Date and Venue:	29 March 2005 (Córdoba, Agentina) 27 May 2005 (Bogotá, Colombia) 31 May 2005 (Guatemala City, Guatemala)

To promote the training phase of the Project on Human Security and Regional Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, the LAC Office supported promotional workshops in three countries of the region, Córdoba, Argentina (29 March 2005), Bogotá, Colombia (27 May 2005), and Guatemala City, Guatemala (31 May 2005). These workshops aimed at a wider diffusion of the human security (HS) concept, assessments of HS priorities and definition of specific training packages, as well as pursuing mobilization of resources from international and national agencies.

Similar agendas were developed in each country, which included: (a) introduction to the training phase of the HS project comprising a presentation of activities developed by partner institutions (UNCRD, University of Blas Pascal (UBP) of Córdoba, and University of Viña del Mar (UVM) in Chile; (b) launching of the auto-instructional E-Course on Human Security Concepts and Orientations developed by the LAC Office, and presentation of the contents and structure of the graduate course on Urban and Regional Projects for Human Security developed by UVM in conjunction with UBP; (c) developing exercises to assess specific training needs, focusing on the region's specific vulnerabilities and challenges, with a general orientation to regional development management and human security issues; and (d) mobilizing training resources. The workshops, each attended by an average of forty participants comprised potential stakeholders and counted on the active participation of national, regional, and local governmental institutions, as well as representatives of international technical assistance institutions, NGOs, and academia. The opportunity to exchange and learn from the experiences of various entities in projects and programmes related to HS issues in each country, was well taken.

The exercises developed in each country identified specific threats, risks, and vulnerable groups in each country.

Each workshop generally met all expectations and built awareness on the complexity of the human security concept and on the need to develop an integrated and individual approach in each context. The LAC Office and representatives of the UVM and UBP made initial contacts with universities interested in joining efforts to develop specific training programmes for each country. UNCRD has also continued discussions with governmental institutions of participating countries and with JICA to define a strategy and formulate proposals to initiate HS assessment and vulnerability analysis and training in the LAC countries.