Designing Participatory Workshops

Designing Participatory Workshops

Facilitation skills are required in many different contexts whenever people come together to work, discuss, plan, evaluate, solve problems or share experiences. This course is very hands-on in character and will emphasize how to design and conduct participatory workshops, meetings, short trainings or other group sessions with simple but effective tools and techniques. We will reflect on the roles, competencies and responsibilities of facilitators. Some basic knowledge on the creation of effective learning environments and on working with adults will be given to better understand how to design lively, dynamic and participatory workshops.

We will create our “facilitation toolbox” to discuss how to use methods and tools and adapt them according to different objectives, contexts and phases of interactive workshops. We will also practise some methods and techniques like different forms of brainstorming, group work settings, workshop design steps as well as the use of icebreakers and energizers. The course is directed to beginners without or with first experience in the design and facilitation of workshops.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course participants

  • have a better understanding of how to plan, prepare and conduct participatory and dynamic workshops in different settings;
  • are able to use tools from the facilitation toolbox and have practised their visualization skills, energizers, different forms of brainstorming and the facilitation plan;
  • feel more confident to facilitate first workshops (or parts of it) and are motivated to further improve their skills.

Course Content:

  • Responsibilities, skills and attitudes of workshop facilitators
  • Planning and preparing workshops and learning environments
  • Facilitation toolbox: reflection on methods and tools for different phases
  • Workshop phases from beginning to closure with practical exercises
  • Visualization skills and flipchart design
  • Icebreakers, warm-ups and energizers
  • Handling difficult situations in workshops
  • Principles of adult learning

Preliminary course programme 2019

We welcome professionals working in international cooperation, in public administrative bodies and institutions, in the academic field, in NGOs or in the private sector as well as graduates and students with relevant professional experience.

Our short intensive courses promote learning through experience: 'Learning by doing' is the most important aspect of the SLE's training and teaching philosophy. Case studies, teamwork and other interactive methods create a learning environment in which participants can bring their own experience and link it to new topics and applications, addressing global and local development challenges. Course participants have different cultural backgrounds and professions which add to an intercultural and interdisciplinary exchange of experiences within an enabling learning environment. After having participated actively in the course, you will receive a certificate of attendance issued by SLE and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Further information and online enrolment: https://www.sle-berlin.de/index.php/en/training/sle-training-2019/apply-now

We are looking forward to receiving your application!

Vorankündigung, Flyer, Broschüre, etc.