Education and Training Center/International

Negotiation And Diplomatic Skills For OSCE Mission In Kosovo Municipal Team Members

April 18-20, 2007

Senior Program Officers Ted Feifer and Noor Kirdar conducted a specially tailored negotiation and diplomatic skills workshop for OSCE Mission in Kosovo municipal team members in Pristina on April 18-20, 2007. There were 22 participants (12 international and 10 national staff), who currently monitor municipalities in Kosovo on good governance, democratic practices, and human rights issues.

The program focused on the skills municipal team members need: communication, negotiation, monitoring and the third party role, problem-solving, and cross-cultural understanding. Participants applied these skills in specially prepared exercises based on current Kosovo realities, and assessed what approaches worked well and what other options could have been used. Participants also engaged in problem-solving for current Kosovo issues, shared experiences and lessons learned, and provided recommendations for new municipal team approaches.

Participants found the content just right. One noted that this was “very well designed training for the municipal team. There were many things that we use in our daily work, but much more learned in a structured manner that will be helpful in the future.” Another termed the workshop “very useful, especially for us working in monitoring teams. Lots of good things to improve my skills.”