26th & 27th June 2023
The Byke Suraj Plaza in Thane
The Laadli initiative by Population First is dedicated to building a more inclusive and gender-sensitive world that offers women equal opportunities to aspire and achieve. The initiative aims to foster conversations, challenge harmful gender norms, and promote critical thinking to expose the limitations and injustices imposed by these norms, values, and practices. Through our experience, we have realised that gender sensitisation training programs require specific skills from trainers, especially if we
want them to help participants reflect on and recognise their internalised biases and gendered thinking. Effective facilitation skills are essential in providing a respectful and introspective environment that allows individuals to challenge their gender biases and thoughts. Unfortunately, there is a noticeable shortage of skilled trainers to initiate such conversations. Therefore, we must create a pool of trainers to engage various stakeholders in self-reflection. To address this need, the Two-Day Training of Trainers in Facilitation Skills Workshop took place on June 26th and 27th, 2023, at the Byke Suraj Plaza in Thane. This workshop focused on
interactive processes that create a non-threatening and judgment-free space for participants. The training aimed to provide a basic understanding of gender, patriarchy, and their impact on institutions and individuals. It also emphasised the fundamental principles of facilitation skills and offered hands-on experience conducting engaging and interactive sessions. A total of 15 participants from across the country attended the workshop. Dr A L Sharada facilitated the two-day workshop.
Ms Anuja Gulati commenced the workshop by welcoming the participants and introducing them to Laadli's collaboration with UNFPA. She highlighted the organisation's efforts in conducting gender media workshops, recognising positive contributions, fostering an enabling media environment, and establishing media fellowships. Ms Gulati emphasised the importance of developing facilitation skills for conducting gender media workshops and recognising internalised biases. She quoted Richard Fuller, stating, "If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them; instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking." Ms Gulati described facilitation as an art that involves listening to people, enabling introspection, and facilitating experiential learning. She assured the participants that the workshop provided a safe and confidential environment for their growth.
Following Ms Gulati's introduction, Dr A.L. Sharada delivered an introductory address. She emphasised that learning facilitation skills is not only crucial in the context of gender but can also be applied in various training programs. Dr Sharada discussed the significance of gender sensitivity and how prevalent gendered media is in our lives. She emphasised the need to develop and incorporate a gender-sensitive lens into our daily habits. Dr Sharada facilitated several icebreakers to help the participants become more comfortable with each other. One such icebreaker involved participants moving around and introducing themselves to
everyone. Once the time was up, they paired up and discussed an experience from a workshop, a message, or a lesson that had a
lasting impact on their understanding of gender.
Dr Sharada delivered a presentation on facilitation skills and their significance following the introductory address. She discussed the distinction between teaching, training, and facilitation, emphasising that facilitation is a collaborative process involving active participation from both the participants and the facilitator. Dr Sharada encouraged input and comments from the participants to
make the presentation more engaging and interactive. They shared their personal life experiences, posed questions, and provided their insights.
During the presentation, Dr Sharada also highlighted various types of biases that individuals can possess, such as affinity bias, conformity bias, ageism, name bias, and others. She encouraged participants to reflect on incidents where they may have unintentionally exhibited biases. The participants were divided into four groups based on their birth months to foster creativity and expression. Each group was given a specific theme centred around gender: gender and family, gender and religion, gender and media, and gender and education. They were then tasked with expressing their thoughts and perspectives using a range of creative mediums, such as sketches, skits, poetry, and more. This activity allowed participants to explore the assigned themes uniquely and expressively.
During the session, the participants enthusiastically presented their ideas through drawings and some even prepared short skits. The use of various creative mediums made the presentations engaging and interactive. The participants effectively conveyed their thoughts and perspectives, generating lively discussions and encouraging a deeper exploration of gender-related themes.
At the end of Day 1, the participants were left with plenty of food for thought. To further reinforce their learning and practice their newfound skills, the same four groups from earlier were tasked with independently conducting a one-hour session on Day
2. They were tasked with applying the facilitation skills they had learned during the workshop. Each group had the chance to showcase their abilities and lead a session based on the skills and knowledge they acquired on Day 1. This exercise allowed them
to put theory into practice and further refine their facilitation techniques. It also provided a valuable opportunity for participants to take ownership of their learning and share their perspectives with the rest of the group.
The participants gained practical experience in facilitating discussions and engaging their peers through these individual sessions. They demonstrated their understanding of the workshop's core concepts and fostered meaningful conversations within their assigned topics. Overall, this activity on Day 2 contributed to the participants' growth and confidence as facilitators in the realm of gender sensitivity and inclusivity.
A WhatsApp group of the participants was created to create a space to share experiences of facilitation, seek inputs and discuss any issues that they face while facilitating. In conclusion, the Two-Day Training of Trainers in Facilitation Skills Workshop organised by the Laadli initiative of Population First was a transformative experience. Participants gained valuable skills in facilitating gender-sensitive conversations, challenging biases, and promoting inclusivity. The workshop created a safe environment for self-reflection and equipped participants to initiate change in their communities. With their newfound knowledge and commitment, they are well-prepared to contribute to building a more gender-sensitive and inclusive world.