Food marketing and rural development

University College Cork is now seeking applications for the MBS in Co-operative and Social Enterprise and the Postgraduate Diploma/MSc in Co-operative Organisation, Food Marketing and Rural Development, which recommences in October, 2008. Click here for more information

Ireland's first all island ecotourism conference

The Greenbox, Ireland's first integrated ecotourism destination is delighted to announce that it is holding its second conference in Fermanagh from the 30-31 January. It will cover ecotourism product development, marketing, eco label certification and training on the island of Ireland. The conference content will consist of key themes, issues and recommendations for product development and marketing of ecotourism.This conference will give private businesses, public sector policymakers and communities an opportunity to develop a new future for tourism on the island of Ireland that will be sustainable and will attract a new type of tourist.

Want to upgrade your skills?

The Ulster People’s College (UPC) is offering you the chance improve your knowledge and develop new skills. UPC run a variety of Free courses which are accredited by the Open College Network. They have a range of courses beginning in the next few weeks including, Developing Facilitation Skills, Getting to Grips with the Media, Fundraising and Living with Diversity.

An t-Ionad Glas, the Organic College

An t-Ionad Glas, the Organic College, was founded in 1991 and runs the only nationally certified, full-time and part-time courses in Organic production in Ireland. The College is located in the small country town of Dromcollogher, Co. Limerick, home of the Rural Co-operative movement in Ireland and Britain. Students learn in the classroom and outdoors at the Community Gardens and the Enterprise Acre. The gardens are fully Certified Organic, and are maintained by the students of the Organic Horticulture and Farming Courses on a co-operative basis. The College also runs courses through distance and flexible learning as well as a range of short courses, including weekend seminars, tours, workshops and night classes. For more information about the College and it's courses click here.

Training for transformation

The Partners Training for Transformation, who have been hiding out in Ireland, are an independent agency dedicated to personal, group, organisational and societal transformation through community development work. Partners have been largely involved in cross-border and cross-cultural contexts and have developed considerable international networks. They have recently brought out the publication Partners Intercultural Companion to Training for Transformation: Exercises, Processes, Resources, and Reflections for Intercultural Work. This new resource written by Maureen Sheehy, Frank Naughton, and Collette O'Reagan is a compilation of exercises, processes, resources and reflections used by facilitators over several years. It draws mainly from the experience of PARTNERS’ work in Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland and in a European Grundtvig Learning experience.

Power, Process and Participation

This publication dates back to 1995 and strangely I didn't come across it until a few weeks ago when I was preparing for some postgraduate classes in rural development at Queens and the Rural College. I still found it very useful as an introductory text for students of participation and participatory processes. Before describing a good range of participatory tools that might be considered for facilitating environmental and social change there is an interesting section of 'issues' related to participation. This section covers a range of topics that any participatory practitioner needs to consider at the outset of a participatory process such as the ends and means of participation and the uneven relations of power among participants. There is also a useful six step checklist for those considering using a participatory process.

Social commitment of knowledge

'The Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI) invites the academic community worldwide to participate in the 4th International Barcelona Conference on Higher Education to explore the role of higher education as a key element for human and social development and to rethink and propose new routes for the interchange of values between higher education institutions and society. '

Reinventing higher education: toward participatory and sustainable development

There is growing debate within higher education circles about the relevance of capacity building and enhancement with in universities and colleges in the face of globalisation. Among topics at the top of the agenda are the needs for new forms of learning, new institutional forms that support the attainment of sustainable development. Much of what is relevant to this debate will be discussed at this forthcoming UNESCO conference in Bangkok.

By the way, we are currently in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

Why is the university such a bad place for learning?

Given my interest in alternative learning and learning for transformation I was very much drawn to Denis O'Hearn's inaugural address as the new Professor of Social and Economic Change at Queen's University Belfast. In fact, when I came across an email notice highlighting the lecture I was excited to learn that there was someone within Queen's willing to challenge the role and effectiveness of higher learning institutes (HLIs) as places of learning. And so I set off on the bus from Cookstown for what was an interesting, stimulating an all too short presentation. After briefly covering many of the institutional constraints (elitism, hierarchical structures, social control) that contribute to poor learning within universities Professor O'Hearn moved on to describe a couple of alternative education models. Models that had as their main goal the nurturing and empowering of citizens capable of effecting change and transformation for a better society as opposed to the goals of most HLIs of producing citizens simply for the market and jobs. Some of the examples provided were very interesting and included the Highlander Folk Schools initially established by Myles Horton (for more information check-out the Highlander Research and Education Centre website) and a schooling system in Chiapas based on the Zapatista education system. Finally, Professor O'Hearn described an education programme that was evolved by prisoners in Long Kesh during the troubles. This programme went on to equip many prisoners with the necessary and relevant skills to become leaders and mobilisers for development in their own communities upon release. All case studies described effective bottom-up and participative approaches as useful models for achieving effective education for transformation and which overcome many of the pitfalls in conventional approaches.

Unfortunately the lecture finished all too early and there was no time for discussion (or is it a case of tradition in 'inaugural addresses' not allowing for this?) and I was left with may thoughts and unanswered questions but it was good to know that there is at least one person at QUB embracing alternative approaches to learning.

Having worked at HLIs and encountered many of the limitations and constraints highlighted by Professor O'Hearn I have been involved in programmes that include university students in collaborative and participatory learning with academics, researchers but most importantly the communities where they will work. I have seen first hand the dramatic changes that such collaborative learning can make to those students who eventually become rural development workers and agents of social change. So I suppose the question I wanted to ask most was whether there are any initiatives that involve QUB students (not just from the sociology discipline) as collaborative learners in such programmes.

I also wanted to take the opportunity to highlight the work that the Learning and Teaching for Transformation (LTT) initiative, which I have posted on many times before, is involved in. The programmes Professor O'Hearn described appear to have much in common with the LTT. The LTT has documented many examples, from the global south and north, that demonstrate the impact on social change that alternative, more collaborative and participatory educational approaches can have. The LTT has many useful models that HLIs like QUB could use to improve student learning. And then there is the Community Knowledge Initiative (CKI) at NUI Galway which on paper would appear to be involved in exploring more collaborative and community-based approaches education and learning but unfortunately I do not know much about that programme. If there is anyone reading this and involved in the CKI, maybe they can shed some light on their work.

At the end of the night, I was left with much to think about. I was delighted to know more about Professor OHearn's work. If there are others involved in similar programmes maybe they can share their experiences.

Readers of this post might be interested in my other posting 'Why is the conference such a bad place for learning?

New PhD positions available at ICERTS

The Irish Centre for Rural Transformation and Sustainability (ICERTS) at NUI Galway have 5 new Phd positions up for grabs. Deadline 30th November 2007. Criteria and more information here.

Effective facilitation, have you got what it takes?

A good facilitator is essential for the development of successful participatory process. A massive industry of trainers, consultants and information providers has grown up around facilitation and those who can guide community and stakeholder engagement. Here are some online resources that you might find useful if you find yourself in the role of facilitating groups or meetings or trying to initiate and plan partnerships.

The University College Dublin (UCD) Adult Education Centre has excellent online resources and tips for those working with adult learners. The resources include tips for The Role of the Facilitator and Effective Facilitation. The site also includes additional useful material on other aspects of adult learning.

The Harvard Negotiation Project has an online Facilitation Handbook which has tools and tips for facilitators. Although working in conflict resolution the principles are basically the same. The handbook can also be downloaded as a pdf file.

Student Life at the University of Guelph has some clear and simple tips for Effective Facilitation, as does the University of Michigan.

The Human Rights Education Handbook has excellent sections on The Practice of Facilitation and Strategies for Effective Facilitation.

The Thiagi Group has alot of useful resources that might be valuable to facilitators. It has many freebies including Tips for Facilitators. There is also a section on the Secrets of Successful Facilitators.

The Mental Health Promotion Unit of Canada has a Train-the-Trainer manual that lays down the law in terms of what is required for Effective Facilitation.

Finally, this Training Workshop might be useful for those preparing people to undertake facilitation.

Here are some useful Icebreakers and Energizers that you might use as part of your facilitation.

Of course there is no substitute for getting stuck in and learning from practice and experience.

Here is a quick checklist and 'to do' guide from the FAO that you might want to read before taking the plunge!

Participation on the internet

There is a seemingly endless source of participation-related information on the internet. Obviously no posting of this sort can ever be exhaustive, the web grows like a vine, like mile-a-minute! But the links below are a good place to start. Some of it good, some of it more relevant to rural development than others. Here is a selection of some of the sites I have found useful. Please contact me if you know of additional sites especially those relevant to the local rural development context.

The Participation Group at IDS, University of Sussex supports participatory approaches to development. Their major focus is in supporting South-South sharing workshops, exchange visits and information exchange between practitioners, local people, government workers, NGO and donor staff. The Participation Group also convenes action research projects, disseminates writing, provides training and catalyses and supports participation networks around the world.

The Learning for Sustainability website is a useful resource for rural development practitioners, NGOs and other community leaders working to support multi-stakeholder learning processes to guide sustainable rural development activities.

The University of Wageningen portal on Participatory Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is a useful source of information and tools on most areas relevant to participation.

The Methods and Tools section of the World Bank Participation Sourcebook is a good introduction to the strengths and weaknesses of various participatory approaches, including PRA.

The Participatory Toolkit is a growing group of civil society (NGO) and local government organisations from all over the world, working together to promote participatory local governance.

The FAO Sourcebook on Participatory Processes is a good starting point for anyone interested in participation, why it is important and how to go about it. It has useful modules on: Preparing for Training and Facilitation; Introducing Participatory Approaches - Methods and Tools; Introducing Skills and Techniques to Promote Group Formation; and Introducing Skills and Techniques for Alternative Conflict Management.

For those looking more information on specific tools or approaches click on the links below:

Participant observation; Rapid rural appraisal; Participatory rural appraisal; Participatory Learning and Action;

Happy reading!

learningpoint.ie, a one-stop shop for training needs

'learningpoint.ie is the one-stop-shop about training and development for staff and volunteers working in community and voluntary organisations in Ireland, developed by The Wheel.
Launched in September 2006, learningpoint.ie enables you to access an extensive database of training courses and providers for the Sector, along with everything you need to know about training.'

Give it a go, I found it useful.

The Centre for Global Education, enhancing local awareness of global issues

Recently, I visited the Centre for Global Education (CGE), based in Belfast, which

'was established to provide education services that will enhance awareness and
understanding of international development issues. It aims to use education
as a means of challenging the causes of poverty and inequality in both local and
global contexts.'

CGE, in partnership with the Suas society at Queen's University Belfast, are organising a Global Issues Seminar Series beginning on 11 October and running over eight consecutive Thursdays finishing on 29 November. The seminars cover a variety of topics, including migration, gender and climate change, that will be of relevance to local development workers and help provide a global perspective that can no doubt help influence local practice and social change in Ireland.

The venue for all of the seminars is Room 302b in the Peter Froggatt Centre in Queen's University each Thursday, commencing at 6pm. For more information and a pdf document describing the series contact the Information Officer info@centreforglobaleducation.com. Try to get along, it should be an excellent and informative series.

While on the topic of the CGE, it is also an excellent resource/information centre with a large and accessible library, has web-based resources to support learning in local and global citizenship and offers an Open College Network accredited training course in global youth work with the aim of creating capacity in development education among practitioners in the youth sector in Northern Ireland.

Training for the future

There may be opportunities for those with exceptional leadership qualities and potential to apply for the internship programme at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Check out their Training Young Professionals for Sustainable Development programme

Appreciating and understanding cultural diversity

The Training for Women Network (TWN), Northern Ireland's leading network for the promotion of women's training and development, is running the following 'free' course on the 29th October 2007

Course: Cultural Diversity Awareness Introductory Session
Date: Monday, 29 October 2007
Time: 10am — 4pm
Location: TWN Training Suite, Unit 10b Weavers Court , Linfield Road , Belfast
Cost: FREE (Limited to 20 places)

'It is nowadays incumbent on businesses to have an awareness of the implications
of having a multicultural workforce and the implications of equality legislation
for all employees. A wealth of cultural diversity awareness workshops and
training courses have been designed to assist businesses to manage cultural
diversity and equality issues in the workplace. In this unique 1 day
introductory session the hosts will seek to provide delegates with a wide
ranging overview of the issues that effect today employers based on the various
courses available. This special introductory course is aimed primarily at
frontline staff, business owners, HR staff and managers. The course involves
supporting the indigenous workforce to support multi-ethnic employees and
customers by creating awareness of the needs and customs of specific ethnic
groups. The result is a more informed and aware workforce and a more customer
friendly ethos. To book your free place on this unique course contact TWN on
(90) 319888 or e-mail mailto:events@twnonline.com