Through NoMad and Evolve, we regularly run virtual workshops with the same theme. We ‘overprepare for these to go with the flow’ – our facilitator guide running up to 17 pages in length for a 1 hour session. This guide often consists of a ‘menu’ of possible topics. Playing the role of the ‘host’ (which I love of course), I endeavour to understand the needs and preferences of each guest and ask for them to order from the menu. An interactive and fun way to design an agenda. My main experience of this is that, despite the same theme, no 2 sessions are ever the same!
Yesterday, I hosted two sessions – our monthly NoMad strategy session and Evolve’s virtual workshop on ‘Community Engagement’ (or Public Participation) – Getting it Right Today, I will talk a little more on the second session.
The guests who arrived for this session were all delightfully experienced practitioners, which meant that we could take the discussion to a deeper level. The three major themes ordered or added to the menu were, Engaging the Community and Overcoming Apathy, Hearing from the voiceless, The role of power and especially those with power of knowledge (experts) and position
An invitation to a 3 minute brain bender
I invite you to continue and add to this rich discussion here (click on the comment link). As a prompt, here is an exercise that will only take 3 minutes! Grab a piece of paper and divide it into 3. Write one of the three headings in each box:
- Overcoming Apathy
- Hearing from the voiceless (e.g youth, lower literacy)
- Working with positions of power
The question is: What is one bright idea to address each of these themes.
Give yourself 120 seconds and then GO, just write, see what happens. And then please share anything that came up on this blog!