Acadia University
Wolfville, Nova Scotia B0P 1X0
(902) 585-1362 Fax (902) 585-1072News Release
For Release: July 10 , 2001Peacekeepers share perspectives
(Wolfville, NS) - The shared accounts of peacekeeping missions were similar - long periods of routine, interspersed with moments of adrenaline when sudden civil uprisings ignite with sporadic shootings; where old scores are settled with machinegun fire. This is how Colonel Mike Boomer described the United Nations Mission to Haiti that he participated in as the Chief of Staff for the Canadian Contingent. Colonel Boomer shared his experiences with those gathered for the first International Peacekeeping Summer Institute held at Acadia University.Modern peacekeeping is complicated. Peacekeepers are asked to deal with complex and often devastating situations yet there are very few university graduate level credit courses that prepare them for the broad spectrum of issues they face in the field. Boomer, a Logistics Officer in the Canadian Air Force says, “My most burning memory of the mission to Haiti was the burial field at the edge of the city near the dump where the bodies and skeletons of those who had been killed before the mission started began to emerge from the ground as the soil washed away. It reminded me of why we were there.”
During the International Peacekeeping Summer Institute 19 students from around the globe spent two weeks on Acadia’s campus addressing all areas of peacekeeping from military involvement and policy making to humanitarian aid. This important institute was made possible through the partnership of Acadia University’s Continuing and Distance Education Department, the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre at Clementsport, Nova Scotia and the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. The three institutions shared vital resources and lecture expertise to provide students with a broad-based understanding of peacekeeping.
“This is one of the few graduate level courses in Canada that covers the broad peace process. The course looked at both the military and civilian elements which establish and maintain peace through a wide range of agencies, policies and mandates,” says Peter Walker, Acadia University’s Diplomat-in-Residence and a summer institute facilitator.
Students participating in the institute had a wide-range of backgrounds and brought varied perspectives to the discussions. A number of participants were graduate students seeking more information on peacekeeping careers, some were military officers who had participated in peacekeeping missions and others analyzed the issues from a legal or development studies point of view.
The course lectures followed a logical flow from the history and evolution of peacekeeping, through the early stages of military interventions and finally to key components of the peace-building phase. This was not a “how-to-course” on peacekeeping but instead analyzed issues with an academic focus including case studies of peacekeeping missions to illustrate how all organizations work together to rebuild a society. Boomer says, “This course helped me to better understand non-governmental organizations, their roles and the dynamics between the military aspects of missions and the civil and humanitarian ones.”
As international peacekeeping becomes more complex in the modern context, opportunities to discuss and analyze issues surrounding peace operations become more important to those involved. Boomer says, “The course has encouraged me to ask for another mission.”
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For more information contact:
Sheri Woodland
Communications Manager
Office of Public Affairs
Acadia University
(902) 585-1362
Acadia HomePublished by: The Office of Public Affairs
Last revised: July 10, 2001
URL: http://www.acadiau.ca/whatsnew/newsrelease/2001/Peacekeepers_July10.html