Fully Funded Inaugural Training Workshop on Protecting the Right to Culture in War Zones and Rural Areas in Africa

Arusha, Tanzania | 12–16 October 2026

The African Institute of International Law (AIIL) invites applications from suitably qualified professionals, practitioners, academics and community actors to participate in its inaugural continental training workshop on “Protecting the Right to Culture in War Zones and Rural Areas in Africa,” to be held in Arusha, Tanzania, from 12 to 16 October 2026.

Across Africa, armed conflicts, violent extremism, forced displacement, illicit trafficking, environmental degradation, extractive activities, climate change and the marginalisation of rural and Indigenous communities continue to threaten cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, languages, cultural identities, sacred places, ancestral lands and communities’ ability to participate freely in cultural life. Although international, regional and domestic legal frameworks provide important protections, substantial legal, institutional and operational gaps remain.

This workshop will bring together approximately 42 carefully selected participants from across Africa to examine these challenges, strengthen professional capacity and develop practical, legally grounded recommendations for the effective protection of cultural rights in conflict-affected and rural settings. It constitutes the inaugural phase of a broader, long-term AIIL initiative on the protection of cultural rights in Africa.

Workshop objectives

The workshop seeks to:

• strengthen participants’ understanding of the international, regional and domestic legal frameworks governing cultural rights and cultural heritage protection;
• examine threats to cultural rights arising in armed conflicts, displacement, rural marginalisation, conservation initiatives, extractive activities and climate-related disruption;
• assess the protection of Indigenous peoples, pastoralists, hunter-gatherers and other rural communities whose cultural identity and survival are closely connected to ancestral lands, traditional livelihoods and knowledge systems;
• explore accountability for attacks against cultural heritage and cultural rights under international human-rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law;
• strengthen practical skills relating to the documentation of cultural-rights violations, investigation, evidence preservation and management, restitution and recovery;
• provide a structured platform for participants from affected areas and communities to present testimonies and share practical experience;
• identify legal, institutional, policy, operational and community-level protection gaps;
• promote cooperation among governments, judicial institutions, universities, civil society, cultural-heritage bodies and affected communities; and
• formulate practical recommendations for policy reform, institutional strengthening, future training, research and regional cooperation.

Programme and methodology

The workshop will combine:

• substantive presentations by distinguished international and African experts;
• interactive discussions and comparative case studies;
• participant-led testimonies on conditions in conflict-affected areas and rural communities;
• documentation of challenges, good practices and community responses;
• interdisciplinary working groups;
• preparation and adoption of practical recommendations; and
• educational visits to the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the East African Court of Justice.

Rapporteurs will document the experiences, challenges, promising practices and recommendations emerging from the workshop. These contributions will be consolidated into the final Workshop Report and Recommendations, thereby enabling the workshop to function both as a capacity-building programme and as a continental stocktaking and consultative exercise.

Who should apply?

Applications are invited from suitably qualified African candidates, particularly:

• government lawyers and officials from ministries responsible for justice, culture, foreign affairs, local government, land, environment and Indigenous or community affairs;
• judges, magistrates, prosecutors and other judicial officers;
• parliamentarians and parliamentary legal or policy advisers;
• security-sector officials whose responsibilities relate to the protection of civilians, cultural property or communities during emergencies;
• academics and researchers working in law, cultural studies, anthropology, history, archaeology, heritage studies, conflict studies, peacebuilding or related disciplines;
• representatives of civil-society and human-rights organisations;
• professionals working in museums, archives, cultural institutions and heritage-protection bodies;
• representatives of international and regional organisations;
• community leaders and representatives of Indigenous peoples, pastoralists, hunter-gatherers and other rural communities; and
• practitioners with direct experience documenting or responding to attacks on cultural heritage and cultural rights.

Particular consideration will be given to applicants possessing demonstrable academic or practical experience relating to war-affected areas, forced displacement, threatened cultural heritage, rural communities, Indigenous peoples or other communities whose cultural rights face serious risks.

Applicants must be available to participate fully in the entire five-day programme.

Financial support

Participation in the workshop is fully funded for selected participants. The African Institute of International Law will cover:

• round-trip economy-class airfare to and from Arusha;
• hotel accommodation for the duration of the workshop;
• meals during the programme;
• airport transfers and necessary local transportation in Arusha; and
• costs associated with participation in the workshop and scheduled institutional visits.

Financial support will be provided only to applicants formally selected and invited by the Institute. Applicants should therefore not make travel arrangements before receiving an official invitation and further instructions from AIIL.

Application requirements

Applicants should submit:

1. a current curriculum vitae;
2. a brief statement of motivation explaining their interest in the workshop and how it relates to their professional, academic or community work;
3. a concise description of their relevant academic or practical experience, particularly concerning conflict-affected areas, rural communities, Indigenous peoples, cultural heritage or cultural-rights protection;
4. their current institutional affiliation and position;
5. their country of nationality and country of residence; and
6. confirmation of their availability to attend the entire workshop in Arusha from 12 to 16 October 2026.

Applicants with direct field or community experience are encouraged to indicate the particular situation, affected community or institutional practice they would be prepared to present during the participant-led testimony and experience-sharing sessions.

Selection process

Selection will be competitive and based principally on:

• the relevance of the applicant’s professional, academic or community experience;
• demonstrated engagement with cultural rights, cultural heritage, armed conflict, displacement, rural communities or Indigenous peoples;
• the applicant’s capacity to contribute substantively to workshop discussions and recommendations;
• the practical value of the applicant’s experience for continental knowledge-sharing; and
• the need to ensure appropriate geographic, linguistic, professional, institutional and gender diversity.

Submission of an application does not automatically guarantee selection. Only candidates whose profiles correspond closely with the objectives and specialised character of the workshop will be invited.

Submission and deadline

Applications must be submitted by email to:

[email protected]

The subject line should read:

Application – Cultural Rights Workshop 2026

The complete application must be received no later than:

Wednesday, 9 September 2026, at 12:00 noon East Africa Time

Applications received after the deadline or lacking the required documentation may not be considered.