In November 2009, after a series of programs on electoral violence prevention throughout Sudan, USIP’s team of trainers worked to develop a north/south network of Sudanese trainers to spread the program content as widely as possible in the short time before Sudan’s elections and referendum.
Following the completion of electoral violence prevention (EVP) workshops in north and south Sudan, USIP’s Education and Training Center, International (ETC-I) and Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention (CAP) set about creating a cadre of trainers to conduct EVP workshops independently.
The training-of-trainers (TOT) phase of the EVP project began in Khartoum in November 2009. Twenty participants from previous EVP workshops attended the TOT, representing sectors such as higher education, media, law, civil society, political party representatives and youth. The southern contingent of trainers, who represented each of the southern states, convened in Juba in January 2010 to receive the same training.
The final phase of the project took place in February 2010, when the Khartoum-based group of trainers traveled to Juba for an advanced TOT workshop with their southern counterparts. The 40 trainers from north and south worked together to conduct a four-day EVP workshop. Each group presented a pre-assigned module while USIP trainers observed and provided feedback.
In addition to building their capacity as trainers, the TOT workshop facilitated north/south cooperation and provided an opportunity for the Khartoum-based trainers to travel to southern Sudan for the first time. Prior to the Sudan elections in April 2010, the new network of trainers had limited time to reach their local communities. However, the skills and information gained through this program were relevant for the upcoming referendum in the south and Sudan’s long-term democratic transformation.