Since 2014, the Institute has expanded its educational work, delivering bespoke courses for a range of institutional partners. This includes more than 27 UNICEF country representatives and senior management teams in eastern, central and southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Burundi, The Comoros, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The courses, which are taught by regional and international experts, are designed in collaboration with the country teams and variously cover history, state-society relations, social issues and the political economy of the country in question, providing rich historical context and nuanced contemporary analyses to inform policymaking in the region.

‘Teaching format was great. Good interaction from the panellists and a lot of space for interaction.’ UNICEF Ethiopia Course

‘The teachers were great and had an excellent depth of understanding and knowledge on the context in question based on their past experiences. I thought the course was also well balanced considering the facilitators came from different backgrounds of work, hence, with different perspectives on the same location.’ UNICEF South Sudan Course

In 2019, RVI was granted a contract to continue these courses in nineteen countries for a further three years. In the past year, courses have been run in South Africa, Tanzania and Ethiopia, with a special course on the African Union.

RVI also organizes bespoke courses for other organizations. Since 2014, these have included:

• Two-day course for Church World Service on the DRC, covering the country’s history, the causes and effects of protracted crises, identity politics, family and gender, trends in armed mobilization, and civilian protection

• Three-day political economy training for UNICEF Ethiopia’s Country Management Team to inform its support to the Ethiopian Government.

• Three-day course for the Dutch Embassy in South Sudan to advance their understanding of the Sudans.

• Two-day course for the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office analysing key issues in Somalia and the Horn of Africa.

• Upcoming confirmed courses include two courses for the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa on Ethiopia and Eritrea, Uganda and Rwanda, and the Sudans.

If you or your organization is interested in having a bespoke RVI course, please contact us at courses@riftvalley.net.