UNITAR South Sudan Fellowship Programme Workshop II Held Successfully
28 January 2016, Hiroshima, Japan - The UNITAR Hiroshima Office has successfully concluded Workshop II of the UNITAR South Sudan Fellowship Programme, which was held in Tokyo and Hiroshima, Japan between 20-26 January 2016. The Fellowship is a five-month long capacity building training programme, and twenty South Sudanese participants (known as Fellows), from a range of government and civil society organizations in South Sudan, visited Japan to attend the second of the three Fellowship workshops. Workshop II focused on the tools and processes necessary for the successful implementation of projects, through a range of interactive sessions, presentations, team exercises and after-action reviews.
Workshop II also allowed the Fellows to experience Hiroshima's reconstruction and peace story first hand. The Fellows undertook a study tour to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where Deputy Director Masuda explained the history of the city over the last seventy years. The Fellows were deeply moved by the message of peace from A-Bomb survivor, Ms. Keiko Ogura, during her presentation. Ms. Nassarine Azimi and Ms. Tomoko Watanabe, Founders of the Green Legacy Hiroshima Initiative, which safeguards and spreads worldwide the seeds of Hiroshima's A-Bomb survivor trees, explained the initiative and took the Fellows on a city tour of several A-Bomb survivor trees. Several Fellows expressed interest at planting saplings in South Sudan.
The workshop was led by several Resource Persons, including Mr. Mamadou N'Daw, Team Leader and RBM and Evaluation Advisor, UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa; Ms. Lucy Wanjiru, Partnerships Specialist, Engagement Initiatives Team in UNDP Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy; Professor Hideaki Shinoda, Director, Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center; Mr. Berin McKenzie, Specialist, UNITAR Hiroshima; and Dr. Shamsul Hadi Shams, Training Officer, UNITAR Hiroshima.
A press conference was held at City Hall on 22 January, where Ms. Mihoko Kumamoto, Head of UNITAR Hiroshima Office, and Joshua Franco Paul, Director for Multilateral Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, South Sudan, spoke with reporters about the importance and impact of the UNITAR programme for building capacity in South Sudan, and the significance of the workshop being held in Hiroshima. Courtesy calls were made by the Fellows to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the Mayor of Hiroshima City. The Fellows also participated in the 86th UNITAR Hiroshima Public Session on "South Sudan: Achievements and Challenges", and visited the World Heritage Itsukushima Shinto Shrine on Miyajima Island.
The Fellows are now working on their second major assignment, and will engage with Mentors and UNITAR Staff as they work to complete their own organization-specific project plan. They will also undertake several asynchronous training sessions before participating in Workshop III in Juba, South Sudan in March 2016.
Related Links
UNITAR South Sudan Fellowship Programme
86th UNITAR Hiroshima Public Session - South Sudan: Achievements and Challenges
Green Legacy Hiroshima Initiative
News Coverage - South Sudanese Fellows visit Governor of Hiroshima (Japanese)
News Coverage - South Sudanese Fellows listen to Atomic Bomb Survivor's Experience (Japanese)
Photos: UNITAR South Sudan Fellowship Programme Workshop II (from top to bottom): Fellows participating in a training session; Fellows in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome; Fellows visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum; Courtesy call to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan.