The Founder and Executive Director of ACCORD, Vasu Gounden, visited Sweden, Finland and Norway between 30 August and 9 September. In all three countries Mr Gounden had a series of meetings with senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, as well as various civil society organizations and research institutes.
The Founder and Executive Director, Vasu Gounden, was recently invited by the Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria to meet with the Swedish Co-chair of the Swedish-South Africa SSR Seminar, Ambassador Anders Oljelund, who is is currently the Swedish Ambassador for international cooperation against trafficking in human beings
On Saturday, 25 August 2007, the recipient of the 2007 Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace, Ms Immaculée Ilibagiza, visited ACCORD House. Immaculée is the author of a book entitled ‘Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust’.
ACCORD undertook a field research mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from 8-24 August 2007. Mr. Gustavo de Carvalho, Research Coordinator with ACCORD’s Peace and Security Unit, conducted several meetings with key stakeholders in the peacebuilding context, in order to assess the different coordination processes that are currently being implemented in that country in terms of peacebuilding efforts.
On 16 August 2007, ACCORD’s Intervention Department held a one-day seminar on the theme Western Sahara: Negotiations and Perspectives towards Resolution of the Saharawi Question. The seminar was co-hosted with the South African Department of Foreign Affairs. The aim of the seminar was to reflect on the current situation towards the resolution of the Western Sahara conflict.
ACCORD’s Angola Country Programme (ACP) will be hosting a three-day conflict management training session for civil society in Angola from 27-29 August 2007. Civil society representatives and conflict resolution practitioners will be assisted to analyse and understand current socio-political challenges facing the country
On 31 August 207 ACCORD hosted its second Trustees’ EXCOM Meeting at ACCORD House for 2007. ACCORD hosts two EXCOM meetings a year.
On 24 August 2007 two representatives from the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) and Uppsala University, based in Sweden, visited ACCORD House to discuss possible future collaboration between the institutions. They were attending the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Conference, which was held in Durban at the time.
On 20 August 2007 ACCORD Staff went on a team building exercise to see the movie Chak de India. The movie was sponsored by the Avalon Group (Nu Metro CineCentre at SunCoast).
ACCORD is conducting a needs assessment in Sudan for the African Peacebuilding Coordination Programme (APC) from 19 August to 9 September 2007. Mr. Walter Lotze, an intern with the Peace and Security Unit and the APC Programme, will be conducting field research in Khartoum and in Juba, meeting with various stakeholders in the peacebuilding process.
On 15 and 16 August 2007 the Sri Lanka-based Initiative for Political and Conflict Transformation (INPACT) visited ACCORD House. The organisation was represented by Mr. Tyrol Ferdinandas: Managing Trustee and Mr. Indika Perera, the Programme Director at INPACT
