News

ppplogoThe Peace Academy is happy to announce our partnership as part of a three-year project (2023-2026) entitled “Developing and Testing New Approaches to Peace Professionalism”. The project will

  1. Establish a network or a community of practice to improve our understanding of peace work and related skills, competencies, and values;
  2. Develop and test a system of assessment that can be scaled at the local, national, and international levels to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of peace professionals; and
  3. Create a platform to increase knowledge co-production, translation, and sharing about peace professionalism.

Overall, the project seeks to improve the planning, implementation, and evaluation of peace programs, and to complement curricula in peace and conflict studies.

The project is led by primary investigator Professor Philip Oburu Onguny (the School of Conflict Studies, St. Paul University, Ottawa) and a team of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. It is funded by a Partnership Development Grant by the Canadian government’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The cross-sector and interdisciplinary team brings together partners and collaborators from Canada, USA, Kenya, Colombia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In addition to the Peace Academy, the research partners include the Civilian Peace Service Canada, Conrad Grebel University College, PEGASUS Institute, and the Alliance for Peacebuilding. Collaborators in the project are Lauren Michelle Levesque (Saint Paul University), Jacinta Mwende Maweu (University of Nairobi), Louis Monroy Santander (BSOCIAL Colombia), Jobb Dixon Arnold (Menno Simons College), Richard Moore (MDR Associates Conflict Resolution Inc.), and Anna Snyder (Menno Simons College).

Essays

Videos

Ubleha for idiots

  • ACRONYMS (in general)

    One of the important criteria based on which the level of ublehahood is instantly determined. According to this criterion, there are the following levels: The first (highest) level: a person in his/her written communication does not write sentences containing more than 7 words,  where at least 3 words are acronyms. For example: "See. Att. FYI. TBC. Send me your CV ASAP to prepare TOR." In normal language, these two sentences would go something like this: "Attached please find some fudge that is of no benefit to anybody but do keep it so you may show it in case we are  happen to be asked if we considered it.   You may doodle  on it a little and write some comment if you can grab some time.  Most likely, some jerks pulled it out of their asses as it has nothing to do with anything. By no means, if you do happen to read it, take it at face value.  You are still on probation here although half a year has already passed . Write some good CV of yours and backdate it half a year ago and do try to make it compatible to what you have allegedly been doing for us over the past six months. As soon as I get it and find some time, I will rewrite it a bit and name it your job description –just to have it on hand, in case those spooks from above come by. Poselami amidžu (See) and tell him that “ that thing” is OK. " Obviously, the advantages of acronyms are unmistakeable. Time saving, confidentiality of data and transparent professionalism and perfection in technical language usage. Every layman simply has to be fascinated and has to give his/her moral approval for the high salary for the speakers in question.

from Ubleha for Idiots – An Absolutely non useful Guide for Civil Society Building and Project management for Locals and Internationals in BiH and Beyond by Nebojša Šavija-Valha and Ranko Milanovic-Blank, ALBUM No. 20, 2004, Sarajevo, translated by Marina Vasilj.