Celebrating 15 years of safety and security training

Since 2007, a joint training programme of the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC), the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS) and the Italian Army –  Brigata Alpina Taurinense has equipped nearly 100,000 personnel in over 65 countries across the UN system and partner organizations with essential and comprehensive safety and security skills through the Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments (SSAFE) programme. 

To celebrate 15 years of SSAFE, UNSSC hosted a joint event with the Italian Army on 15 November 2022. Taking place on the UNSSC campus in Turin, Italy, the event served as a forum to reflect on the programme's milestones, the partnership between the Staff College and the Italian armed forces, and ways to chart their future cooperation. 

“At the Staff College, we remain committed to strengthening areas of cooperation and promoting consistent engagement with all stakeholders,” said Fabrizio Bilucaglia, Learning Portfolio Manager at UNSSC. “We will continue to focus on critical shared priorities such as the “Train the Trainer” component, which is aimed at building a pool of security officers and trainers capable of supporting and training their colleagues and incorporating the most up-to-date training approaches.” 

The SSAFE programme provides UN staff with a shared understanding of the principles, guidelines and policies that enable them to work in complex and dangerous conflict environments.  The high-level training programme has featured different learning components which include in-classroom theoretical learning and simulations which are a fundamental part of the training.  

The simulations featuring realistic 'hostile' role-play situations are held in Turin, Italy, through the generous support of the Brigata Alpina Taurinense. The Brigata helps make the training a truly unique experience as it provides resources to prepare participants to apply and use their knowledge in critical and stressful situations. Even at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the partners ensured that strict measures were met to make the skills-building exercise possible. 

A recording of the event can be viewed here.