2020 Young Policy Advisers Course

The Young Policy Advisers course is designed to strengthen knowledge of democratic institutions and OSCE commitments in the field of democratic governance. It also aims to facilitate a deeper understanding of the role of policy advisers, and the skills needed to undertake core tasks and policy-making functions.

The objective is to ultimately strengthen democratic institutions throughout the OSCE region by building the capacity of young civil/public servants in the early-mid stages of their careers, thus ensuring long-term results.

Content

For 2020, the structure of the traditional week-long course was revised to respond to the realities of online learning. The course will take place during a three-month period. Participants will meet online once a month, for three days - to join in practical exercises and individualized interaction with ODIHR’s team of experts, in-between the online sessions.

The course combines concrete skills with curricular content specifically tailored to participants’ needs. Illustrative skills include:

• policy analysis
• shaping complex political environments
• strategic communications
• negotiations skills

This approach has ensured that the roughly 400 alumni who attended this course to date have developed the skills needed to address sensitive policy issues in their countries, and increased their knowledge of OSCE commitments in the field of democratic governance.

Event dates

Module 1: 2-4 November 2020

Module 2: 9-11 December 2020

Module 3: 25-27 January 2021

Background

The Young Policy Advisers Course (PolAd) was developed in collaboration with the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) in 2013 and is based on the FBA’s Political Adviser’s Handbook. Following the pilot session, ODIHR revised the training methodology and curricular content to suit specific audiences in the OSCE area. Course participants are young public servants (up to the age of 35) working as political or policy advisers in ministries, presidential administrations, parliaments or other public/state institutions.

Folke Bernadotte Academy

The Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) is the Swedish agency for peace, security and development. The FBA conducts training, research and method development on behalf of the Government of Sweden.

Eligible candidates

We welcome applications from public/civil professionals - up to the age of 35 - currently working as policy or political advisers in the administration, line ministries, parliament or other institutions in the following OSCE participating States: Belarus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine.

Application

Please use the following link to apply: https://bit.ly/3n1wYjd

Deadline for applications

Please apply no later than 18 October 2020, 23:59 CET.