Social Change is the physical manifestation of progress towards an ideal situation. A lot of factors come to play when we think about the change we desire to see. For instance, the recent disbandment of an alleged witch camp in Bonyasi in the Northern Region required a strategic collaboration between ActionAid, its partners and the government of Ghana. The change is the success we see physically, which results from many processes involving stakeholders training, to equip people with the skills and tools necessary to make change happen. Training has been proven to play a very significant role in shaping the ideas and perspectives of people, which puts them in a better position to work towards the change we seek.
Henry Louis "H. L. Mencken, an American journalist said, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, rather, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea”. We should train people to long for the benefits of the change and prepare them to be better positioned for that change. People will buy into any idea of change and follow it through only when they have been furnished with good reasons to believe and sustain that change.
The Global Platform Concept
At the Global Platform, ActionAid’s unique training hub, we do not only teach people to long for the immensity of social change; we also focus on process, participatory methods in training and facilitating easy and adaptable approaches to equip our participants with tools and skills to effect change. The Global Platform is a worldwide network of training hubs for empowerment and activism. The training initiative was established in December, 2012 and has since offered trainings in various fields such as Young women in leadership. Human Rights based approach, Youth Leadership, a Training of Trainers etc. We provide innovative training and capacity development for organizations and young individuals who wish to take positive action in their societies with knowledge, skills and attitude to be active global citizens. Currently, we have Global Platforms in Denmark, El Salvador, Jordan, Kenya Myanmar, Nepal, and USA.
Capacity Development
We believe that social change can be achieved through a strong, active and effective civil society and a strengthened global citizenship. To promote the overall objectives, training must go beyond the individual outcome and focus on the capacity development and the empowerment of organisations. We see ourselves as a quality and results based global organisation with an innovative approach to capacity development in general and with specific competencies in using participatory methods, and creating space for political empowerment activities.
We believe in building other peoples’ capacities by letting them practice what they learn from each other, and by breaking the boundaries of possibilities. Furthermore, our trainings are creative and innovative enabling people living in poverty to be human right activists. We also inspire our participants to be critical and creative in their thinking.
Changing Lives
Since the Global Platform Ghana started its trainings in June 2014, 419 individuals have benefited from many training programmes. These include young women,, staff and partners of ActionAid and other civil society organisations. We have received many commendations on how our training methods are contributing to social change in organisations and communities. Participants walk in here and after days of trainings; we see significant transformation in perceptions and attitudes. They also testify of how they are transformed in their thinking and are convinced that they can apply our training methodologies. The most fulfilling is the feedback we get from participants about how our training has positively impacted on their work towards social change. Wumbei Dokurugu, of IBIS Ghana shared these experiences after he attended our Training of Trainers programme:
“I write to thank you for exposing us to some hidden but effective facilitation tools that invoke passion in participants. The use of stories during facilitation is so powerful a tool that I will not have a facilitation session d without using it! It is not new, but I never consciously planned to use that. After learning the practical application of the methods during the training at the Global Platform, the tool has proven to be very effective. Getting even the “silent” participants to take control of the story was really an interesting session. During evaluation, 70% of the respondents made reference to how the stories really enhanced their learning. We were all unanimous in agreeing to the aphorism: “Tell a story and change the world”, as stories can bring out the hidden potential in us if properly selected and told. Selecting stories that fit the context of any training event can help bring participants on board. Thanks for a job well done.”
Hawa Gariba also shared this when she was invited with other participants for a follow-up training at the Global Platform:
“I have been a part of the Young Urban Women’s Project-YUW, before I came for my first training in Young Women in Leadership. I possessed some skills, yet I had very low self-confidence and so i was unable to sharpen my skills to be an effective change agent. My exposure at the training motivated and challenged me to be my best. I was sparked into thinking critically of society and its structural failures. Tools acquired here at the Platform enabled me to take up the challenge of leading a team of young women to embark on a sensitisation project in my community, educating women on their sexual and reproductive health rights. Our ability to carry the message out well helped us win the trust of the men in our community. Some men in our community decided to stand and be ambassadors for this cause. I attribute these successes to the skills and tools I received from my training at the Global Platform.”
We believe equipping people like Wumbei and Hawa with useful skills and encouraging them to deploy their abilities and capacities are significant steps towards personal and professional development. One person at a time, we would train the world and change the world–on one platform–for good.
Solomon Darko Kyeremeh
Trainer
ActionAid Global Platform Ghana