On the occasion of Geneva Peace Week 2025, Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) officially launched UCP Academy, an online learning platform designed to equip individuals and organisations with the skills to practise Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP)—a proven, practical approach to protecting civilians, preventing violence, and fostering peace. 

UCP Academy has been developed in collaboration with the Creating Safer Space network and will soon feature a course on “Unarmed Community Self-Protection” based on CSS and related research (watch this space!).

The Academy will feature: 

• Opportunities for collaboration and mentorship across regions and sectors. 
• Resources to support community-led initiatives for the protection of civilians. 
• Foundational and advanced UCP courses with field-tested strategies. 

Developed by Creating Safer Space, UCP Academy also hosts the revamped UCP Knowledge Database, the biggest public repository on Unarmed Civilian Protection, community self-protection and related topics. It includes academic research publications, working papers, NGO documents, films, music, and more and is now available on a user-friendly, open access platform. 

UCP Academy and Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) also announced the launch of the Changemakers Programme—a global initiative designed to scale up civilian-led initiatives while equipping participants with the tools to integrate Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) strategies into their work. Changemakers is open to individuals worldwide, including practitioners, researchers, artists, and policy advocates committed to advancing civilian-led protection initiatives. Selected participants will receive training, mentorship, and opportunities to collaborate on real-world projects that enhance the ability of communities to protect themselves and others amid violent conflict and displacement. Applications are now open!

Read NP’s press release about the launch here.

The former UCP Research Database is now the UCP Knowledge Database!

Developed by Creating Safer Space and hosted by UCP Academy, the revamped UCP Knowledge Database is the biggest public repository on Unarmed Civilian Protection, community self-protection and related topics. It includes academic research publications, working papers, NGO documents, films, music, and more, and is now available on a user-friendly, open access platform. 

We hope you you enjoy browsing through the database and find it useful to your work!

We need your input!

We seek to continuously grow and improve the UCP Knowledge Database, and to do so, we need your input:

• Are there UCP resources missing which should be included?
• Do you, or does your organisation, hold resources that could be made available through the database?
• Can you help pointing out UCP-related resources in languages currently under-represented (or not at all)?
• Any other constructive feedback?

Please send your input to: creating-safer-space@aber.ac.uk.

The Cameroon team organised a practitioners workshop in Yaoundé on 19 March 2025, entitled ‘Strengthening Community-Led Approaches to Unarmed Civilian Protection in Cameroon’.

The event was held at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation office and attended by 30 representatives of local, national and international NGOs and diplomatic officials. The aim was to share research, experiences and brainstorm on ways to strengthen community-led nonviolent approaches to protection in Cameroon.

The Cameroon team presented their findings to the audience, stimulating a discussion about unarmed civilian protection in the Cameroonian context and Africa more generally. A Practitioners’ Roundtable involved representatives from Peacebuilders International (PBI), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and two local women’s organisations working on protection who presented their work on civilian protection in Cameroon and elsewhere.

The workshop concluded by formulating a joint media statement and call to action in French and English.

The workshop was funded through Coventry University’s ESRC/IAA Impact Funding award.