The West Africa Peacebuilding Institute (WAPI), an initiative of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) training is currently underway in Accra, Ghana at Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC).

This is an annual event that takes place every September at KAIPTC. This year’s WAPI training started on 2nd September and will end on 21st September 2007.

This training supported by Action Aid International The Gambia (AAITG), through the alliance for the youth in conflict and emergency, WANEP The Gambia has facilitated the participation of Mr Musa Sanneh of WANEP and Mr Buba Darboe of Red Cross to the WAPI 2007.  Since 2004, WANEP-The Gambia in collaboration with its strategic partners have been playing a key role in ensuring the participation of Gambian civil society organisations.

WAPI is the capacity building arm of WANEP with a sub-regional focus, that seeks to increase the number of competent and active peacebuilding practitioners in West Africa, with the aim of promoting  stable societies in the sub-region.

Introduction to peacebuilding paradigms that comprises youth and peace education and women in peacebuilding, preventive peacebuilding, early warning and early response among the courses also participants are provided with the opportunity to select a course each week.  In addition to the courses offer, participants would benefit from a wide range of expertise and experience of the fellow participants.

WAPI is open to practitioners, students and policy makers interested in peacebuilding, human rights awareness and advocacy development, arms control, humanitarian aid, social welfare and gender.

Due to the increasing number of Gambian practitioners to WAPI, plans are underway to undertake step-down training in various communities across the country.