2019 Training - Participant Reflections
Frederique Thomas
DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS, FONDATION JULES ET PAUL ÉMILE LÉGER
“One of the greatest experiences of my career life so far in terms of learning and life experience…”
The first word that comes to my mind now and sums my experience at the IDIA training is: WOW! It was one of the greatest experiences of my career life so far in terms of learning and life experience.
Why?
Because before the course started…
I had specific expectations of what I wanted to get from this course and maybe it wasn’t the best state of mind to be in. I wanted to learn about innovation technologies that would help us have more impact on the population we are working with or the exact steps to facilitate innovation within my organization.
Because during the course…
I quickly realized that my expectations would be different from what I would be getting from the course. I’ve been working in the international development sector for a while now and all the training courses I’ve followed so far never made me question if we are really trying to change the system or work towards real social/transformative changes.
The content and also the course structure were different. They made sure you were constantly learning from beginning to end with a mix of fun and more in-depth activities throughout the week. These activities took different forms: an ice breaker “who wants to be a billionaire” quiz on the host location, a quiz on “measuring impact” and how it is perceived by everyone or simple simulation of the “Price is right” on pressing international development issues.
The training was set in a way to make sure you were engaged through the whole week. My journey over the week was punctuated by highs and lows in term of energy, discomfort, confusion, but lots of learning. I think that this state allowed me to question our work. The training challenged my basic thinking, assumptions or practises as an organisation and the sector.
Moreover, the different teaching sessions and the quality of the faculty showed us the diversity of expertise working all hand in hand towards one goal. From a presentation of what’s happening right now in the landscape of innovation approaches to discussions on systems change through measuring impact, storytelling in an impactful way or an NBI assessment to better know oneself, the days were full of emotions and learnings.
Furthermore, there was good balance between teaching sessions, learnings into practise and time allowed for case studies and group discussions during our home base time get togethers.
Because after the course…
If I can draw a parallel, when I left Harnosand, my feelings about the course were the same as when you have mixed feelings after watching a movie. You don’t really know if you liked it or not. But then, the movie has a long-term effect on you. You start thinking about it for days, its real meaning and that's how you finally understand that it affected you in some way.
I felt the same after the course. I knew it had triggered something inside me, but I couldn’t be sure what exactly. But, after multiple debriefs with my team and through discussions with others, I came to realize that it had affected me, and my thinking more than I thought. I really questioned our approaches and analyzed them to measure what impact our actions really have on our target population. And, I am developing a workshop for my organization so my colleagues could question themselves and how way of working as I have.
So, if you want to live an experience out of the traditional training context, if you want to meet people from all over the world all working and trying to make a better impact on vulnerable populations, if you want to have a chat or great discussions with a diversity of voices and experiences, then I strongly suggest this course. You will make great friends and develop strong bonds for life.
