By Matt Whiteman
Having had minimal involvement with the creation of these workshops, but the incredible opportunity to participate, I wanted to share a few thoughts as an EIESL insider about the Global Praxis workshop, hosted twice so far at the Simon K.Y. Lee Global Lounge.
In this workshop, participants have the chance to critically reflect on their own international projects, learn strategies for developing interactive workshops that engage others about international issues, and gain practical skills in workshop facilitation.
There are lots of things to praise, but I feel it’s most appropriate to talk about the people involved:
My first positive reaction was toward the energy and the safe space Sara and Ricardo brought to the workshop: the level of genuineness and conviction with which my colleagues work is something rare indeed. And presenting the EIESL community norms gave participants a space to ask really important questions of themselves and of each other.
Second, Laura, our own alma mater, our nourishing mother, worked incredibly hard to make sure participants were well fed, and boy were we ever. Recipes, Laura, I want recipes…
Third, the workshops could not have succeeded without the brilliant contributions of people from outside the immediate EIESL team. Sophia in the first instance and Jola in the second, reacted to unplanned circumstances and made things go so much more smoothly than was originally planned. It was neat to watch.
Lastly, beyond just the great people, this workshop is a great way to renew your passion for what you do. It gave me (and hopefully the rest of the participants) a new set of tools to help me continue to examine, unpack and practice conscious global citizenship. And this applies regardless of the affiliation(s) of individual participants, which were diverse.
If you’re interested, the one coming up is full, but we have added two more dates in the winter term, January 29th and February 26th, and the workshop is open to anybody at UBC involved in international projects who wants some skills to help them become more effective and skilful.
Come on down to the Global Lounge and see what it’s all about. Email sara.radoff@ubc.ca to register.
Oh, and it’s free. Try finding a free full day skill-building workshop anywhere else. I dare you.