OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions
ZIF was founded in 2002 by the German government and parliament to strengthen civilian capacities for international peace operations. The Center’s core mandate is to recruit and train civilian personnel. Likewise it provides analysis and advice on peacekeeping and peacebuilding issues and contributes to the conceptual evolution of peace operations.
ZIF unites training, human resources and analysis expertise under one roof. It works closely with the German Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministries for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), of the Interior (BMI), and of Defense (BMVg) as well as international organizations, namely the OSCE, the EU and the UN.
Cooperation between OSCE and ZIF includes recruitment of and training for Germans seconded to OSCE field operations (20 in 2013), the Secretariat and the institutions (13 in 2013), as well as training and deployment of ODIHR election observers (LTOs and STOs).
ZIF is a non-profit company with limited liability, funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The Federal Republic represented by the Foreign Office is the sole shareholder. Its governing bodies are the management, the supervisory board, the international advisory board and the shareholders’ assembly. It holds membership in a number of professional networks and associations such as Europe's New Training Initiative for Civilian Crisis Management (ENTRi); the Challenges Forum; the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres (IAPTC); the International Stabilization & Peacebuilding Initiative (ISPI); UNOCHA’s Standby Partnership Programs; and the International Training Group on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (IDDRTG).
Contact:
Ludwigkirchplatz 3-4
10719 Berlin
Deutschland
Tel:+49 30 - 52 00 56 5 - 0
Fax: +49 30 - 52 00 56 590
E-mail: [email protected]
www.zif-berlin.org
Dr. Volker Jacoby is the Head of the Training Division of the German Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) in Berlin (since November 2013). Before, he spent sixteen years mainly with the OSCE and the UN in Central Asia, Afghanistan and the South Caucasus. His postings with the OSCE were Deputy Head ad interim and Senior Economic and Environmental Officer with the OSCE Centre in Bishkek; Coordinator of Politico-Military Affairs, Spokesperson and Human Dimension Officer with the OSCE Mission to Georgia; and Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the CiO on the Conflict dealt with by the Minsk Conference. He was Political Analyst with ODIHR Election Observation/Assessment Missions to the UK, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Moldova, as well as LTO in Armenia and Georgia. Other assignments included Human Rights Officer with the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) in Turkmenistan; Advisor to the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Afghanistan; and Political Affairs Officer with the UN Peace Building Support Office in Tajikistan (UNTOP). Dr. Jacoby has a PhD in Political Science from Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany. His thesis was on the national movement in Armenia in the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union.
