PAEPARD Agricultural Innovation Facilitators’ Workshop – Day 5

Day 5 – Friday 2nd December 2011: Action Plans

The last day of the workshop was already here and the open plenary was at 08:30. It started with the usual over-view of the programme of the day by the lead facilitator, Mr. Richard Hawkins, followed by the content reflection by each process monitoring group. Compared to the previous days of the workshop, the last day was going to be short and we were expected to end around noon.

Open Space reflection
On the first day of the workshop, there was a session called open space, whereby participants had to participate in a sub-workshop (more details HERE). They were now required to review the output generated from the 8 sub-workshops of Day 1 and see if more ideas can be added to it, based on the different things we have learned during the week. As the delegates were already separated in process monitoring groups (4 groups), each group had to review 2 topics and add 5 additional points to what was already proposed. To do this, participants from each group were provided with cards to write their ideas and stick on the flip-chart of the topic they are working on. There was one hour to do so and when it was completed, we went over each one of the topics and additional ideas as discussed about it.

Final discussion on the open space outputs
Group Photo
Since we had not taken a group photo of the delegates and facilitators, it was suggested we do so and the picture was taken in front of the hotel entrance.

Final presentation
During the week, we had been discussing a lot about the role of the Agricultural Innovation Facilitator, the consortium and PAEPARD. And by the end of each day, we were asking ourselves: what’s next? To answer this question and make things clearer about what is going to happen next, Dr. Jonas Mugabe did a presentation on the different processes which will follow the workshop and what is expected next. After this presentation, it was clear to the trained facilitators about what is the way forward, and the explanation was so clear that there was no question from the floor regarding clarifications.

Power-Point presentation slide from Dr. Jonas Jonas Mugabe, explaining the way forward
Wrap-up of AIF workshop
To wrap-up the workshop, feedback forms were given to the participants, which they had to fill and submit to PAEPARD. Then, the final activity of the workshop was that each participant had to describe the week in 3 words. 

Closing remarks
Dr. Jonas Mugabe thanked all participants for having accepted the invitation to attend the workshop by RUFORUM and PAEPARD. He also thanked the team from RUFORUM who was here at the conference everyday, to make sure that all was going on fine. Then Mrs. Claire Ntwali thanked the participants as well, which brought us to the end of the workshop.

Closing Remarks by Dr. Jonas Mugabe
These five days were very productive for people who are going to work as facilitators as all aspects of the facilitation process have been covered and discussed thoroughly. Many were strangers and did not know each other, but while working together, a bonding has been created among participants and facilitators as well. A vote of thanks to RUFORUM and PAEPARD for planning the workshop and training the participants, and also for trying their best for everyone to make the most of the experience!

About Nawsheen Hosenally

Nawsheen Hosenally, a national of the Republic of Mauritius, has over 6 years of experience in the agricultural sector, specifically focusing on the engagement of youth in agriculture through the use of ICTs. Currently, Nawsheen is the co-Founder of Agribusiness TV, a web TV that features success stories of young agricultural entrepreneurs in Africa. Nawsheen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Extension from the University of Mauritius, and a Master’s degree in Management and Information Systems from the University of Manchester.

3 comments on “PAEPARD Agricultural Innovation Facilitators’ Workshop – Day 5

  1. Thanks for the detailed coverage Nawsheen. We will be meeting with Toolsee and you this week to review the way forward. 2 pm Friday afternoon?
    Krishan Bheenick (kjbheenick@yahoo.co.uk)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.