Young Professionals in Africa trained as ambassadors for STDM work

More than 40 participants comprising of government officers, Young surveyors and Civil Society Organization (CSO) representatives from 14 countries around Africa participated in the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) Training of Trainers (ToT) event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia held 6-10 November. This was prior to the Land Policy in Africa conference that was held between 11th and 14th November, 2014.

The training event which mainly focuses on the technical aspect of STDM as an information management tool had many perspectives which included an on-site learning session in an informal settlement. This was an opportunity for the participants to learn and appreciate diversity of culture, community engagement and field data collection during enumeration activities. The exposure aims at preparing the trainees as ambassadors and foot soldiers in the implementation of similar tools and processes.

Past event trainees were instrumental in the training and offered guidance to the participants throughout. The countries represented included Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The demand to implement STDM tool and to build technical capacity at country level has increased enormously. UN Habitat through GLTN is using the ToT events to create a critical mass that can support initiatives at various levels in-country. The high number of participants to the STDM ToT event is an indication of the increasing demand for using STDM to address prevailing land challenges.Some organizations even sponsored their participants’ attendance which is a sign of commitment to building capacity in STDM.

Towards the closure of the training, the participants had a clear road map to utilize the skills gained by building capacity of various CSO groups, integrating STDM into their work and documentation of experiences at country level on various efforts.