Online Practitioners' Course

The Practitioners' Course will take place between 12-23 May 2025. The edition of the course takes place online. 

About the Practitioners' Course 2025 on “Crisis Management: Strengthening Regional and Local Governance”

This course offers a dynamic introduction to multilevel governance, highlighting the critical role of regional and local governments in managing crises while safeguarding human rights. Local authorities are uniquely positioned to address essential issues like housing, education, and public health, fostering inclusive societies and ensuring no one is left behind.

Participants will explore how local and regional governments can meaningfully contribute to crisis management. Insights from the SERI and EU-funded “Legitimult” research project on trust, rule of law, and multilevel governance provide a foundation for understanding how to uphold human rights even during crises.

• Course description

  The course employs three dynamic teaching methods to engage participants:

  1. Input Sessions: Experts deliver presentations on specific topics, followed by a Q&A session to encourage interaction and deeper understanding.
  2. Workshops: Participants work in guided groups to analyze cases, experiments, or questions prepared by experts. Each workshop culminates in a presentation of the group findings, facilitated by IFF staff or experts.
  3. Break-Out Groups: Participants lead discussions on preassigned questions or topics, with IFF staff and experts taking a hands-off approach to encourage independent dialogue.

  Additionally, a full day is dedicated to panel discussions on findings from the research project on legitimate crisis governance, offering valuable insights and real-world applications.

• Course objectives
  • Develop a comprehensive understanding of multilevel governance, including federalism, decentralization, and regional and local governance structures.
  • Acquire an overview of human rights, with a focus on those most relevant at regional and local levels.
  • Reflect on the roles of local and regional governments in implementing human rights, and identify key challenges to effective implementation.
  • Explore key findings from cutting-edge research on legitimate crisis governance.
  • Foster peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange through collaboration and shared experiences among participants.
• Target group

  The program of the course has been specifically created for policy makers, local and regional government officials, elected representatives as well as sector specialists supporting local governments (development agencies) and civil society actors, dealing with decentralization and local governance. 

• Application

  The applications are accepted on a rolling basis until 30. March 2025

• Fees

  Tuition fees: CHF 2’500

  Please note that we are unable to offer scholarships.

• Contact

  Yvonne Heiter-Steiner

  Institute of Federalism
  University of Fribourg
  Av. Beauregard 1
  1700 Fribourg
  Switzerland

   +41 26 300 8125