Home  /  Newsroom  /  News  /  NCI Academy marks the conclusion of United Nations peacekeeping training project in Uganda

Aug 30 2024

NCI Academy marks the conclusion of United Nations peacekeeping training project in Uganda

From 19 to 30 August 2024, NATO Communications and Information Academy personnel travelled to Entebbe, Uganda, to mark the conclusion of the United Nations Defence Capacity Building (UN DCB) Package, aimed at enhancing UN peacekeeping training to improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations.

The United Nations C4ISR* Academy for Peace Operations (UNCAP) equips UN peacekeeping military, police, and civilian personnel with the necessary ICT skills to effectively operate in UN missions. The NCI Academy, as an accredited NATO Education and Training Facility that teaches courses on a variety of topics including C4ISR and cyberspace, was chosen by NATO Headquarters to lead the UN DCB project. This conclusion of this project, which kicked off in 2022, marks a significant milestone for the UN, NATO and the NCI Academy.

Photo caption: From left to right, Dr Garry Hargreaves, Director of the NCI Academy, Piers William Alexander Cazalet, NATO HQ International Staff, Director, Defence and Security Cooperation, Rear Admiral Gunnstein Bruåsdal, SHAPE Partnership Directorate Deputy Chief of Staff, Nalini Contreras, Deputy Director of Regional Service Centre Entebbe, Susan Ngongi Namondo, United Nations, Head of Resident Coordinators Office Uganda.

"The UN DCB Package in support of the UNCAP has been positively impacting all stakeholders involved in the project," stated Carlos Simoes, UNCAP Co-Project Manager. It was a remarkable experience and opportunity to be part of an extraordinary team contributing to a UN and NATO partnership, connecting all together with the aim of providing the best training quality for the peacekeepers.

The successful collaboration fostered an enduring capacity, and the project experience has significantly impacted UNCAP, especially in developing training needs analyses and new courses. The design, implementation and chosen learning platform of the Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) capability by the NATO Digital Workplace Centre (NDWC) has revolutionized learning, while NATO's standardization procedures have facilitated UNCAP's expansion and future growth.

In addition to the formal ceremony, experts from the NCI Academy were present in Entebbe to deliver a mentoring and consultancy session. The session focused on improving communication, collaboration and innovation among UN staff, leading to a more positive work environment, increasing productivity and enhancing the capabilities of UNCAP to become more efficient and develop a robust business model.

"Lifelong learning leads to better outcomes that have the potential to be felt for decades," explained NCI Academy Director, Garry Hargreaves, during his speech during the closing ceremony. "We believe that a trained and educated workforce can impact profoundly those we teach, the organizations they are in, the world we share, the security we enjoy, the peace we want to sustain and how the contagion of learning can be a truly transformational activity."

Following the project conclusion, the NCI Academy and the NDWC will continue to provide a further five months of support from August to December 2024, to increase the project sustainability and long-term impact. This support includes a team development and coaching session to discuss the UNCAP Operations now and for the future; a best practices for Virtual Training session at the NCI Academy in Portugal; and a VILT adaptation and training activity at UNCAP in Uganda.

*C4ISR stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance.