UN opens first virtual training facility in Africa in Entebbe

The United Nations (UN) through its C4ISR Academy for Peace Operations (UNCAP) has opened up a Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) facility at its Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE), the first of its kind in Africa and the UN digital technology space.

VILT is a remote training class led by a facilitator through a virtual platform. It allows real-time collaboration and offers accessibility to subject matter experts, creates an immersive learning experience, enables tracking and measurement of success, reduces costs, and increases training capacity.

It differs from traditional methods by allowing participants to collaborate online, removing geographical constraints, and providing accessibility to subject matter experts.

The facility has been developed as a result of a partnership between UNCAP and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) through its Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) after the UN secretary-general in his action for peacekeeping initiative called on member states to join him in developing a set of mutually agreed principles and commitment to create peacekeeping operations fit for the future.

During the launch of the facility in Entebbe, Paulin Djomo, the director of RSCE said since RSCE is developing into a training hub for UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, the virtual instructor-led training centre will enhance the capacity of the centre and UNCAP to deliver training more seamlessly and cost-effectively.

“VILT employs online platforms for interactive sessions and enables real-time collaboration among participants. With VILT, we do not have to fly in participants from all over the world but we can have them receive instructions from their duty stations and locations with the feel of being inside the training room.”

He added that VILT also offers the centre the opportunity to accommodate more students globally without limitations in attendance and also increase the number of training held annually to meet the ever-increasing demand for training support. It will also be easy to track and measure learner progress and engagement, deliver interactive learning live presentations, break out sessions, feedback to individual learner needs and monitor their status and performance in real-time.

“UNCAP is committed to excellence in preparing peacekeepers for their roles under the UN flag and enhancing their operational readiness and performance on crucial technology in the areas of command and control communication computers, intelligence surveillance,” Djomo said.

Philip Odida, the acting director for regional and international political affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Uganda noted that the opening of the VILT presents yet another milestone for the RSCE that will further enhance its capacity as a training hub for UN peacekeeping missions in Africa and the UNCAP and NATO partnership will go along way in enhancing the training of personnel in African peacekeeping as it will unlock the possibility of scale-able training opportunities using technologies that transcend geographical boundaries.

“In today’s world which stands poised to engage in technological leaps through advances in ICT, it remains imperative that African peacekeepers should receive innovative training in relevant areas that can prepare them for the complexities of modern conflict situations. Uganda retaliates its steadfast commitment to continue supporting the UN and African peacekeeping operations where they occur,” Odida said.

This VILT centre in Entebbe is targeted to benefit troops and police-contributing countries, government officials involved in defence, security and foreign affairs, military professionals, technology and defence industry leaders, UN stakeholders, international organizations, security analysts, and peacekeeping training institutions among others.

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