Month: April 2024

It was not easy to choose who would take part in the visit: we received seventy applications from teams of two, from whom we eventually selected eleven pairs to take part in the trip and who will go to Utøya not only to learn about the work of local educators and the experience of rebuilding the island’s identity after the tragic events of 2011, but also to work on their ideas and the challenges they face in their work in aid of dialogue, counter-radicalisation and remembrance.

The organisations whose representatives will be invited to take part in the trip are:

• EduKABE Foundation for Creative Solutions with Women’s Association Lodz,
• Autonomy Foundation,
• Bezkres Foundation,
• Fruit of the Meeting Foundation,
• Borussia Foundation,
• Common Forms Foundation,
• Shtetl Foundation Mszana Dolna,
• Actions for Peace Laboratory – Salam Lab,
• The Polish Platform for Homeland Security,
• Witold Dynowski Ethnographic Workshop Association,
• Subcarpathian Association for Active Families

All the organisations on the list above will be contacted in the coming days to work out the logistical details of the trip.

We are organising the visit as the Active Citizens Fund – National Programme in cooperation with the Active Citizens Fund – Regional Programme.

Individuals from civil society organisations who are active in their local communities, particularly in facilitating discussions on issues of common interest, and those who specialise in issues related to social divisions, are invited to participate in the training.

NOTE: The workshop will mainly include elements from the courses on the basics of dialogue and dialogue facilitation conducted by the Nansen Centre for Peace and Dialogue, and is therefore not intended for people who have already completed other courses provided by NCPD trainers, e.g. under the programme “Turn off the Ego, Understand the Other Person” or the project “How to talk? Fostering Information Literacy as a Core Competence for Informed Citizenship in Participatory Democracy”, implemented by FRSI under the Active Citizens Fund – Regional Programme, or training organised directly by NCPD.

The workshop will address topics such as:

• Dialogue and facilitation: dialogue as a method, perspective and approach, introduction to the role of the facilitator(s) and their tasks;
• Active listening and asking the right questions;
• Creating a safe space for dialogue;
• Conducting public dialogue.

The workshop will take the form of training (interactive) and, in addition to providing an introduction to understanding what dialogue is and how to create the conditions for it, it will also enable the participants themselves to practice facilitating (conducting) dialogue .

The training will be conducted by Christiane Seehausen (Nansen Centre for Peace and Dialogue) and Agata Urbanik (Facilitation Support, graduate of the NCPD dialogue facilitation courses).

The Nansen Centre for Peace and Dialogue (Nansen Fredssenter) is a peace, dialogue and human rights institution based in Lillehammer, Norway. The core work of the NCPD is to create spaces for dialogue across conflict lines. Its working methodology and approach to dialogue is the result of more than thirty years of practical experience in Norway and internationally. NCPD runs educational programmes and courses on dialogue and conflict transformation, facilitates dialogue between conflict parties by working directly with them, and organises public dialogue on topical issues in Norway and with international partners.

For more information on NCPD’s approach to dialogue, please visit the organisation’s website.

Logistics:

• The workshop will take place on two dates (of your choice): 7-11 October 2024 (in Warsaw) and 21-25 October 2024 (in Gdansk). Each course will have the same programme and speakers – a person can only attend one of the training dates.
• Please state all dates and locations that suit you on the application form. We will invite you to attend the workshop on one date in accordance with your preference indicated on the application form, but if you are able to attend on either of the dates – this will enable us to be flexible in assigning people to the workshop groups.
• To participate in the workshop, you must commit to attending the full five days of training (approximately seven hours per day).
• The workshop will be held in English, but simultaneous PL/ENG translation (via headphones) will be available. Please indicate this requirement on the registration form.
• The workshop is free of charge: The organisers will cover the costs of travel to the training venue, accommodation on site (for those living elsewhere on a daily basis) and meals on all days of the workshop.

How to apply:

If you would like to attend the training, please complete the application form [here] by 15 May this year.

NOTE: Completion of the form does not guarantee a place on the training. If there are more applications than places available, the organisers will select trainees on the basis of the information provided on the application form, with the primary aim of ensuring that they represent a variety of organisations and the diversity of issues they cover.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact the bilateral and regional cooperation coordinators:

• Anna Fedas (Active Citizens Fund – National, [email protected], tel. +48 22 536 02 41) and/or
• Ewa Stokłuska (Active Citizens Fund – Regional, [email protected], +48 720 801 013).

Has your project with a foreign partner come to an end? Do you want to take stock of what went well and what did not go as planned and expected? Would you like to draw conclusions from the cooperation in order to better prepare for the next time, to make effective use of its benefits, but you do not have the opportunity and resources for such an educational and evaluation activity? Come to a workshop we are organising to take stock of international cooperation.

Dear Project Promoters of the Active Citizens Fund – National and Active Citizens Fund – Regional programmes, we would like to offer you an opportunity to jointly summarise your international cooperation (bilateral and/or regional) concluded or ongoing, under our programmes – whether part of bilateral/regional initiatives or in in a project conducted with a partner from Donor States and/or Beneficiary States.

The workshop will take place on 5-6 September 2024 in Warsaw and is free of charge for promoters of the Active Citizens – National Fund and Active Citizens – Regional Fund programmes and their project partners (we will cover the costs of travel, accommodation in Warsaw and meals during the workshop – also for a representative of foreign partners). The workshop will be held in English (no translation).

The objectives of the workshop are:

• to take stock of the cooperation with the foreign partner,
• to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the partnership in terms of the expectations of those involved,
• to try to determine why expectations are not being met, as well as possible misunderstandings in the partnership,
• to plan internal changes and other strategic activities (e.g. fundraising, how to talk to partners) to prepare for further collaboration with a foreign organisation as effectively as possible.

The workshop will be conducted by facilitators with experience in international cooperation, who will conduct the workshops to the highest standards (including confidentiality, respect and sensitivity to cultural differences, etc.).

We invite one person representing a Polish organisation and one person representing a foreign partner with whom you have implemented a project or initiative to participate in the workshop. The participation of a person representing a foreign partner is not a prerequisite for participation in the workshop, but such applications will be given priority.

If you would like to participate – please complete the application form [here].

One application (completed form) should list both people – representing the organisation and its partner.

Applications will be accepted until 5 May and you will be informed of your eligibility by 13 May.

NOTE: Completion of the form does not constitute admission to the workshop. Priority will be given to those organisations that register their participation together with their foreign partner. Participation of a representative of a foreign partner is not obligatory, but we encourage you to persuade them to come. The organisers will also cover the travel expenses of the foreign partner.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact the bilateral and regional cooperation coordinators:

• Anna Fedas (Active Citizens Fund – National, [email protected], tel. +48 22 536 02 41) and/or
• Ewa Stokłuska (Active Citizens Fund – Regional, [email protected], +48 720 801 013).