Leadership development was the focus as the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) in Collaboration with the National Cohesion and integration Commission (NCIC) organised two simultaneous cascade trainings on the Leadership and Conflict Management Skills for Electoral Stakeholders (LEAD) curriculum.
These LEAD Cascades were held in Makueni and West-Pokot, from 27th - 29th June 2022. Being one of 8 cascade trainings, these trainings it provided a 3-day intensive session for key electoral stakeholders to engage on how to prevent, mitigate and manage potential electoral conflicts and violence.
The trainings covered sessions including: the applications of leadership skills to electoral processes; the electoral cycle; Causes and types of Electoral conflicts and violence; leading principles behind conflict management; the application of leadership skills in the prevention of electoral crises; Individual and organisational leadership; Mediation and conflict prevention and the core values of leadership, tolerance, and development. All course contents and tools were provided to the trainers including participant’s handbooks, PowerPoint presentations, audiovisual resources, handouts, exercises among others.
The LEAD Cascade Training program is inspired by one key objective, the sustainability and transfer of all knowledge. The rationale behind the LEAD system lies in the commitment to strengthening long-term capacities of organisational leaders. The program focused on the appropriation of its contents through the implementation of a comprehensive training cycle, which includes different stages of certification.
The training in Makueni had a total of 32 participants comprising 20 Males, 12 Females while that of West-Pokot brought together a total of 33 participants comprising 23 Males and 10 Females
At the end of the LEAD cascades, the following outcomes were achieved:
- Strengthened capacities of peace, cohesion, and electoral stakeholders towards preventing conflicts and electoral-related violence at the local county and national levels.
- Strengthened conflict resolution and peace infrastructures for effective resolution of conflicts and electoral-related violence;
- Increased understanding, tolerance, trust and peaceful co-existence among Kenyans and towards reducing incidences of electoral violence, hate speech, and ethnic contempt in mainstream, social media and public spaces.
The PRO PEACE Kenya project continues to promote peace and cohesion in Kenya by preventing and mitigating electoral conflicts ahead of the 9th of August 2022 General Elections, dubbed "Uchaguzi Bila Noma 2022". Its activities are designed and tailored to strengthen peace and cohesion within the framework of NCIC's Road Map for Peaceful 2022 Elections.
The project aims to promote peace, cohesion, and political dialogue towards preventing, mitigating, and managing potential conflicts and election-related violence around Kenya’s electoral cycle. It is implemented in partnership with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) as a beneficiary while also leveraging support and collaboration with other state and non-state actors. The “Pro-Peace Kenya” Project supports priority interventions of the NCIC.
To learn more about PRO - Peace Kenya, you can visit the project's website.
