The Resurging Value of Civil Society for Indian Crafts
A Training of Trainers workshop was conducted from September 20 – 24, 2016, in Chanderi’s Raja Rani Mahal (Madhya Pradesh) for the Coordinators and Trainers of DEF’s Community Information Resource Centres (CIRCs) supported by Indus Towers and Vodafone Foundation. The TOT aimed at providing the Coordinators and Trainers with Technical skills required to operate digital portals, managerial tools, monitoring tools, and communication tools needed for the smooth functioning of the centres. It also aimed at orienting the participants on the curriculum, learning tools and implementation plan for English and Digital for Girls’ Education (EDGE) Project funded by the British Council.
The Master Trainers for sessions were a team of experts from the British Council (Nataasha Southwell, Geeta Arora and Monika Koorichh) and DEF (Shahid Siddiqui, Mohammad John, Monica Sharma, Pushpender Singh, Sagar Jena, Hamid Ali and Sharada Kerkar.
Day 1
Day 1 of the workshop aimed at understanding the expectations of the ground staff, areas of problem solving, methods of strengthening community leadership and introducing the staff to the human resource management system (HRMS) portal.
The day commenced with the registration process under which a total of 70 participants enrolled. They were then divided into six diverse groups to facilitate cross-learning. This was followed by introduction activities that were aimed at making all the participants comfortable with each other and creating a space to know a little bit about each other. The session was interactive and involved the creation of a visual representation of one’s name in small groups of three. The participants wholeheartedly described their drawings and engaged with each other to know more their colleagues.
A motivational video, especially made for this workshop, was screened by DEF to show its gratitude towards the ground staff and salute their efforts.
Further, the groups engaged in a chart making exercise to list down the challenges and fears they faced on the field and their expectations from the workshop. Through this exercise, it was noted that maximum challenges and demands were with respect to infrastructure and management tools. The child protection policy of DEF was also discussed as part of the session while queries and doubts regarding the functioning of the HRMS were cleared and discussed with DEF’s HR team in New Delhi via Skype.
Later in the day, the coordinators engaged in singing and playing gamesm which served as great energisers. The day wrapped up with a session on Community Outreach Strategies which unfolded in three parts: Firstly, community mobilisation techniques which aimed at introducing unconventional techniques that could be used to spread awareness on digital literacy, rights and entitlements and other social issues. This was supported with a presentation, a video on ‘Community Mobilisation through Public Art’ and a quick training on the importance of community mapping by Regional Coordinators of the CIRCs.
Meanwhile, a Logo Quiz highlighted the importance of branding in the rural areas and the need for better CIRC promotion techniques. Lastly, to build the individual capacity of the community mobilisers, several situations in a Block Development Officer’s cabin were recreated and participants were asked to tackle the situations like they would in reality.
Day 2
Day 2 of the workshop aimed at updating the participants on new tools and correcting the errors that frequently occurred in the data management, accounting and reporting processes at the centres.
Starting the day with ‘Jargon Ball’ game, a recap of the previous day was conducted. With the aim of improving data management at centres, the updated version of the Management Information Systems (MIS) was introduced to the coordinators, and a step-by-step tutorial was provided. The jargons and terminology used in the MIS were also clarified and definitions cleared. The tool was very well critiqued and questioned by the participants, resulting in a more comprehensive understanding of the tool. Towards the second half the day, the participants refreshed themselves with the ‘7-UP’ game and regional nursery rhymes.
To increase efficiency and bridge the gaps in the entire communication chain (Project Manager-Project In charge-Coordinators/Trainers), a Coordination and Reporting Session was conducted. The coordinators were taught how to structure official emails and follow certain DO’s and DON’T’s while communicating via emails. They were also taught how to name official folders and maintain registers at the centres. This session continued into an accounting session, which included guidelines on billing and travel policy. The participants were involved in an exercise of filling vouchers to test their understanding of the guidelines. A lot of mistakes were corrected; and eventually a model voucher was presented.
The CIRC Project Manager, led the session on ‘Sustainability of CIRCs’ through which he facilitated a discussion on three models of sustainability with the help of other senior coordinators. He also motivated the gathering to incorporate an entrepreneurial mindset while tackling problems on the field. The session was interactive, inspiring and led to the sharing of some best practices adopted across CIRCs.
Lastly, a session on Social Media was facilitated by the coordinators from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh to emphasise on the importance of social media tools and use of local newspapers in CIRC activity coverage. The session indirectly also gave technical knowledge on using Facebook and Twitter. The session was short and well-articulated. In spite of having a packed day, most of the objectives were successfully achieved.
Day 3
Day 3 of the workshop was aimed at introducing the EDGE Project, roles and responsibilities of coordinators and the material to be used as a part of the course. The session started with a baseline test to capture the understanding of the coordinators on the EDGE Project before the delivery of the main content. Following which they gave an outline of the training for the day. After the coordinators were divided into groups, the EDGE material was systematically distributed. Every coordinator was provided with Club Resources Kits, which contained a handbook, a notebook, a pen drive, a stamp with a stamp pad and flashcards. The first half of the day was utilised in explaining each of the resources and how to use it to improve a child’s learning. The participants were made to read and write certain chapters in the handbook which emphasized on the philosophy and objectives of EDGE. After lunch, an English nursery rhyme was performed as an energizer for the gathering. The trainers made sure that English was also the medium of instruction in order to create an environment conducive to English learning. In the afternoon session, a demo class was conducted using flashcards, video tools and PowerPoint presentation to demonstrate an ideal EDGE classroom. The coordinators enjoyed themselves and were slowly feeling confident of using the tools to teach English at the centers.
Day 4 and 5
The last two days of the workshop aimed at learning how to use the teaching tools, giving instructions and practicing demo classroom sessions; and familiarizing the coordinators with the Child Protection Policy of British Council and receiving feedback of the demo sessions.
The TOT saw a large number of participants from around 60 CIRCs across the country, besides staff from the Delhi office. The training ensured a two-way communication method between the facilitators and participants switching from a lecture-mode to that of participative learning. In a number of cases, the participants were made to lead the sessions and share their experiences with respect to the day’s agenda. The coordinators took great ownership of the event and also submitted feedback forms for improvements in the future.
Apart from achieving most of its objectives, the greatest achievement was the environment that was created to nurture cross learning between the CIRC coordinators and facilitate sharing of challenges, solutions and exchange of creative ideas.
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