The Course on International Security started this week at the Clingendael Academy and is attended by professionals who are working for the government and the private sector. One of the participants, Ms. Olena Tsybenko, is from Ukraine and works for the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kiev. She explains why she decided to take this course.  

“The changes that have happened in Ukraine for the past few months have created new challenges for the embassy staff. At a certain moment I felt I was unable to comprehensively analyze the new developments and problems which emerged. So I started to look, with no success for some time, for a course which would meet my needs and requirements. But then a colleague of mine who earlier attended a course at Clingendael, advised me to visit the Institute’s website – so I did and immediately the Course on International Security caught my eye.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"4503","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"359","style":"width: 300px; height: 224px; float: right;","width":"480"}}]]So I subscribed and here I am. It turned out that this is the first time the course was being conducted in English, and although I was the only non-Dutch participant, all my colleagues and lecturers persisted speaking English, both in class and during breaks. The introductory information and the course programme covered most of the topical issues I was interested in. The  first week of training provided me with knowledge of geo-political trends, conflict analysis, security agenda, etc. But it were the insights in how the outside world perceives Ukraine that proved most enriching, as I had sometimes felt myself ‘cooking in my own broth’ prior to the course.

Sometimes a picturesque view from the window on swans gliding over the lake or geese walking on the lawn took me away from the problems of wars, bloodshed, and crises. But the lecturers with their professionalism, rich experience and personal involvement, brought me down to the earth which still suffers from unsolved conflicts…”

Are you also interested in participating in an open registration course at the Clingendael Academy? You can find the full programme here.