Changemaker

Just a few days after the Kisumu workshop, the energy, enthusiasm and ideas collected crossed borders to feed the Changemaker project in Burkina Faso. In Ouagadougou, in a room animated by an atmosphere of curiosity and motivation, the first refresher session of the entire country team was held. It brought together not only the national coordination team, but also the qualitative team that would play a central role in facilitating the co-design workshops. The objective was i) to update the entire team on the main advances and lessons learned from the Kisumu workshop, ii) to contextualize the tools developed in order to adapt them to the local realities of Burkina Faso and iii) to train the facilitators on the approaches, tools and methodologies to be deployed during the pilot phase and the upcoming co-design workshops.

The workshop began with words of welcome by Dr. Ouili Idrissa. Strong encouragement was given, insisting on the need to maintain this collective dynamic and rigor to achieve the objectives set. This introductory message, imbued with both recognition and motivation, created a climate of trust and enthusiasm, conducive to learning and collaborative work.

During the workshop, lessons learned from Kisumu were revisited and contextualized. What adjustments are needed on the tools and the approach to have better results in the Burkinabe context? What are the understandings about the terms in the tools developed? What is the best translation of terms into French and local languages? So many points were addressed and discussed.

The participants were still inspired by the exchanges experienced in Kisumu. The exchanges alternated between theoretical presentations, interactive discussions and practical applications for the facilitation of co-design workshops, note-taking, the realization of PhotoVoices, and individual interviews. The discussions also focused on the challenges to be anticipated in the local context such as the availability of participants, the management of expectations, the optimal organization of pilot activities and the organization of teams. Each step allowed participants not only to learn new skills, but also to ask very concrete questions related to their future role in the field, “How to facilitate the participation of young people?”, “What posture to adopt as a neutral facilitator?”, “What instructions to give for a successful PhotoVoice? – among other questions.

Each participant left with an educational kit including tools, methodological guides and a clear roadmap defining their responsibilities in the preparation and facilitation of the activities. Furthermore, they were equipped to form practical teams ready to multiply the impact of the project with clear objectives. This workshop was not only a technical training, but also an important milestone in the process of deploying the Changemaker project in the field.