Facilitating Belieforama’s anti-discrimination course in Madrid


By Ine van Emmerik, Extravaleren,
Netherlands;
Catalina Quiroz Niño, Institute
of Cultural Affairs, Spain, June 2012

This article represents the ongoing reflection of facilitators involved in holding Belieforama’s Religious Diversity and Antidiscrimination (RD & AD) courses throughout Europe.     


In the February issue of Winds and Waves (Volume 2, No. 1), we wrote about the Belieforama training programme. The following is from one of the facilitators of a course held in Madrid in December 2011:


We were kindly hosted by Catalina Quiroz Niňo from ICA Spain (IACE, www.iac-es.org).


My German colleague Nina Mühe and I facilitated a 5-day training course with a group of mixed nationalities (Spanish, German, Belgian, Dutch, English, Danish); beliefs (Christian, agnostic, Muslim, Humanist, Buddhist, atheist); professions (education, training, consultancy, academic world); and ages (20 to 60). Given the amount of diversity and professional experience within the group, Nina and I decided that we would be facilitators of peers, which means: taking seriously what participants bring to the floor, giving them the opportunity to steer their own learning process.


Belieforama’s core philosophy is that non-formal education for adults can make a significant contribution to societal change. When human beings are more aware of their personal beliefs and convictions and able to resolve possible conflict with others, they can make a more meaningful contribution in their personal sphere of life and work. This is the basic philosophy behind the pedagogical and didactic flow of the course.


Firstly and very importantly: building the foundation. It is only in a psychologically safe environment that participants can share thoughts and feelings that are very intimate to them and (even more important) confront each other in a constructive way. Starting a course like this by giving space to talk about your hopes and fears enables people to voice their personal needs. In this group, one of the participants suggested starting each day with a moment of silence. In such a diverse group an action like that has many aspects: does the silence feel comfortable to both religious and non-religious? We agreed to explore it by doing it, leaving it open whether we should continue to do it. As it turned out, everyone felt very comfortable with those few minutes of silence each morning.

The second phase, identity, enables participants to reflect upon their own identity: where do I come from, what makes me tick? Conversations on this subject were fascinating to hear, because they show what is often not taken into regard: reflection upon personal beliefs (religious or non-religious) reveals a complex and rich inner panorama and it is sometimes a quest to find words for it. We took our time, which turned out to be worthwhile, because participants felt respected personally and it created an atmosphere of dialogue, which enabled us to enter the third stage of raising cultural awareness, exploring and sharing about daily life practices on religion and belief.


Then we entered the phase where politically correct behavior was challenged. Being respectful and willing to start a dialogue is one thing, but what to do when things get really difficult? What do you do when you literally have to take position on issues that touch your deepest convictions? Because of the foundation that was built by the group, participants were able to reflect upon their own choices, doubts and emotions after an activity. This was even more important in the next stage of “confronting the issues”, where we did a role-play of a little community that had to deal with the issue of a new school, initiated by an external funder. The complexity of these issues “hits participants in the face” so to speak: difficult choices, mixed emotions in action. And of course, afterwards, the burning need for analyzing and solving. We addressed the fact that everyone brought their own talents, experience and emotional involvement to the floor in the exercise of the last phase: social action. How would we be effective and efficient social agents in this situation, accepting what we can and cannot do?

Some remarks about the choices we made as facilitators, both in the phase of preparation before the training and during the week itself. It was very helpful that we agreed upon the basic goals of the training: giving a group of peers the opportunity to explore this issue in an experiential way, empowering them in their role as social agents in their own setting. Our main focus was aimed at building a clear structure for the process, allowing space for exploration for the participants. During the week, there was an ICA Spain sticky wall in the room, showing the structure of the week, activities being turned backwards. Each element was turned round after completion.

 


 


I can’t stress enough the importance of some playful elements for the process, creating space: brief intermissions with energizers, spontaneous singing or reading poetry, making jokes about practical things that went wrong (as they always do, working with an international group in a foreign city). And of course: free time, an afternoon with no program, enabling participants to digest their experiences in the way that suited them best.


There was a clear outline of the program that we worked with, but we assessed every day whether we were on track, whether adaptations were needed. During the fourth day, listening to the group after the role play, Nina and I decided to improvise with an adaptation of the prepared activity, which turned out really well.
  
In their evaluation, participants made clear that the training course had been both informative and inspiring, and that they felt empowered to work on those issues in their working environment. They gave critical and constructive feedback for improvements.


As mentioned at the beginning of this article, ICA Spain acted as a host for the training.  This was the first time that the RD & AD course took place in Madrid. Our reflections will be focused on our learnings from the process of hosting this training.


This hosting opportunity allowed ICA Spain to count on its volunteers. Although they spoke little or no English, French, German or Dutch, they managed to support the hosting activities during the week. 


The participants and trainer-facilitators had to adapt themselves to different coffee and meal times.  This meant spending more time together in an informal setting during meals and snacks, which allowed them to continue interacting and sharing different perspectives about the course.  Participants and trainer-facilitators commented that they felt that this extended their intercultural understanding and learning in a very positive way.


Facilitating these times was as important as facilitating the training itself:  caring for the group, their understanding of the importance of that moment and how they wisely seized it during the week.

Part of the process checklist for hosting the group was:


a) Consider participants’ gender, cultural, educational background, thinking and communicating styles, age range, health and disability status, language proficiency.  For most of them, this was their first visit to Spain.

b) As part of host responsibilities, we chose two cultural visits according to participants´ profile. These were a 1945 Catholic workers’ movement  and an Orthodox synagogue,

  • The Workers’ Brotherhood inspired participants as being one of the only Catholic organizations who managed to have men and women in leadership roles. This parity of responsibility and visibility between the two genders surprised the participants, given the year it was founded and knowing that the movement had a very important influence in social, cultural and political life within Franco´s dictatorship.
  • The second visit was to an Orthodox synagogue, in which hosts really engaged with participants, giving a very personal explanation of Jewish life in Spain; and an emotional witness experience, such as having the Spanish King Juan Carlos asking for forgiveness for the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, in a speech at this synagogue in 1998.

c) The close coordination with the training coordinator of the Belieforama project based in Brussels  (CEJI: www.ceji.org)  and the registration forms gathered by them, helped us to make informed decisions taking into account:

  • Religious affiliation (an optional section to fill in).
  • Current role and responsibility within their work place.
  • Their experience in the inter-religious field and the fight against racism or other forms of discrimination.
  • Their expectations about the course, at a personal and institutional level.
  • Dates and times scheduled for the training and cultural visits.
  • The RD & AD course usually starts Sunday afternoon and finishes Friday midday.
  • Be aware of religious festivals, e.g. Ramadan or any fasting ritual carried out by participants.
  • Prayer times, places of worship for participants as appropriate.
  • Dietary needs or concerns (especially knowing that the offer of vegan and/or vegetarian meals in Spain might be limited compared with other places in Europe).
  • Physical access and or mobility needs

d) Activities that will allow participants to have a live, recorded testimony of their experience, so they can listen to themselves in the future, in this case a radio report which you can hear (in English) at www.belieforama.eu.  The trainers prepared the group for this activity.

e) Participants´ involvement in decisions related to logistics helped to develop their ownership of the course.


Our role was not only as host, but also as coach as the training developed.  There were some participants who where willing to start talking about their future relationship with the project as potential trainer-facilitators in their own countries. Others had the opportunity to clarify their own position and to make decisions about their possible commitment to go through the Belieforama accreditation process designed for those wishing to become accredited Belieforama trainer-facilitators.



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