wall. What do you do?
Situation #3: You are accompanying someone on their way to a meeting in the evening.
Suddenly, you see two police officers close to you. The police begin to yell ugly names at
the person and then begin to hit her. What do you do?

SAMPLE NONPARTISANSHIP AND THREE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
To the best of your ability, please answer all the questions with "Yes", "No" or "Maybe." Circle
your answer.
Example theory of nonpartisanship questions:
You are in Sri Lanka accompanying a human

rights worker during a protest they organized.
Yes No Maybe
That individual asks you to step onto stage and
give a short speech. Do you do it?
A human rights workers you have been
accompanying comes late one night and asks you Yes No Maybe
to hide some papers for them. Do you do it?
A government official rejects police protection and
asks your organization to protect them. Would Yes No Maybe
you consider it?
Example theory of TPNI questions (on the 3 applications of nonviolent action):
A teammate suggests organizing a protest against

Yes No Maybe
a particular government policy. Do you do it?
The organization decides to accompany a human
rights worker. A government official asks you if Yes No Maybe
you know them. Do you tell them?
You see a police officer arresting an individual but
not committing any human rights violations. Do Yes No Maybe
you stop them?
A client asks you to write a paper on the benefits of
nonviolent social change for their work. Do you Yes No Maybe
do it?
One night you accompany an activist during a
planning meeting. They ask you for your help in Yes No Maybe
strategizing the next big action. Do you do it?
An activist you are accompanying asks you to help
Yes No Maybe
them transport humanitarian food. Do you do it?
An activist you are working with asks you to
mediate in a rare meeting between some of the Yes No Maybe
insurgent groups. Do you do it?

Appendices
153
appendices
Appendix A: Civil Society Defending Civil Society

In the course of designing this curriculum, we wrote a proposal to Nonviolent Peaceforce on a
low budget, creative way to make reservists feasible. We include it here because we think different
organizations might consider implementing this proposal as a low-cost way to provide additional
training and increasing the numbers of people who know about the work.
While writing this proposal, we talked with various NGO organizations around the world about
their interest and ability in doing this proposal with very positive responses. Because we see it as very
feasible, we include this proposal in full.
PROPOSAL TO NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE ON BUILDING A RESERVE CORE: TPNI

RESERVISTS WORKING WITH NGO'S
This proposal aims to answer the question: "What do reservists do while waiting for
assignment?" or "What do fieldworkers do while learning language, before they go in-
mission?"
The proposal involves some re-conceptualization of NP's image. It includes training

implications as well, especially for language training.
Let's say people recruited in various countries come through the screening and assessment
process and take the training in core proficiencies. They pass with flying colors and go on to
take a training in a specialized role. At some point along the way they sign a contract and
become an NP reservist, on call to be assigned to some trouble spot in the world where they
take on-site training and then go to work.
Once they've signed the contract, where do they go and what do they do while waiting to join
a third party nonviolent intervention mission?
I propose that while waiting they report to a nongovernmental organization/non-profit group

in their country to work full-time until called by NP.
At the NGO, their job would be one that has some relation to their TPNI work. Maybe it's the
kind of work they'll do in a specialized role (for example, assisting traumatized people, or
doing communications, or reaching out through play to children who are distrustful and
under stress). Maybe it's using a language every day that they'll probably need with NP.
Maybe it's working in chaos (helping to manage a turbulent playground, helping manage a
farmers market in a crowded urban setting).
Their job would be one that had value to the NGO's program but would not be pivotal to that
agency, and therefore a job they could leave at very short notice. For example, one of two
154 Appendix A: Civil Society Defending Civil Society

appendices
assistant managers of a turbulent playground, or one of two technical assistants keeping the
community radio station on the air.
The NGO would need to agree that the NP person(s) can leave at any time, therefore not
taking a role in their program that requires ongoing relationship-building (like community
organizing does).
A financial arrangement would need to be negotiated which is fair to both sides. The NGO
might pay subsistence wages for a slot that otherwise would be paid at a higher rate, to
compensate the NGO for the lack of ongoing dependability.
NP would try to cluster a number of reservists in the same city or rural area in order to hold
ongoing training and support groups. This is similar to the model of Jesuit Volunteer Corps,
AmeriCorps, and other organizations of volunteers, where in addition to full-time work with
schools and nonprofits, the participants spend time together developing themselves and their
team skills.
It might be attractive to conceptualize NP as an organization which assists "civil society to

defend civil society." That is, some workers in civil society organizations around the world
are on call to intervene in X country where civil society is in danger!
This way of looking at NP's mission might simplify presentation to the range of NGO's that
we might want to collaborate with. It is a mainstream way of presenting ourselves: instead of
seeking our legitimacy only through connection with the tradition of nonviolent action, or
with the new tradition of human rights protection, we'd also be seeking our legitimacy as
defenders of civil society. And who better to defend civil society than civil society itself? I
can imagine enlightened NGO leaders being very proud of "our staff member in Colombia,"
"our recreation specialist in the Middle East," and so on.
The individual NP reservist might, once out on the mission, maintain their connection with
their "home" NGO, writing to them, asking for letters of support, etc. In many cases the
"home" NGO might proudly claim the TPNI mission, raise money for "their" Ivan or Satish or
Molly, stimulate letters of support and welcome her or him back on furlough to tell the story.
The vision here would be grassroots-to-grassroots assistance, organizationally linked to
NGOs which were temporary launching pads for the assistance.
This arrangement would provide a convenient and inexpensive way to study the language
needed when going into the field with NP. Language instruction takes time: 3-6 months
minimum of serious study. If Brazilian NP peaceworkers are clustered together in, for
example, Sao Paolo to work with NGO's, they can also work together with a teacher to learn a
new language.
Appendix A: Civil Society Defending Civil Society 155

appendices
ADVANTAGES FOR NP
a. Linking organically to relatively mainstream civil society strengthens the presence and
power of intervention abroad, without the local NGO's needing to participate in NP decision-
making. The contract needs to be win/win for local NGO's as well as for NP.
b. The proposal is one response to Elise Boulding's concern that especially TPNI participants
from the Global North should be busy in their own backyards before going to work in the
Global South.
c. Training: by working at a related task, meeting regularly with reservists like oneself, and
working at educational challenges (e.g. digesting more information about the trouble spots
one is most likely to be sent to, learning language), the reservist becomes better prepared.
d. Financial: rather than try to raise the money to maintain reservists on call, reservists would
have an income.
e. Recruiting: Giving reservists specific local roles with their own skill-sets opens the door to
more of a "career" concept for recruits. Younger people (as the army has discovered) are more
likely to volunteer for hazardous duty if they can see skill-enhancement coming out of it that
translates into the job market when they want to settle down and have family, etc. It could be
that reservists working in local NGO's in positive ways will have an easy time being re-hired
in more responsible program jobs when they return.
f. Recruiting outside U.S./Canada/Europe: An increasing number of countries are developing

their own civil society institutions, which often network with more established ones (either
Int'l NGO's or partner NGO's in, for example, Europe). These networks might be a fruitful
source for seeking recruits from the Global South.
DRAWBACKS FOR NP
a. It will be a program in itself to link up with the NGO's, assess them, etc.,, and do follow-up.
This will cost money, offsetting somewhat the financial advantage of income for reservists.
b. The in-service training program for reservists, although not extensive, will nevertheless
take resources to set up and maintain. If some of the local jobs are high-stress, which seems
desirable, then back-up support from NP will probably be necessary to assist reservists to
make the most of their learning. Providing the back-up will cost money.
156 Appendix A: Civil Society Defending Civil Society

appendices
Appendix B: Recommended Reading

For more information and reading on third-party nonviolent intervention, we recommend the
following resources.
Books
Allenbach, M. and G. Danroc and J. Stoerk, ed., Experiences Nonviolents En Haïti, 2001, in French
only at this time. To order, contact jstoerk@dataway.ch
Coy, Patrick G., Cooperative Accompaniment and Peace Brigades International in Sri Lanka, in
Transnational Social Movements and Global Politics: Solidarity Beyond the State, Jackie Smith,
Charles Chatfield, and Ron Pagnucco, eds., Syracuse University Press, 1997.
Coy, Patrick G., Protecting Human Rights: The Dynamics of International Nonviolent Accompaniment
by Peace Brigades International in Sri Lanka, Ph.D. dissertation, Syracuse University, 1997.
Dixon, Alan, Social Change and the Outsider, in The Canadian Friend, Jan/Feb 1996.
Griffin-Nolan, Ed, Witness for Peace, Louisville 1991.
Eguren, Luis Enrique, Expanding the role of international civilian observers, published in Peace News,
November 2000.
Eguren, Luis Enrique, Los observadores internacionales como medio de intervención en conflictos:
analisis y perspectivas Revista de Conflictologia, no. 1, Barcelona 2000. (On the role of
international observers as third party intervenors in conflict.)
Lederach, John Paul, Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies, United States
Institute of Peace Press, Washington 1997 (19982)
**Mahoney, Liam and Luis Enrique Eguren, Unarmed Bodyguards: International Accompaniment for
the Protection of Human Rights, Kumarian Press, 1997.
**Moser-Puangsuwan, Yeshua, and Tom Weber, Nonviolent Intervention Across Borders: A Recurrent
Vision, , Spark Matsunaga Institute of Peace, distributed by the University of Hawaii Press, 2000.
Passion, Jan, Building Nonviolent Intercultural Peace Teams, Capstone Paper for Master of
International and Intercultural Management, distributed on Nonviolent Peaceforce’s website:
www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org, May 2000.
Schirch, Lisa, Exploring Civilian Alternatives in Conflict Prevention, Life and Peace Institute, Keeping
the Peace. Uppsala, 1995
Schweitzer, Christine et al., Nonviolent Peaceforce Feasibility Study, Nonviolent Peaceforce (2001).
Available from the Nonviolent Peaceforce website: www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org
Appendix B: Recommended Reading 157

appendices
Shepard, Mark, Soldier of Peace, in Gandhi Today: The Story of Mahatma Gandhi's Successors, Seven
Locks Press, Washington DC, 1987.
The Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation, July 2000 (http://www.berghof-
center.org/handbook/)
Weber, Thomas, From Maude Royden's Peace Army to the Gulf Peace Team: An Assessment of
Unarmed Interpositionary Peace Forces, Journal of Peace Research, vol.30, no.1, pp.45-64, 1993.
Weber, Thomas, Gandhi's Peace Army: The Shanti Sena and Unarmed Peacekeeping, Syracuse
University Press, 1996. Discusses "Peace Brigades" and their relationship to Gandhian nonviolence.
**Our recommended “must reads”.
Films/Videos
An Army of Peace, a video about the Dhammayietra/Pilgrimage of Truth. To order contact The
Dhammayietra Center for Peace and Nonviolence (PO Box 144, Phnom Penh, Cambodia /
cpr@pactok.peg.apc.org).
In The Company of Fear, a video about Peace Brigades International in Colombia. May be purchased
($25 Canadian plus shipping) from the PBI/Canada office: 416-324-9737 or pbican@web.ca.
Unarmed Commitment, a 29 minute video about Peace Brigades International in Guatemala by Cort
Washington, Cort Washington Productions (310-312-8806), 1994. May be purchased ($25) or
rented ($10) from the PBI/USA office: www.peacebrigades.org
**Additional articles, tools, and reports on third-party nonviolent intervention and other nonviolent
action trainings around the world from Training for Change <www.trainingforchange.org>.
158 Appendix B: Recommended Reading

appendices
List of Abbreviations
ABL Adventure-based learning
BPT Balkan Peace Team
CISD Critical incident stress debriefing
CPT Christian Peacemaker Teams
GAP Guatemalan Accompaniment Project
GPT Gulf Peace Team
HELPR Five essential skills for doing third-party nonviolent intervention:
• Handling fear (in oneself and others);
• Enlisting allies;
• Listening and observing;
• Projecting confidence;
• Recalling and creating new nonviolent options.
INGO International Nongovernmental Organizations
NGO Nongovernmental Organizations
NP Nonviolent Peaceforce (not nonpartisanship!)
NV Nonviolence
NVA Nonviolent action
OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
PA Project Accompaniment
PBI Peace Brigades International
TFC Training for Change
TPNI Third-party nonviolent intervention
UN United Nations
WFP Witness for Peace
WPB World Peace Brigade
Lists of Abbreviations 159

Opening Space Curriculum Democracy Training

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Opening Space Curriculum Democracy Training

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written by Daniel Hunter and George Lakey, Training for Change

 2003 Training for Change

Please respect any other organization’s credits/rights

USING THE PUBLICATION............................................................................................................................................. 7

1. EXPLANATION OF THE CORE TRAINING .......................................................................................................... 8

TRAINING CURRICULUM AT A GLANCE .............................................................................................................. 41

Table of Contents iii

EVALUATING THE TRAINING...................................................................................................................................138

EVALUATING THE TRAINING ................................................................................................................................139

APPENDIX A: CIVIL SOCIETY DEFENDING CIVIL SOCIETY ..........................................................................154

Trim Bissell and Bill Moyer.

Trim was a visionary leader committed to seeing social and economic

"Hold a true friend with both

1. Explanation of the Core Training

HOW DID THIS PUBLICATION COME ABOUT?

In a world with increasing violence, we see an increasing interest in

8 Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual

In the summer of 2003, an adapted version of this curriculum was

WHAT IS THE CORE TRAINING?

Different organizations use different overall training program designs.

Here we’ll briefly outline what a comprehensive program might

3 DAY ASSESSMENT WEEKEND (not included here)

Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual 9

3 WEEK CORE TRAINING

2-3 WEEK SPECIALIZED ROLES (not included here)

ON-GOING COMMUNICATION, EXPERIENCE-BUILDING, LOCAL GROUPS

1-2 MONTH IN-COUNTRY / MISSION-SPECIFIC TRAINING (not included

10 Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual

IN-SERVICE TRAININGS (not included here)

One the major differences in this training design is the separation of

Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual 11

WHAT IS IN THE CURRICULUM?

In order to use this publication most effectively, we recommend that you

♦ Using this Publication:

♦ Core Training Curriculum

♦ Evaluating the Training

WHAT ARE THREADS AND MODULES? HOW DO I USE THEM?

12 Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual

at one time, to be "over and done with." So we design threads to follow

• Theory of third-party nonviolent intervention

Threads makes accessing the contents of the manual easier – a natural

We propose that the Team-building thread be the responsibility of all,

Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual 13

one or two colleagues are facilitating. Rotation becomes feasible at many

WHAT DRIVES THE PLACEMENT OF THE ACTIVITIES IN THE CURRICULUM?

1. We follow the model of experiential education, which is linked to popular

The four steps of the model are:

In the experiential education model, the process begins with the

14 Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual

process of generalization, facilitators elicit from the group more information,

The experiential education model is a circle, because the fourth step,

2. Learning the skills of third-party nonviolent intervention, which includes

We placed the order of the four techniques very intentionally. As a general

Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual 15

3. The development of the group. All training groups go through stages of

This curriculum takes account of natural dynamics like these stages of

16 Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual

One way energy differences show up is in deciding when it is most useful

5. Individuals use diverse learning channels. Participants take in information

One reason for the tremendous waste of time in traditional education is

Explanation of the Core Training Trainer’s Manual 17

steps of experience-reflect-generalize end up with conceptual clarification