{"id":26738,"date":"2018-01-19T14:41:18","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T13:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/?p=26738"},"modified":"2018-01-19T14:43:07","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T13:43:07","slug":"how-to-do-workshops-better-if-you-have-to-do-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/how-to-do-workshops-better-if-you-have-to-do-them\/","title":{"rendered":"How to do workshops better (if you have to do them)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Regional INS Workshop: A workshop we \u2018did\u2019 even though we \u2018don\u2019t\u2019<\/h2>\n

As a rule, we don\u2019t go to workshops. Well, some of us do, but only in moderation and definitely not as a priority. In fact, I have a personal fear of becoming another serial panel member who frustratedly contributes dated and increasingly less relevant inputs to the Communicating with Communities \u2018echo-chamber\u2019. Many of us in the team know at least one of these stale \u2018usual suspects\u2019 \u2013 to the extent that \u2018guess the panel member\u2019 isn\u2019t a fun game anymore. In this world, I speak for refugees rather than with them. The irony then to recently find myself on a plane to Nairobi, about to fly several thousand miles to participate in a regional workshop. As is human nature, during the flight, I began to rationalise my attendance \u2013 was I complicit in fuelling the workshop \u2018machine\u2019? Thankfully, throughout the 2-and-a-half-days, I realized that this workshop felt comfortably and complexly different. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n

Knowledge sharing: Beyond Tokenism<\/h2>\n

The Instant Network Schools Regional Workshop was held in Nairobi this November (2017) and led by UNHCR in collaboration with our partner the Vodafone Foundation<\/a>. The Instant Network Schools<\/a> project runs across 30 \u2018instant classrooms\u2019 in DRC, Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania. It brings connectivity, learning equipment, capacity building, and online content to students, teachers and parents, and was designed in collaboration with the Vodafone Foundation. The project started in 2014, in Dadaab Refugee Camp Kenya, now more operations \u2013 including Ethiopia \u2013 hope to start INS activities in 2018. The project directly engages refugees as \u2018INS coaches\u2019 who work in the centres and support teachers to leverage technology in their classes. Uniquely, this was the first regional workshop I\u2019d attended where refugees travelled from across the region to participate \u2013 joining partners and UNHCR staff to share their knowledge and experiences.<\/p>\n

Refugees from over 7 nationalities joined the workshop, including from Somalia, Sudan, and DRC. I\u2019ve always been a proponent for practitioner-to-practitioner knowledge sharing (in this case refugee-to-refugee); advocating that teams can exchange practical problem-solving tips and swap creative ideas and solutions. However, until Nairobi, I\u2019ve been espousing the idea without actually seeing it work in practice. On paper it seems like a good idea, but is it worth the investment? In short: Yes. The enthusiasm and interest of meeting INS peers was palpable amongst the participants. As INS coaches shared their challenges there were clear commonalities in the difficulties teams were facing. This helped generate a collective empathy and understanding of what \u2018might work\u2019 when it comes to solutions. There was also a healthy and noisy sense of competition \u2013 if the Kakuma team can run girl-focused boot-camps then why can\u2019t the Dadaab crew? When the Tanzania corner explained how they have developed French language exam papers, of course, the DRC centres wanted to prove they can use these too.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d only met a few of the participants before, so everyone was new to me. For most people, it was also their first time to meet the other teams. While everyone was wearing name badges (quickly fashioned out of masking tape), nobody wrote their role or job title. This was great. It was impossible to determine who was a coach, who was a project manager, who worked with UNHCR directly or as a partner. This helped eliminate some of the challenges we face with refugee-participation. There were no \u2018and now let\u2019s hear from a refugee\u2019 moments \u2013 no delineation between an \u2018our voice\u2019 and a \u2018their voice\u2019. This was my first experience of \u2018meaningful\u2019 participation from refugees at the workshop level, and definitely something I would push for again.<\/p>\n

Simple on paper, challenging in practice<\/h2>\n

So, it\u2019s simple then. Bring refugees to Nairobi. Share learning. Repeat. No: the administrative feat of this task should not be underestimated. None of the refugees traveling had a passport, so all those crossing international borders required a CTD<\/a>. A Convention Travel Document, which needs to be issued by the state where each refugee is currently resident. This in itself involves challenges, from experience UNHCR notes that \u201ccertain governments do not issue CTDs to refugees\u201d and that restrictive practices can significantly impede refugee movements. In short, it is not a given that a state will issue one, nor the receiving state will accept it (even though there are specific limited grounds for refusal outlined in the 1951 Refugee Convention). In practice, this means that the preparation for a workshop like this is absolutely key, and involves a host of stakeholders. I\u2019ve not attended a workshop where I\u2019ve seen this level of effort dedicated to bringing participants in \u2013 the contrary in fact, where keynote speakers from the \u2018global south\u2019 often fail to attend because of visa challenges.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In November, it nearly didn\u2019t work. Despite the preparation efforts at regional and country level, the teams from South Sudan and Tanzania were initially denied entry. In part due to increased security restrictions in East Africa. This is a reflection of the prevailing security environment there and the need for further verifications and checks before the refugees were authorised to enter. This lead to stressful hours both for our teams at the airport, and for our tenacious Administration staff rapidly pulling together the final paperwork. Experiencing this, very much by-proxy, made me appreciate again my freedom of movement, and how critical it is that refugees\u2019 ability to travel outside their normal country of residence is maintained. We also learnt a lot about the process as a team, this is something we\u2019d not previously attempted. With support from regional colleagues, it was very much \u2018learning by doing\u2019. Definitely worth it and, with hopefully a smoother process, we\u2019re already planning a workshop follow-up in 2018.<\/p>\n

Beyond the workshop<\/h2>\n

Another key \u2018difference\u2019 with this workshop has been how the interactions and sharing have continued amongst participants post-workshop. During the two-and-a-half days, a WhatsApp group was created with the majority of attendees registered. While this had a logistical objective to begin with, it has become an ongoing forum for knowledge sharing. It\u2019s now over two months since the workshop, and participants are still using the group to share screen-shots for troubleshooting, exchange photographs of boot-camps for inspiration and more generally continuing to foster an online \u2018INS community\u2019. It\u2019s interesting to note how the conversations on the WhatsApp group reflect the interactions within the workshop. Again, people are present by their name and their number only \u2013 not their role or \u2018status\u2019.<\/p>\n

I wish I knew \u2018how\u2019 this happened, as this type of post-workshop engagement is something I\u2019ve tried to sustain in the past \u2013 and never with such success. On reflection, there are a number of assumed enabling factors \u2013 including a common \u2018starting point\u2019 for each participant (everyone works on the INS project), as well as a shared understanding of the inherent challenges. These, combined with a genuine interest in other team\u2019s contexts, have helped keep the WhatsApp group \u2018alive\u2019 \u2013 and we still use it as an effective way of updating the team across the region.<\/p>\n

Mind the gender gap<\/h2>\n

Despite these \u2018differences\u2019, there were several elements which echoed the challenges of previous workshops I\u2019ve attended. Perhaps the most significant, particularly for workshops with a focus on ICT, would be the limited participation of women. We had some great female representatives, who were extremely passionate and dedicated \u2013 as well as male colleagues and coaches who worked to specifically target and engage women in online learning activities. That said, there were only a handful of female participants in the room. Those that joined were encouraged to contribute, and were listened to by their peers \u2013 the challenge seems to be: getting in the room in the first place.<\/p>\n

If we are to successfully ensure that all groups in our communities have access to the INS centres, and can benefit from connected learning opportunities this needs to be addressed as a priority. We should continue to work with communities to find ways to meaningfully engage women in ICT activities and ensure that workshops where programming decisions are taken are relevant and accessible for everyone.<\/p>\n

Workshopping in 2018?<\/h2>\n

So, we do go to workshops \u2013 but with caveats. The benefits of my Nairobi experience help define a set of questions that could determine our participation in workshops in 2018.<\/p>\n