Basic Workshop on the Learning to Live Together manual in Kathmandu, Nepal

Hello, 

My next two posts are related to the wonderful trip I did to Nepal in September.  This first post is about the Workshop on the Learning to Live Together manual for educators in Kathmandu from 15 to 17 September.  The second post will be about historical places in the Kathmandu valley and a trip to Pokhara, with some reflections about cultural traditions.  

The workshop was organized by the Peace Education Network of Nepal (PENN) in cooperation with GNRC South Asia and Arigatou International.  We had 26 participants mostly coming from the UNESCO Associated Schools Network, some of them teachers and others principles of schools interested to implement ethics education programs and to learn more about intercultural and interfaith learning.

 With the facilitators team - (from left to right)- Suchith, Malu, Sam, Sanu and Kul

I facilitated the workshop with four wonderful people:  Suchith who is the GNRC Asia Secretariat Coordinator, one of my best friends, and with whom I have worked several times.  We know each other for almost eight years, we have different ways of facilitating and we complement each other very well.  Suchith is more practical and I am more holistic thinking, looking at different factors and trying to understand why things fail or succeed to have a better outcome.  Suchith connects the dots in my brain through his practical way of thinking and fast-paced need to make this happen.  

The other three facilitators participated in the Train the Trainers course we had in Sri Lanka in August.  Sanu is a member of PENN, a teacher by profession and principal of a school in Kathmandu.  Sanu was responsible for making this workshop happen.  She was in charge of all logistics, invitations and coordinated the PENN team to make sure everything was in place for a successful workshop.  Sam works for Sarvodaya in Nepal and was fully involved in the content preparation.  Kul is a PENN member, finished his Master degree in peace studies and now works with an NGO working on democratic processes.  The three of them played a great role in creating a proper learning atmosphere, connecting to the local reality and environment, and bringing different ideas to the facilitation process.  We made a great team together and I am happy we connected so well.

On my first day in Kathmandu we visited the Hindu Vidyapeeth school headed by Chintanami Yogi, who is a member of the GNRC and its representative in Nepal.  We met Vishnu ji and Ghanshyam Yogi, who are teachers of the school and we also had the opportunity to meet some of the students, talk about their experiences and learning. 

Here (from left to right) Jagannath, one of the youth who participated in the Youth for Peace Workshop in Tanzania in 2010.  Chantani Yogi, founder of the school.  Sahara, one of the youth who participated in a workshop we had in Sri Lanka in 2008.  Aashrita, another youth who participated in the workshop we had in Sri Lanka.  Vishnuji whom I met in Sri Lanka as well and one of the teachers of the school.

After a couple of days preparation with the facilitators' team, we started the workshop with an opening ceremony that brought together the participants, PENN members, children from Sanu's school, UNESCO Associated Schools representative in Kathmandu and the Secretary of Education in Nepal. 

 

Children from Sanu's school prepared a special performance, representing different religious traditions.  They danced and sang very beautifully and with their innocence they reminded the participants about the important role of creating quality education systems and programs that provide them with the possibility to learn from one another and learn to respect each others' beliefs and traditions.

I gave a short speech as representative of Arigatou International about ethics education and intercultural and interfaith learning.  I talked about the importance of critical thinking and creating environments that allow children to develop their capacity to make well-grounded decisions.  

 

Participants shared their learning expectations in terms of the kind of content they would like to deepen and share their experiences about.  We collected them and made sure that we gave space to meet those expectations every day through different methodologies. 

On the first afternoon, after a long opening ceremony, we gave an introduction of the manual and then asked participants to look at the different kiosks that comprised the learning modules.  They discussed the content of the kiosks, what it means for them and what are the main elements that are important in each kiosk.  It was a challenging afternoon, since it was the first day, many of the things were new for the participants, though for many they had good experience working on similar topics.  It was challenging to discuss what seems obvious and still find depth in topics and words that we use, sometimes, on daily basis.   

  

On the second day we had a session about child rights and the reality of children in Nepal according to participants' knowledge and experiences.  Participants went through the Convention on the Rights of the Child to reflect on which articles are properly protected in Nepal and which ones still need to be promoted, protected and understood better.  We found contradictions and difficulties applying some of the articles in the Nepali context but also found ways to apply some of them in schools settings and to raise awareness as educators.  Though it was difficult in the beginning to create a genuine dialogue with the participants, we managed to discuss meaningful topics and stop to listen to one another.

 

 

 Some of the participants discussing the right of children to participate fully in society and about issues concerning bullying in schools.

We had a Talk Show about spirituality and interfaith learning run by the participants themselves.  They engaged in dialogue about key questions regarding how to nurture spirituality in children and how to promote interfaith learning spaces.  They challenged each other with questions and made connections between spirituality and ethics. 

To finalize the day, participants reflected about their different points of view and the importance of respecting others' beliefs and ideas.  It was a very interesting exercise that sometime became heated but supported the individual learning process and the creation of respectful dialogues.  At the end participants were briefly introduced to different methodologies applied in the Learning to Live Together manual.

The last day started with a morning reflection through an exercise to put ourselves in the place of the other.  Participants were blind-folded and were asked to walk around aware of the space, the other and themselves.  There were laughs, fear, discomfort, easiness and discovery.  When they were asked to take off their blind folds they found another person in front of them.  They looked at each other for some time and engaged in a short dialogue with the other person.  Together we discussed the importance of looking at others' inner selves, of putting ourselves in children's shoes, of the difficulties trying to understand the other and going beyond what our eyes see and can perceive.  

 After the blind-folded exercise, participants were asked to walk around the room to write on flipcharts the kind of techniques and/or activities we used during the workshop and to which methodology they belong to.  Since the Learning to Live Together workshops are participatory and experiential, participants can better internalize the methodologies through the exercises they go through and can link it better to their own experiences. 

The techniques and activities written under introspection-based methodologies

On the last day we asked participants to work in groups and prepare a session based on the Learning to Live Together manual.  They had to select one of the learning modules, a kiosk, define the objectives, select a methodology and technique and prepare and activity.  Two groups had to actually do the activity with the other participants and the other groups had to present it. 

One of the groups that facilitated their session chose an activity called the Silhouette, that can be found in the manual.  This is an introspective-based activity to put ourselves in others' shoes. 

 

 

Each part of the silhouette relates to a feeling, a desire, an action, a though, etc.

The second group prepared an activity based on cooperation.  Participants had to cross a fictitious river full of crocodiles by stepping on stones and working together.  It was a very exciting activity where participants had the chance to reflect about the skills needed to work together.  

The other groups presented their sessions.  All of them were very creative and all participants gave feedback and inputs to their learning process. 

We were very happy to see the type of activities selected, the creativity put and the team work

Participants also had the time to do some energizers, which served not only to raise the energy level but also as examples to be used with children and youth.

At the end of the day participants had time to reflect about the different values promoted in the Learning to Live Together manual and what they mean for them.  The purpose of the exercise was to internalize the process they went through, reflect on their role as educators and as models for children and youth.

Participants went through different areas and went through some questions.  They reflected individually and took the time needed for themselves.

At the end of the workshop, PENN members presented a plan to follow up the workshop, to engage participants in a longer term process and to establish a group of trainers on the Learning to Live Together manual in Nepal.  This was a very clear and concise plan that will allow them to work towards their goal to implement the manual in schools in the country.  I am already looking forward to learning more about the next steps and results.

We closed the workshop with a mandala where participants put their learning, challenges and experiences they took with them from the workshop.  It was a very significant and bonding exercise, where we expressed our gratitude and commitment to continue working for and with children and youth.

Participants receiving their certificates during the closing ceremony.  PENN members were also present.

Group photo!

It was a very interesting, challenging and rewarding workshop.  The last I did with Arigatou International.  I am grateful for this opportunity to learn about different working styles, cultural differences in learning processes and shape myself through the interaction with people of different beliefs, walks of life and backgrounds.  What a great experience.  Thank you!

Peace,

Malu