Participants at a seminar in Ohrid, May 2000
Visit our website training section
TFF is also a Peace Training Network. The foundation collaborates with a series of institutions, universities and other NGOs and exchange educators to serve the needs of our clients.
Clients have been people in war-torn regions, journalists, NGOs, teachers, youth, former soldiers, human rights activists, UN staff and concerned citizens of all walks of life. The network of TFF trainers and those of the organisations we interact with covers some twenty themes relevant to peace, development, conflict, reconciliation and global conflict-management.
Several of our trainers have 20-30 years of experience in public speaking combined with academia, journalism, conflict-resolution, psychology and other relevant themes.
So – think of TFF when you think of education and practical skills training. Learn more about what we can do for and with you at our new training section at our website
Tell us what your needs are, when where and how much time you have – and we make a proposal with a budget. Some of the modules are described in the “Learning Conflict Program” in the same section.
Background and experience
The Transnational Foundation is mostly known for its conflict-mitigation in former Yugoslavia and its contributions to peace research and debate in general.
However, over the years thousands of people acquainted themselves with TFF through a lecturer or trainer somewhere in the world – the Scandinavian countries, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, Japan. They met a TFF Associate at a conference, a workshop, a tailor-made peace education seminar or at a public debate meeting. Here is what some of them thought about it:
“I think that knowledge about conflicts should spread to many people, especially in the hot areas of ex-Yugoslavia, and with the help of your foundation.”
“I wish the course was much longer.”
“This course elevated us and gave us back a more humane attitude.”
“I wish you could sow a seed with other people like you did for us.”
“Thanks for giving us your time. We are so happy that there are people who want to understand us and struggle to do so.”
“The teachers were professional and talked to us with heart and soul; they radiated an overwhelming energy.”
“This seminar was highly condensed and exhaustive…I suddenly saw new solutions and the hope I had lost. I developed a sort of security and self-awareness which can lead to quicker conflict-resolution with others.”
Participants at a certificate program in Austria 2000
Big or small conflicts – your own or those you work with
We have been teaching under the toughest conditions – with conflicting parties in the room and police or UN protection outside. We are ready to go anywhere to help people see each other as human beings first. If you work in a larger organisation, we can do process consultative work too – organisations filled with internal conflicts actually sometimes look like a province at civil war.
TFF and its partner organisations can’t solve the problems you have. Only you can. But we can provide everybody with something like a driving license to better conflict-management at any level.
A driving license – handling conflicts is a science and an art
Why do we train people behind the driving wheel, require that they study traffic theory and know a number of commonly understood road signs and rules? Why do we build safer roads and safer cars? We do so to reduce human suffering, material damage and hospital costs, i.e. to reduce violence to humans and material objects.
The same applies to conflict and violence: you can try to get somewhere without the slightest knowledge and you will hurt yourself and everybody else. Or you can be smarter and know a bit about conflicts since conflicts are part and parcel of human life, of leadership and cooperation. If you do, you will reach your goals with less hurt and harm – to yourself and to others. If everybody knew as much about conflicts as they seem to do about cars or computers, if it was required of everybody dealing with somebody else’s conflicts that they had a minimum training in this science and art – the world would be a better place.
A TFF training seminar has made all the difference with quit a few individuals and organisations over the years. It could with you too.
© TFF 2000
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