Anja H. Ebnöther
Mission and goals
The objectives of the SSR WG are to enhance the process of security sector reform and good governance through cooperation in joint re-search, outreach and expert training initiatives; to encourage cooperation between international information networks to forward these objectives;
and to enhance the exchange of ideas, insights, expertise, knowledge and best practices of security sector reform processes between consolidating and consolidated democracies in the Euro-Atlantic area. The working group and its objectives are widely acknowledged. It is supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport.
Highlights of 2012
“Teaching Gender to the Military - In the Classroom and through Advanced Distributed Learning”, the 16th workshop of the SSR-WG in Oberammergau, Germany, 17 to 20 July
“Designing Sample Gender Lessons – 17th Workshop of the SSR WG and Second Workshop on Teaching Gender to the Military”
in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 12 to 14 December
Panel discussion “Soft Issues in Security Sector Reform” at the PfP Consortium Annual Conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, 19 to 20 June
Collaboration with the Education Development and ADL Working Groups
Expert support to development of a new ADL course on gender by NATO Allied Command Transformation
Expert support to the development of NATO reference curriculum for professional military education of non-commissioned officers (NCOs)
Outcomes and accomplishments/achievements 2012
The SSR WG activities in previous years had highlighted military train-ing and education as a key area to addresstrain-ing existtrain-ing challenges in the integration of gender perspective in the defence sector. To address this need, in 2012 the SSR WG organised its 16th and 17th workshops in col-laboration with the Education Development Working Group (EDWG), and involving members of the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Working Group.
A first workshop was held in July at the NATO School in Oberammer-gau, titled “Teaching gender to the military - In the Classroom and through Advance Distributed Learning.” The workshop focused on methodologies of teaching gender, and brought together twenty-seven experts on military education, gender training for the military and inte-grating gender in military operations. This workshop produced recom-mendations on best practices in teaching gender to the military, a check-list for curriculum review, and started a collaborative effort to support NATO Allied Command Transformation in producing an introductory-level gender ADL course. The workshop also indicated a strong interest, and need, for continuing to exchange on gender in military education and training.
In December, the SSR WG continued its collaboration with the EDWG in organising a follow-up event: “Designing Sample Gender Lessons - Second Workshop on Teaching Gender to the Military” at the George C.
Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch. The work-shop brought together twenty experts from eleven countries to exchange on best practices and to develop, with the guidance of education devel-opment experts, lesson plans for teaching gender in different military contexts. The workshop produced three sample lesson plans for teaching gender to the military, targeting respectively the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This event highlighted the need to continue to col-laborate across complementary fields of expertise, as well as suggested further topics to discuss, especially in the field of integrating gender across curricula.
In addition to organising these workshops, the SSR WG has supported the development, under the leadership of the EDWG, of NATO reference curriculum for the professional military education of non-commissioned officers. A representative of the SSR WG has participated in two draft-ing meetdraft-ings, in Garmisch in April and in Lucerne in December, to de-velop the reference curriculum, providing input specifically on gender, human rights and diversity issues.
The SSR WG also chaired a very well received panel discussion on soft issues in security sector reform at the Annual Conference of the PfP Consortium in June in Tbilisi. The conference assembled some ninety-one senior government officials, scholars, civil servants, military and diplomatic professionals, and representatives of non-governmental or-ganizations from throughout the Euro-Atlantic region who are actively involved in the fields of defense and security. The panel convened speakers from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, and tackled regional trends, tendencies and cooperation on soft issues in SSR, including the integration of gender.
Way ahead
The activities of 2012 highlighted the need address military education and training as a key entry point for the integration of gender in national defence structures. They also underscored the benefits of exchange across complementary fields of expertise - both in the collaboration be-tween the PfPC working groups and in the exchange bebe-tween experts in the development of ADL and among workshop participants. To continue the work that proved fruitful in 2012, in 2013 the SSR WG will continue its collaboration with the EDWG on the topic of gender education and training in the military, but will broaden the focus from gender as a stand-alone topic, to its integration across curricula. In addition to organ-ising a workshop on the topic, the SSR WG will continue to support the development of the NATO reference curriculum for professional mili-tary education of non-commissioned officers, and NATO Allied Com-mand Transformation’s ADL course on gender.
Priorities for the coming year 2013 and beyond
Continued focus on questions relating to mainstreaming gender in SSR
Maintain close collaboration with the EDWG and the ADL Working Group to support exchange on and to document best practices in integrating gender in military education curricula Continue to provide support to the development of the NATO
reference curriculum for professional military education of non-commissioned officers
Continue to provide support for ACT-developed gender ADL course
Appendixes
Products and publications:
• DCAF, Teaching Gender to the Military - In the Class-room and through ADL, Workshop After Action Report for the NATO PfP Consortium Working Group on Secu-rity Sector Reform (Geneva: DCAF 2012).
Available at http://www.dcaf.ch/Event/PFPC-Workshop-on-Teaching-Gender-to-the-Military
• DCAF, Designing Sample Gender Lessons - Second Workshop on Teaching Gender to the Military, Workshop After Action Report for the NATO PfP Consortium Working Group on Security Sector Reform (Geneva:
DCAF 2012).
Available at http://www.dcaf.ch/Event/Designing- Sample-Gender-Lessons-Second-PFPC-Workshop-on-Teaching-Gender-to-the-Military
Meetings in 2012
• SSR WG Workshop on “Teaching Gender to the Mili-tary” in collaboration with EDWG
• SSR WG Workshop on “Designing Sample Gender Les-sons” in collaboration with EDWG
• Panel discussion at PfP C Annual Conference Key institutions partnered with in 2012
• The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)
• NATO School Oberammergau
• George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
• Allied Command Transformation (ACT)