It has been a remarkable weekend. I had been invited by Jakira Khanam from the British Council/VSO Global Youth Xchange programme, to deliver a training workshop in Muscat, the capital of Oman. So having landed in Muscat at 4 am on Saturday, I started work later that day at 8 at the British Council offices.
The purpose of the workshop was to work with a group of organising partners from the British Council, The Ministry of Social Development and The United Nations Population Fund together with a small group of young adult volunteers who are working to improve the lives of young people in Oman, and establish the foundations for the forthcoming Youth Xchange programme between young people from Oman, Yemen and Birmingham taking place in Birmingham and subsequently in Oman this year and next.
My theme was ‘Creative Community Engagement’ and the workshop gave me the opportunity to test the model for cultural capacity building that I’ve been sharing in this blog recently. Also involved in delivery was Lizzie Moore, from Changemakers – an organisation that works to increase young people’s volunteering, and which will be involved in the hosting of the Birmingham phase of the programme.
Regular readers will know that I spent three weeks in Oman this January as a participant in the British Council’s Global Xchange programme – a truly inspirational visit that resulted in many shifts in perception for me. So it was wonderful to be back in the country, making new friends and connecting with the dear friends I made earlier in the year. Spending social time in Oman is always a remarkable experience, as the hospitality , warmth and openness of the people is an inspiration.
Sometimes groups gel in a magical way, and this was one such instance. Our conversations were very open, varied, full of challenges and incredibly interesting. There was a real appetite for working creatively and for creating opportunities for artists to become more involved in the development of socially orientated activity. I have great hope for the forthcoming programme. The temperature in Oman varied between 38 and 45 degrees, so getting around had to be carefully managed, but we managed to enjoy a visit to the souk and enjoy meals with friends. As a result of the learning that came out of the workshop I’ve revised our Cultural Capacity Building Framework. See below for details.
By 10.45 on Monday morning I was back on a plane heading back for the UK – pretty exhausted, but with a renewed enthusiasm for international collaborations of this nature. Curious Minds is very pleased to have been asked to contribute and we look forward to further partnership work with the Global Xchange programme and of course with our Omani friends.
Any comments on the framework are welcome and check out Changemakers’ work – they are a great organisation. http://changemakers.org.uk/
Chris May
The Curious Minds approach
All projects are designed in response to the specific needs of our funding partners and are grounded in principles of partnership and collaboration. We do not offer ‘off-the-shelf’ packages, preferring instead to co-develop programmes with the people with whom we are working, in order that the results lead to sustained change. Our approach is characterised by the following stages:
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KEY FACTORS |
DESCRIPTION |
SKILLS & CAPABILITIES |
| 1. Attitudes | We approach every programme with an attitude of respect, humility, care and sensitivity | Respectfulness, patience, concern for the well-being of others, readiness to learn, curiosity, humility. |
| 2. Research | We develop our understanding of the context in which we will be working, consulting with partners to be aware of political and social drivers, local histories, demographics and dynamics. | Research skills, analytical skills – recording, networking skills, location specific knowledge. |
| 3. Presence | We establish a meaningful presence by being creative, interested and interesting. We develop relationships, focus on listening and demonstrate the ability to connect, engage and involve. | Creativity, expressiveness, cultural sensitivity, listening. |
| 4. Valuing Assets | We map existing assets, researching the area in which we are working to better understand the physical and social infrastructure, aiming to identify, value and build upon those assets. | Communication, listening, enabling dialogue, recording, presenting. |
| 5. Working with leaders | We identify and recruit local champions and leaders as partners, aiming to develop the capacity of existing leaders, grow local assets and empower community members. | Diplomacy, relationship building, communication, influencing. |
| 6.Co-Designing & Planning | We work with partners in a solutions-focussed manner to design and plan practical ways to build on existing assets and overcome obstacles to progress, co-creating needs-based projects and programmes which lead to tangible outcomes. | Negotiation – communication – creativity – working systematically – partnership working – co-construction, completing, showing |
| 7. Reflecting and learning | We carefully evaluate impact, learning, change and distance travelled, ensuring objectives are agreed by all partners. We encourage everyone to see everything as an opportunity for learning, building quality by reflecting on success and failure, and constantly adapting and changing in response to needs and feedback. | Evaluation skills, communication, questioning, analysis, enabling refection. |
| 8. Celebrating and sharing | We celebrate progress, welcome visitors, share learning in networks and publicise successes widely. | Writing, documenting, presenting, communicating, networking. |
| 9. Broadening and Sustaining | We constantly broaden the range of partners involved, the types of activity on offer and the breadth of experience available, reaching out to include more people, while ensuring that developments and changes are sustained and sustainable. | Working inclusively, proactive outreach, using networks |