The purpose of this two-day course is to build the capacity of participants to support the negotiation of land acquisition and resettlement to international sustainability standards on a wide range of sectoral projects. The course has already been held in 18 countries with over 1,000 participants with an average score of 8.9/10. The course takes a master-class approach where participants are challenged to develop solutions to complex resettlement challenges based on real-life case studies. The case studies are based on Intersocial’s recent experience of partnering with projects to develop innovative participatory negotiation approaches in the wind (Kipeto, Kenya), hydropower (Namakhvani, Georgia), mining (Ahafo, Ghana), and oil and gas sectors (Uganda Oil Sector, LARF).

The course appeals to a wide range of participants including consultants, development bank staff, academics, civil society and government representatives. The training course content is based on Intersocial’s textbook, Land Access & Resettlement: A Guide to Best Practice (2015), and the new draft IFC Handbook on Land Acquisition & Resettlement (2019). The sustainability approach is framed by Intersocial’s Social Framework for Projects which ensures a multi-disciplinary and holistic approach to integrating resettlement with impact assessment.

Eddie Smyth is a director of Intersocial and a social and resettlement expert with over 25 years’ experience working within the social and environmental sectors in 34 countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America & Africa. Eddie has experience in land access and resettlement planning, review and implementation across all the key sectors, including private-sector/government-led, mining, oil & gas, hydropower, urban resettlement and renewables to IFC/WB/EBRD/EIB standards. He has planned, implemented, managed, monitored and reviewed land access and resettlement projects in 25 countries and conducted resettlement training in 12 countries.

Jeroen de Zeeuw is an associate of Intersocial and a social safeguards specialist with more than 18 years of experience in stakeholder engagement in/around (renewable) energy, mining, agribusiness and large-scale infrastructure and community development projects. Jeroen specializes in social baselines, community perception surveys and social impact assessment (using participatory rural appraisal methods), resettlement, livelihood restoration and stakeholder engagement, including grievance management. He has practical experience in developing public participation programs, Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), Stakeholder Engagement Plans (SEPs) and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), organizing company-community dialogue platforms, reviewing livelihood restoration strategies, organizational capacity-building and the development of community-oriented communication strategies and guidance material. Jeroen has worked for private sector companies, government institutions, and civil society organizations in conflict-affected environments in Sub-Sahara Africa (notably Kenya, South Sudan, Nigeria, DRC), the Caucasus (Georgia) as well as South and Southeast Asia (Afghanistan, Myanmar and Cambodia).