Mr. Taban Joseph Augustine, Save Lives Initiative, South SudanThis course has given me essential knowledge to support the review of South Sudan's national technical guidelines, helping align our NMAS structure with IMAS standards. Collaboration with other countries, like Somalia, highlighted the importance of standard alignment and prepared me to contribute effectively to our review process.
National Mine Action Standards (NMAS) Development Course
Format
Blended (In-person and Self-paced)
Course available in
English
Duration
5 days
This course is designed to help you produce and improve national mine action standards (NMAS) through the use the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) and related mine action information.
Aim
This course aims for participants to learn how to evaluate, draft, and enhance the writing of NMAS. Participants will explore key concepts including: all reasonable effort, risk management, quality management, and information management. These considerations improve safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of NMAS, resulting in confidence in mine action outputs.
What you will learn?
The course strengthens participants’ capacity to:
- Outline the structures and responsibilities of and the relationships among national mine action authorities, mine action centres and other mine action stakeholders;
- Describe obligations under treaties to which the State in question is party when drafting national mine action standards;
- Use risk management, information management and quality management in support of evidencebased decision-making;
- Prioritise the development of NMAS within a group that will comprise a series of standards;
- Draft clear and concise NMAS;
- Define specific mine action terms and explain how to incorporate them into NMAS to ensure correct implementation of related mine action concepts;
- Follow the thematic processes of the IMAS when drafting NMAS;
- Explain the different levels of content included in IMAS, NMAS and standard operating procedures;
- Develop effective IMAS-conformant NMAS.
Who should attend?
- Mine action staff and practitioners from countries affected by explosive ordnance contamination
- Officials from mine action agencies in donor countries and other representatives;
- National officers and military personnel responsible for or engaged in the development of NMAS; who are familiar with the IMAS;
General requirements
Recommended to take first:
- ‘Introduction to GIS (Geographical Information System) for mine action e-learning course - module 1’
Mandatory e-learning courses to complete
Selected participants are required to complete the following GICHD e-learning courses:
- Introduction to gender and diversity in mine action e-learning course
- Understanding the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) e-learning course
- Introduction to explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) essentials e-learning course
Participants who fail to complete the pre-course material successfully may be removed from the in-person course.
Language level requirements
Participants should be able communicate and present on their national standards in English. The following standards of proficiency in English should be met (as described in STANAG 6001).
- Listening: good | 3
- Speaking: fair | 2
- Reading: fair | 2
- Writing: elementary | 1
Equipment requirements
Minimum Technology Requirements
- Computer with up-to-date web browser.
- Google Chrome is recommended
- Mobile phone
Computer Skills
- You will be required to: Navigate the web Interact with the Blackboard Learning Management System
- Utilize word processing software
- Enable audio and video settings on your device(s)
Teaching approach
- This course is a blended approach of online and in-person training. Teaching methods include self-paced online preparation, presentations, discussions, and country scenario-based group work.
- Please note that the online preparation will start approx. 2-3 months prior to the in-person course. The selected participants will be notified on the details.
Assessment
- During the course, participant performance during the exercises and presentations will be evaluated. To get your certificate of achievement, you will be required to submit a revised or new NMAS within 6 months of course completion.
What People are saying about this course
Mr. Abdulkadir Ibrahim Mohamed, Head of Information Management, Somalia Explosive Management Authority (SEMA)I joined this course to build skills for developing national mine action standards, and I'm grateful for everything we've learned. The introduction to writing these standards was especially valuable, as we recently started reviewing our own. I now understand the importance of including normative references, which will enhance clarity for readers.
Ms. Kidist Shumbeza, Information Management Officer, UNMAS, EthiopiaThe NMAS Development course was invaluable as Ethiopia begins drafting its national mine action standards. This training provided a unique opportunity to exchange experiences with other countries and actively engage in discussions. We've already set a plan to review and refine our drafts, applying the insights gained here.