Aitoliki Development Enterprise S.A. organized two community workshops

The 8th Module of the curriculum for community coaches involved the actual implementation of a community workshop or meeting in cooperation with the country specific facilitators, the role of whom is to coach and support participants during community workshop/meeting implementation.  In fact coaches organized 2 Community Workshops, due to the fact that the participation in the first one was very low and it would be difficult otherwise to reach the target of a minimum of 30 participants.

The 1st one was held on the 17th May 2019, at the Premises of Aitoliki Development Agency S.A. This location was selected since the communication with local stakeholders showed that it would be easier for them to come to the premises of the Agency, rather than looking for another convenient venue in the fragile communities. Participation reached the number of 10 persons and its duration was 2 hours. The specific event was disseminated via e-mail and a press release in the website and after the end of the session, its 10 participants were asked to evaluate the organization and content of the event.

The 2nd one was held on the 27th May 2019, at the Premises of Aitoliki Development Agency S.A. as well. Participation reached the number of 22 persons and its duration was 4 hours. The specific event was, also, disseminated via e-mail and a press release in the website and after the end of the session, its 22 participants were asked to evaluate the organization and content of the event through a specific questionnaire suggested by the University of Bifrost.

The methodology used for both Workshops was the Open Space Methodology, which foresees discussions in a circle, without a specific agenda, following 4 guiding principles (“ Whoever comes to OS is the right person, all are equal”, “Whenever it starts it’s the right time”, “When it‘s over it‘s over”, “Whatever happens is right” and the “Law of two feet”, which means that if someone feels that he/she is neither contributing nor learning, he/she is free to walk away and be productive, a “law” that works when we, reflect honestly, think openly and share openly, trust the process to better our self and our community.

As mentioned above, discussion did not follow a specific agenda, there was, however, a main subject to discuss, “The existing development situation of the area and its evolution potential”, which was decided by coaches during the previous Module session. Participants had the opportunity to express their ideas to further discuss, which were prioritized and every single issue was discussed as long as needed. The specific ideas that were discussed were the following:

  • Infrastructure
  • Primary sector production
  • Secondary sector
  • Social policy
  • Tourism
  • Cultural environment
  • Natural environment
  • Women entrepreneurship
  • Voluntarism

Record was kept for all issues, while for those that were considered most critical by participants, they planned their resolution.