TRESA training materials are intended for a wide variety of audiences under differing and sometimes difficult situations. To ensure that these tools reach their intended audience and provide valid results, it is necessary to structure meta-requirements which are valid for the construction of any TRESA training material.

These include the following:

• Clear definition of the objectives, scope and desired outcome of training.
• An objective identification of the clients and potential trainees, their experiences with training, and their training needs. This is particularly important with clients who may have been marginalized from decision-making processes but are heavily influenced by SALW proliferation and use in the community (e.g. women), and for clients in non-metropolitan areas who rarely have access to training opportunities.
• Most training material will be produced originally in English and then translated into French and other major languages. It will however be necessary to consider, and structure within the design, the need for translation into other languages and cultures and special requirements for the illiterate. The process of training material construction thus requires not only sensitivity to language and cultural issues, but also an actual proactive effort to identify those elements, which may be language- or culture-specific. This has to be accounted for in a conversion process from one audience to another.
• Training materials must be relevant to different social groupings, such as parliamentarians, members of the security forces, NGO or community-members. Also, they must make reference to problems associated with SALW proliferation and control for varied social groupings (e.g. women, the poor) and not only with reference to the trainees themselves.
• TRESA modules are deliberately aimed at a generic audience, and are constructed to be as flexible as possible. Notes ensure modules can be converted easily and rapidly to audiences of different cultures, languages, and capacities.
• Modules are delivered in courses - tailored delivery sessions composed often of several modules, and customized for a specific audience, area, or problem.

As part of its design philosophy, TRESA is actively promoting and searching for training material designers with an active interest in SALW-control related issues. We welcome formal proposals for such training materials, and have a record of commissioning training tools from outside consultants and organizations.

If you wish to propose such a training tool: a manual, module or tailored course for a specific audience, feel free to contact us.

You may find it helpful to download the following:

Training Tool Proposal Form

This form is intended for the proposal of all training tools (for example, films, exercises, collections of documents, etc.) that a trainer or someone wishing to conduct an SALW training course might find useful.

Module Proposal Form (in press)

This form is intended for the proposal of a module (a full, stand-alone training session).

TRESA training tools come in a variety of formats to suit various design and delivery imperatives. However, the basic building block is the module.

A module is a deliverable, framed element which includes operative conclusions or examples for the trainee, and didactics (modes of delivery) for the trainer. They consist of a text to be delivered, and all the ancillary teaching material (trainer notes, graphics, evaluation material). Modules are designed to be as generic as possible, so that they can be easily tailored to different audiences.