NOHA Training on Protection by Presence – October 19-23 2026 in Manila, Philippines

Summary

This training is aimed at professionals in the humanitarian sector, security officers, managers, and protection officers, as well as human rights defenders and social leaders, equipping them with core concepts, practical tools, and new skills through a blend of theoretical sessions, hands-on exercises, and scenario simulations.

This five-day training introduces participants to the principles, tools, and practical application of Protection by Presence (PbyP), combining theoretical presentations, participatory exercises, and simulations. The aim is to build advocacy and communication capacity, strengthen self-protection skills, and equip participants with practical strategies for implementing PbyP interventions across diverse contexts. The training will also focus on the complementarity between PbyP and self-protection mechanisms, explaining key concepts and tools of community-based protection, and promoting the exchange of best practices and lessons learned from different community-led protection strategies.

The training programme progresses from the general to the specific:

• Introduction to Protection by Presence: fundamental concepts and historical evolution.
• Links between PbP and advocacy, self-protection, and communication strategies.
• Practical tools.
• Communication skills and advocacy messaging tools.
• Managing difficult actors.
• Challenges and opportunities of Protection by Presence.
• Risks and limits of Protection by Presence.
• Key concepts and tools of community-based protection: understanding self-protection, community ownership, stakeholder analysis, community risk assessment and community-led protection strategy. 
• Analysis of privilege in power dynamics, including differential and decolonial analysis.
• Relevance of gender and anti-racism perspectives in field work.
• Learning through practice, peer exchange, group work, simulations, and role-play exercises.

Modality

The training blends lecture-style theoretical sessions with highly interactive, participatory elements. While some sessions focus on presenting key concepts and reference frameworks, most emphasise active learning through group work, case studies, roundtables, simulations, and role-play exercises.

Around half the programme is experiential, fostering peer exchange and the hands-on development of practical skills. The programme also draws on first-hand testimonies from people directly affected, alongside collaborative exercises and structured debates.

Course Duration

The training runs over 5 full days (40 hours).

Dates and Location

October 19-23, 2026 in Manila, Philippines.

Certification

Certificate issued by NOHA.

Target Audience

This course is intended for humanitarian professionals with at least two years of experience managing or working across the following areas:

• Delivery of humanitarian aid,
• Humanitarian access and security,
• Protection,
• Participatory approaches and community development,
• Social cohesion, community protection, stabilisation, and peacebuilding.

Security officers are particularly encouraged to apply.

Training Language

English.

Organisers

The NOHA Network on Humanitarian Action is an international association of universities that seeks to strengthen professionalisation in the humanitarian sector, promoting humanitarian values and offering high-level certified courses.

This course is part of the work of the Consortium for Civil Safety and Security, made up of NOHA, ODI Global, and Nonviolent Peaceforce in partnership with Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Training Facilitators

Tommaso Fornai is a protection specialist and project coordinator with thirteen years of field experience. He has worked with various humanitarian and human rights organizations, including international NGOs and UN agencies, in countries such as Sudan, Ukraine, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. He began his work in Proactive Protection with PBI in 2017 and, in 2020, continued with SweFOR as a Field Protection Coordinator. In this role, he was responsible for field mission strategy, security focal point during missions, project manager and trainer of field officers. In 2023, he was selected to join the Protection Advisors team, whose objective was to implement a pilot Proactive Protection project with the Norwegian Refugee Council. After a short experience in Ukraine as a Protection Project Manager, he is currently deployed in Sudan as a Protection Adviser specialized in community-based protection.

Marcos Knoblauch is a protection specialist with more than a decade of experience in protection by presence, international peace, and conflict resolution. He has worked in Palestine, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Colombia with EAPPI, CPT and SweFOR providing protection to civilians and human rights defenders, developing advocacy strategies for protection, and strengthening the capacities of communities and HRDs in diverse cultural contexts. He has experience in designing and implementing strategic advocacy campaigns and in building alliances with civil society, governmental, and international bodies, having led advocacy actions in Europe and the United States. He has an extensive track record of field work in complex and high-risk environments, strengthening the protection and development of self-protection strategies for vulnerable communities.

Expected Outcomes

Participants will apply the theoretical knowledge and practical tools from the course, and practise PbyP techniques through simulations grounded in real-world cases.

Upon completing the training, participants will have:

• Acquired a solid conceptual and historical understanding of PbyP.
• Practised the application of PbyP in realistic simulated scenarios.
• Integrated gender, race, and decolonial perspectives into protection work.
• Analysed the use of advocacy and self-protection initiatives within PbyP strategies.
• Applied PbyP concepts to protection needs and risk assessments, threat analysis, and related operational tasks.
• Applied effective communication skills and appropriate use of tools for public speaking.
• Anticipated, identified, and mitigated the challenges associated with PbyP.
• Explored ways to integrate PbyP into broader humanitarian response.
• Understood the process of community-based protection, its key concepts and main tools.
• Have shared best practices and lesson learns about community-based protection experiences in the context of Philippines. 

Training Evaluation and Assessment

The assessment framework is aligned with the course’s learning outcomes and is designed to show that participants can apply their new skills and knowledge in practice. Participants will receive feedback and guidance throughout the course, enabling them to progress, build confidence, and develop their practical skills.