Acronym of Organisation: 
ASPR

The ASPR was founded in September 1982 as an independent, non-profit and non-partisan organization. The ASPR aims to contribute to the promotion of peace and peaceful conflict resolution and to the dissemination of practical ideas for peace, including its developmental and environmental aspects. In order to carry out these tasks, the ASPR conducts and evaluates research in line with its objectives, engages in training and education, and conducts scientific courses. It also publishes several periodicals (Dialog, Friedensforum, Friedensbericht) dealing with peace issues. Several major conferences are organised each year, including a summer academy and an annual international meeting of peace researchers on "The State of Peace." ASPR was the founder of the European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU). A European Peace Museum in Schlaining Castle has been established. In order to help to facilitate ASPR activities, ASPR set up an unique infrastructure including the Peace Library in a former synagogue, a Conference Center in Schlaining Castle, the Hotel Burg Schlaining, and Haus International, which is a student hostel. For these and other efforts, the ASPR was awarded the UN "Peace Messenger" status in 1987, and, together with the EPU, the UNESCO-Price for Peace Education 1995.

URL: 
http://www.aspr.ac.at
Primary Headquarters (city): 
Stadtschlaining
Languages that the organisation operates in: 
English, German
Training Topics: 

The ASPR acted as project co-ordinator (2001-2005) for and is a member of the European Group on Training (www.eutraininggroup.net) and hosts some its courses at its premises, the Castle of Schlaining. At the same time the ASPR provides Mission Preparation Training for the OSCE.
Since 1993, the ASPR regularly organizes its own training programme with support of the Federal Government of Austria: the “International Civilian Peace-keeping and Peace-building Training Program” (IPT). Participants come from all over the world and prepare themselves to become actors for crisis response in conflict regions. Apart from so-called Core Courses, regular mission preparation trainings, the following two-weeks Specialisation Courses were offered so far:

  • Media Development
  •  Project Management
  • Conflict Transformation
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Women in Armed Conflict
  • Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration
  • Empowerment for Political Participation
  • Election Observation and Assistance
  • Human Rights Protection and Promotion
  • Child Protection, Monitoring and Rehabilitation
  • UN-IPT SC Child Protection, Monitoring and Rehabilitation

The ASPR could well imagine to offer a Specialisation Course on SSR on co-operation with partners from ASSET in the future.

Training Target Audiences: 
  • International/Inter-governmental Organisations
  • CSOs
  • Academic
Future Training: 

Getting involved in training activities on SSR, the ASPR will focus on enhancing the civilian capacities of the involved forces, emphasise the rule of law, and build in the dimension of transitional justice. The likely audience will be the civilian clientel of the IPT and other training programs as well as the audience definded in collaboration with the ASPR partners in the Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs (international recipients of Austrian governmental scholarships), the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Interior Affairs, and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice.

Contacts: 

Point of Contact :  Manuela Mittasch
 
Mailing Address: ASPR, Rochusplatz 1
                             A-7461 Stadtschlaining
 
Email: mittasch@aspr.ac.at
 
Tel: +43 3355 2498 517
 
Fax No : +43 3355 2662

Type of organisation

  • Training Centre

Region of operation

  • Western Europe