Afternoon session Saturday 22.2.
NOTES
Berlin
Afternoon session Saturday 22.2.
Reflections on Modules: Urban Gardening, Degrowth core modules, TTT Module
note: Eva took notes at the same time
First 3 Posters with the 3 topics where made, people could walk from poster and contribute the questions: What was useful, what was missing, what should be improved? The notes are of the discussion following after
1st POSTER: Module urban Gardening
useful: hands-on exercises; tour: seeds as motivators,
missing: what are the dimensions of urban gardening; what was the role of the module? Clarity was missing, what is the session about? inclusion of the audience
what could be improved: what is happening; more connection between degrowh and urban gardening
General: is something missing? Nothing came up.
Gualter: for the specific course it was not planed to have a course on urban gardening; Urban gardening was taken because there was a need for some topic
→ this information should have been there before, that the course is not really about urban gardening
→ Sylvia: but what about the people who came for the two day course? They paid for some course on being
→ Maike: why can't we use methods to bring in content, instead of talking about methods and contents
→ Tina: example of the Transition Town training → people had to prepare, application process, each one developed a module
→ Kathryn: general comments: communication problem before hand, difficulty to communicate with people coming
Susanne: do we want to develop the urban gardening topic further? Or drop it? Do we want to publish it as a module?
→ NO, it was a tryout. Urban Gardening as an example to experiment the methods
→ Tabea: we should move to the next topic, more general organizational, structural questions
→ Question was if people who came for Thursday and Friday know that it was an experiment? Yes, the did!!!
2nd POSTER: TTT
What is part of TTT, that was confused before, need for clarification:
world café, exit cards, fairbindung exercises, yes/no exercise outside, observation exercise
most of the discussion was about what was missing and of what could be improved
main areas: big problem is that a structural frame work is missing
What is the course about?
What is the structure?
Who is doing what? Who is who?
Who belongs to GROWL in what way?
How does this meeting belong to GROWL?
Needed: more refection on the teaching dimension: how can I use the exercise... give direct further resources, where can I find more information
Suggestions:
An beforehand application form
A information package on what is GROWL for everybody beforehand
>Two more points: 1. course on facilitation as a method course 2. how to find out what can be a locally interesting topic, how to relate to local context? Giving the trainers the capacity to analyze the local political context and how to adapt the module accordingly.
COLLECTED QUESTIONS:
Who are we?
Why are we here?
What are we doing?
How do we work together?
How is GROWL structured?
Who is working on this module?
What has already happened?
Who is doing what? (Partners?)
What are the aims of the sessions?
Who can further contribute and how?
When do we have time to answer all this?
Gualtar: market place to talk about the modules which have already been developed, what is planed, also to get to know who is interested in which course and would like to go where PLUS table on the masterplan, what is GROWL
DECISION: Clarification in the Pause, for those who need it
Kathryn: critique on what happened on Friday afternoon, a group took over what was planed
→ will be addressed later
Eva: we cannot “make” trainers in two days.
Comment from Greece: they have 3 hour slot in their module for TTT and expect that they will learn, get methods/tools to do that
3rd POSTER: DEGROWTH PILOT MODULE
Answers to the three questions on the poster
Methodology of degrowth define a list of questions which lead us to degrowth thinking! Example we question present reality and it leads us to degrowth.
Provide questions which people have to answer for them selves critiqually; kind of an evaluation form for daily situations, to decide how to get to an act in line with degrowth ideas.
We need not only presentations of solutions, but also their critique
We should not only stick to the topics already related to in degrowth, but also find and conect new issues
Tetris idea Gualter: One building block is the degrowth core module and the local, specific module and then through this the political
We should be somehow prepared for the “lecture” should know something
Panos: What should be the output of the degrowth core module? What is the outcome?
3 hours presentation? Something different? What is the purpose and the method in the degrowth module?
Francois: it should not be a module that should always be copied, but there are central elements, which should come along, like dimensions, suources, history, rebound effect, but every time presented in a different way, with different methods
Martin: the idea in Witzenhausen was that the core modules should be refined with every workshop and this refinement should be published on the platform, that is open knowledege
Towards Francois: collect reading, should have been before, anyways there should be a reader, a library, presentations with key references
Gualter: We have to produce readers on the modules, each module is a piece of content, it's not methods
core moduels should also be adapted each time to the local topic
The reader should not be static it's open source, and developed and discussed
No matter what method you use will have some theory
Will there be a method and a theory handbook?
Yes, there but they should be connected in the sense that the methods can be useful for one topic, but not for others. So for each content there can be some suggested useful methods. And the other way around for each method there should be a note for which content it could be useful
There a methods to train trainers and there are methods to disseminate content.
What is new about GROWL would be that method and content are combined, there are lots of methods and content out there, so the new thing would be to combine it
…. missed some stuff
Suggestion Susanne: select central methods from the “Endlich Wachstum” and translate them, so that everybody has something at hand
QUESTION: what is the core module?
1. A lecture style introduction of degrowth theory and the history of the concept
2. Participatory methods to further understand the degrowth concepts; mixed participatory methods; exercise degrowth ideas; critical participatory reflection of degrowth
Martin – Series of performances on the future of food - Vienna
Performances: bike-tour, party, theater, expert input, included in the cultural festival
Methodological aspects:
advertisement worked well, because it was included in the cultural festival, information was included in the official media campaign, mentioned in official press releases; there was media interest in advance; but still the majority of the people attending was from the scene, a few “new” people where reached; everything was in German, might have reduced the diversity → the funding would have allowed translation
People were encourage to register before, to make the organizing of food easier; registering was possible via email and phone (which were on the leaflets distributed before); also a cell phone number was provided so that people could call during the tour and join the bike tour later
childcare:
people were responsible for their children; pregnant woman used the rickshaw
theater was officially allowed; a good spot in the center was allocated; problem was weather, theater should happen in summer;
there were experts for the theater and for the stops of the bike-tour; expert input was street lectures
on the 2nd bike-tour: games → more participatory
example:
people went to different food distribution places, like small food shop run by immigrants, average supermarket, gas station, farmers market, organic farmers market, discounter
then there look for aspects like from how far do the products come, which one is the most local one, which one comes from far away; look for diversity in the shops, the amount of products by one company in a shop/market
one topic was also working conditions in agriculture: problem in Vienna region is that many immigrants seasonal workers work in poor conditions → it was difficult to reach these people
We need to adress the political issues from the degrowth point of view. There is the crises going on, and it has different shape in each place, we need the discussion on this.
The experience together – the circles of experience
Observers part of the exercise
Content:
− Self representation
− Role of trainer (who is she?)
− Women context in Austria
− Politicizing groups
− Relation to degrowth
− Relation to own’s experience
− Difficulty: little time, little money
− Building trust
− Necessity of the trainer
− Continuing questioning of the role of the trainer
− Methodology that the women are using (theater)
What do we feel about the topics: are there many, little, too many, too little?
As a trainer, can I manage all the topics?
Do we need to narrow down the possible topics? By some special questions?
Group dynamics:
− Same male answering the questions
− Lack of facilitation (someone to equally distribute the right to speak) – the facilitation helps people who are not used to discussions. BIG DISCUSSION about the facilitatio
− 1. describing
2. questioning
3. summarizing
− 2 people had a lot of time speaking, 3 people less, and the rest much less
− After the intervention of Sussane more people spoke
− Two people were questioning
− No interruptions
− There are different solutions to the problems that were raised – maybe the group can come up with them
−
Non verbal communication
− People were very attentive
− During the discussion people took the relaxed position
− Some people that were speaking were going more into the circle
− Were people were talking too long people loose the attention to what you speak about
− People ere seeking the next speaker with their eyes.
− People were looking and Karin where they were saying things. Maybe it was her position on the chair. You can not completely avoid the central figure but you can try to make it less central.
Visual materials, may attract the attention or may distract. It takes long and needs time to darken the room and then udnarken and it is the distraction.
Comments on the method:
− To mix the method with other more active methods.
− To have the discussion with observers is a good method to train the trainers but this can not be the method for degrowth TTT
− Which facilitations should or should not be used – ecological issues.
− The exercise should ne inverted. The observers should be observed later.
We get definitions of 3 concepts consistency, sufficiency, efficiency and different examples that we, divided in groups, should relate examples with the concepts, group them. Then one person of each group stays with the results of the group and the rest goes to other groups to discuss their results. The extra thing is to discuss the concepts questioning ourselves which strategy is best for putting degrowth into practice.
- Nina sais that the way you classify can depend on your knowledge.
We can use the same method for different subjects like degrowth and urban gardening.
− TTT is – three chapters:
- Philosophy – teaching and learning in degrowth
- Methodology (non querarquical structure of learning, participatory methods, consensus); principles with which you develop the exercise.
- Facilitation
- The tools, practice (concrete exercises)
- The political – to adapt the training to local context
Posters session
We can adapt the method to degrowth:
− Values and add more:
− Subjects are already defined by modules, we can add more….
− Skills – developed on the basis of the analysis of degrowth practice.
− What are the characteristics of degrowth that should be added to the global education method?
− Do we have a set of methods that we can disseminate? Yes, Nina and Marta can provide materials.
− Make the participants responsible for providing something, it is very empowering. Personal empowerment is really important in the education for degrowth.
− We have to apply the degrowth values in the practice of organizing the meeting. Leader or the teem?
− E-learning….
Theory of TTT and transmission:
It will be a common framework but everybody will adjust it to his or her needs.
Philosophy and principles:
− No hierarchical structure in transmission: try to be equal.
− Constructivist philosophy. The realities are constructed and we have to deconstruct growth, there is not only one trough, people and groups have different views on everything.
− To propose the deconstruction and accompany people in the process constructing alternative reality.
− We have to be coherent combining the content of degrowth and methods of training.
- There will be dilemmas: like time vs. flying to the meetings.
- We have to try to be as coherent as possible.
- We have to address those dilemmas (the methodology of ethical dilemmas).
− Participatory process (everybody have to be included in the process)
− Empowerment (everybody ideally should be able to undertake the action after the training)
− Learning through acting.
− “Had, hard and hands” – all equally important in the process of learning.
− Sharing knowledge.
− Self reflection
− Criticability
− Pleasure
− Reference:
- Paul Watzlawick
- Constuctivism
- Paulo Freire, Agusto Boal – emancipation and liberation theory
- Edgar Morin – paradoxal education and degrowth, principle complexity, degrowth
UNO document about TTT
How do we work?
We open the group/page on the platform and w
We should prepare the one to thee hour exercise to transmit it