| |
| |
You are here: Frontpage > Issues > 2456 >
|
|
We've probably all been there ... rolled up to a workshop onsome vaguely interesting topic, hoping for enlightenment and an opportunity to develop our skill and understanding, andwalked away feeling tired, uninspired and unengaged. But workshops can also be a fantastic forum for sharing, learningand developing our activist selves. Janet Kilburn highlights some ups and downs.
So you want to run a workshop?
Janet Kilburn
We all have something to share and sometimes the most effective way ofimparting information, offering and combining this with opportunities forsafe discussion and exploration, is via a workshop format.In my experience, workshop organisers often forget that participants are supposedto do some "work"! and session are often very loosely structured, with no clear andspecific outcomes expected. This can be extremely frustrating: being precise aboutwhat's on offer, or pinning down what participants want from the process, isoften overlooked.
So, if you are planning on creating andfacilitating a workshop, here are a few tips.
Developing
- Consider whether the focus is on trans-mitting/sharing information, developing practical skills through a process ofhands-on experience, or on using a process to develop something new (eg acampaign strategy).
- Developing dynamic, participatory ses-sions can be a challenge--especially if the topic is weighty. So include tasks thatoblige participants to get involved (eg games, tasks or challenges that make peo-ple move around).
- Create sessions of a fixed length--morethan 1.5 hours is usually too much. Noone wants to go to something that coulddrag on for weeks!
- If it is going to cost money (eg for avenue, materials, travel, etc) sort out your budget and work out any participant feesbefore you publicise!
Publicising
- Be clear what the workshop is about,how long it is, and who might be particularly keen to attend.
- Try to ensure your venue is as accessible as possible and make this clear in anypublicity.
- Be prepared for people to want moredetails before they show up.
Introducing
- Develop a transparent structure andtransmit this information clearly to participants.
- Make sure you tell people the "house-keeping" arrangements at the venue.
- If you are going to suggest "rules" forgroup interactions (eg, listen, hands-up, no alcohol, or whatever) makes sure theseare clear, that there is time to discuss them and there is a space for participantsto add/remove rules before the session gets going.
- Give participants opportunities to seekclarification on process.
- Be clear what the expected outcomesare at different stages.
Facilitating
- Give participants time and opportunityto digest.
- If participants agreed to "rules", remind them (nicely!) when they are broken.
- Try to stick to agreed timescales; it isyour job to keep the process moving.
- Make the session safe and inclusive,look out for people who are reluctant to participate and make it easy for them todo so if they wish (this can be a particular issue in mixed workshops, when outwardlyconfident men take up a lot of space).
- Be prepared for critical evaluation ofyou and your workshop.
- Listen to participants and learn fromyour experience.
When it all goes wrong
Developing and facilitating workshops that work well and result in positive,happy and empowered activists, is hard work. And it can all go a bit wrong (beprepared for this experience!). For example: I was invited to do an "introduction
to NVDA" session with a group of peopleinvolved in a London anti-war coalition last year, and while not an unmitigateddisaster, the audience's obsession with strike action as the only valid meansmade them difficult to work with. I came away feeling tired and dispirited and theyprobably left feeling as though they had wasted an hour or so and had failed toconvince me of the singular value of striking. While the event organisers and Iknew, participants had not been told exactly what was on offer until the sessionopened, and this made a huge impact.
Try again!
But like most things, the more you organise and try things, the better youget at doing them. I certainly learnt from my experience and it has empowered meto be stricter in future about what I offer and to whom.
There are loads of workshop plans already out there and available for re-use.You can learn many more tips and tricks from them and the experience their cre-ators have had. So if you are planning a workshop, try and spend some time tak-ing a look at what other people have done and what worked worked for them.
And finally, remember: workshops can be great, but to make them really greatthey have to be approached by all parties with "work" in mind!
Janet Kilburn is an occasional Peace News contributor.
|
|
|
|
