The Folke Bernadotte Academy
The Folke Bernadotte Academy is a Swedish government agency dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of international conflict and crisis management, with a particular focus on peace operations. The Academy functions as a platform for cooperation between Swedish agencies and organizations and their international partners. Its main areas of responsibility are:

• National cooperation and coordination

• Multifunctional education and training

• Research, studies and evaluation

• Method and doctrine development

• Recruitment of Swedish civilian personnel to international peace operations

• Fredsmiljonen – Funding of civil society peace projects

The Academy has a preparedness to offer good offices for conflict management initiatives, such as talks between parties to a conflict. Within its mandate, it serves as national point of contact with international organizations, including the UN, EU, OSCE and NATO.

The Academy aims for broad international participation in its activities, and cooperates closely with partner institutions throughout the world. It has been entrusted to coordinate the International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations and holds the Presidency of the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres. Through the Conflict Prevention in Practice Programme, preventive perspectives and methods are integrated in all relevant activities of the Academy.
The establishment of the Academy reflects Sweden’s commitment to international peace and security. It is named after Count Folke Bernadotte, who was the first official UN mediator. His spirit lives on in the institution bearing his name. The main office and campus of the Academy are situated on the island of Sandö.

One of the areas of activities of the Folke Bernadotte Academy is Security Sector Reform. The SSR programme's work builds on the important principle of adapting programs to the unique context through analysing the specific needs of each country. Local ownership and commitment is crucial and SSR initiatives are always carried out in close cooperation with relevant partners in the host country. A whole-of-government approach to SSR is promoted through cooperation with several agencies, organisations and missions.
SSR activities include:

• Education, capacity building and training on SSR, targeting both practitioners and policy makers. The FBA offers not only the regular SSR courses but also training and lectures especially adapted to the needs and objectives of missions, authorities and institutions, both in Sweden and internationally.
• Coordination of SSR issues and activities among national and international stakeholders. These activities include the facilitation of national coordination processes at different levels as well as the participation in international institutions for consultation on SSR issues and training.
• Development of tools and methodologies to improve the delivery of Security Sector Reform. For instance, the FBA has developed a tool for SSR needs assessment, which can be used in background studies and preparations for SSR programming.
• Contributions to SSR policy discussions. The FBA contributes actively to the development of appropriate response to SSR issues and challenges requiring fresh, effective solutions;
• Operative support and contributions to SSR missions and initiatives. FBA can contribute not only through capacity building but also through operative support within the framework of SSR missions and projects. For instance, the FBA has received a task in several Swedish development cooperation strategies to contribute to capacity development and operative initiatives within SSR in the next few years

Besides this, the Folke Bernadotte Academy seconds Swedish staff to a large number of missions, of which several work with SSR.

For an online presentation of Security Sector Reform, please
click here
.