Oh yes, I know how to participate

Training can be fun

The last week has found me at Harborne Hall, the VSO training centre in Birmingham, enjoying a very impressive course called 'Skills for Working in Development'. The crux of it is the ability to encourage participation of all stakeholders in the analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation of development projects.

I think VSO should franchise this course to UK-based businesses as it is very good at teaching certain facilitation techniques that I would have found invaluable over the past few years. It even tried to endow me with something called 'listening skills', though that may need a bit more work...

The most empowering element of the course was the fact that we were described as 'Development Workers', encouraging us to think less of our previous professions, or at least make them subordinate to this new description. This was probably easier for me, as an unemployed former entrepreneur (stop giggling at the back), than for a Doctor. It feels a lot more interesting to describe oneself as a Development Worker than a Volunteer for some reason, which probably just proves that I am having difficulty with the status-adjustment that this whole adventure demands.

The course was very inclusive, balanced and gave equal weight to everyone's contribution, but despite that I actually enjoyed it!

One high point was Ellen's story about the Alsation attack dog, but I will cover that in separate blog, if Ellen lets me. Ellen and Joost are a Dutch couple who will also be coming to Indonesia with us, and they are excellent value, so I am sure you will hear their names often in future blogs.