Bandung – From August 27 to 30, 2026, a quiet but meaningful gathering took place at the Hotel Belresort Dago Heritage in Bandung, a workshop bringing together peacebuilders from across Indonesia and beyond to help design a new training module for civilian peacekeeping.

The event, Indonesian Peacebuilding Institute (IPI), Universitas Padjajaran, in partnership with Bappenas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ASTRA carried the theme “Formulating a Module for Civilian Peacekeeping.” Over two full working days, participants worked through a series of focus group discussions, hashing out ideas in a plenary format aimed at shaping the road ahead for the program.

At the heart of the conversation was a roadmap for a training initiative set to launch in early 2027. It will include a general module alongside four specialized tracks: Mediation, Post-Conflict Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, Conflict Prevention, and Civilian Support for Peace Operations. Beyond the working sessions, the gathering also made room for connection, a welcome dinner and a farewell dinner gave trainers, stakeholder representatives, academics, and partner institutions a chance to build rapport outside the formal agenda.

In total, 36 peacebuilding scholars and practitioners took part, including observers and invited guests, traveling from as far as Aceh in the west to Jayapura in the east. The room reflected a real mix of backgrounds, universities, NGOs, and government bodies, including Bappenas and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with fellow peace scholars and practitioners also joining from the Philippines and Thailand.

Irman G Lanti, The Director of IPI, stated that the involvement of scholars and peace practitioners is important to sharpen the Civilian Peacekeeping program, especially the structure of modules and module content as well as the distribution of trainers to complete modules on time.

Among those invited was Dr. Ridwan al-Makassary from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia. He described IPI’s initiative as an important step toward equipping civil society participants with the knowledge and skills needed to take part in peacekeeping efforts — whether under the UN, outside it, or within their own communities back home.

“The event unfolded in a warm and open atmosphere, with a real exchange of perspectives as we worked to shape the structure of the module,” he shared in correspondence with the media team.

Looking ahead, the module’s drafting is expected to wrap up over the coming months, with writing tasks divided among the trainers present. If all goes to plan, the training program itself will begin in 2027.