In Liberia, Civil Peace Service Launches Community of Practice Program

The Civil Peace Service Liberia Network (CPS) has launched the Community of Practice with an exhibition program to showcase and market the CoP, demonstrating the competence of the CoP Team in Liberia.

The Community of Practice is a local pool of trainers in Liberia. They were trained by Bread for the World, enabling them to conduct training on Do No Harm, Open Space, and Conflict Mediation to CPS Liberia Network partner organizations, and other organizations and institutions outside of the Network.

Aimed at strengthening partnerships to promote training, knowledge-sharing, and replication across Liberia’s development and peace-building landscape, the presentations covered key methodologies and practical application within the local context of Do No Harm, Mediation, Open Space, and Reflecting on Peace Practices (RPP) approaches that are essential for designing and managing conflict-sensitive programs.

The program was attended by a representative of the German Embassy near Monrovia, a representative from AGIAMONDO, Coordinators and partner organizations of Civil Peace Service, CSOs, and the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE) and local NGOs.

CPS Liberia Network Coordinator, Decontee Eva George, launched the Community of Practice (CoP) Program. She asserted that the Community of Practice program is to localize the knowledge gained from years of training by the Bread for the World Support Team.

“Our Liberian experts (CoP) are not only skilled, but deeply committed to integrating key technical competencies such as Do No Harm, Mediation, and Open Space Technology into the local context.” She noted

“This marks an important shift toward sustainability. We are immensely proud of the strides made in building this local capacity, and perhaps even more so, of the ongoing mentorship we continue to receive from our German counterparts.”

The Representative of AGIAMONDO said the presentations were interesting, noting that the Community of Practice is an interesting idea.

The Executive Director of the Liberia Opportunities Industrialization Center, LOIC, who is also head of CPS partner organizations in Liberia, appreciated Bread for the World for the training and support, and the Network for the program. “I am thrilled by the presentation of the CoP Team. The tools being used by the team can also be used to help partner organizations.” He concluded.

Representatives from the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE) and Youth Crime Watch thanked the CPS for the invitation, noting that the tools are important and critical to the work of many institutions.

CoP members are trainers, co-trainers, or facilitators for Do No Harm, Reflecting on Peace Practice (RPP), Mediation, and Open Space. A trainer’s profile for each member of the CoP has been created for the CPS website. www.peaceworkafrica.net