Author:
By Sharmila Ray, Sr. Programme Officer (WSP Team)
While walking into office on the 12th of November I was obsessively making and editing my bucket list of things to do for the day. I had a nagging doubt at the back of my mind- how I was supposed to meet my deadlines and attend a day-long workshop at the same time?Sure, I gathered from the workshop design that it would be interesting, but I just couldnât stop weighing it out against the weighty time constraints of deadlines.
But by golly I am glad I attended the workshop!And I am sure most colleagues are as well. As for the bucket list-of-things to do, it got sorted out eventually with some deft time maneuvers.
This workshop has left an indelible impression on me (and I am sure on most of us) on the ways in which negotiations and collaborationscan happen, and the ways in which ideologies and power structures interact. It also left a mark on the ways in which day-long trainings can be made both effective and motivating.
The workshop was a heady mix of being informative, interactive and inclusive; and in the expert hands of Prof. David Brown it sailed through the entire six hours smoothly. It was designed thoughtfully, not only in terms of being thorough but also in terms of the pedagogical technique used. This was not a one-sided presentation relying solely on the knowledge of the presenter and the attention span of participants. Prof. David Brown kept challenging participants to think about issues and concepts and after we had done our bit of thinking he would guide our understanding with explanations. This made the entire exercise intellectually challenging which in turn made it easier for us to soak in the nuances of the challenges, methodology and rationale of multi-stakeholder cooperation.
There were times during the tea-break when I caught myself thinking that if the participantsâ brain activity were to be checked it would definitely show high activity! The simulated exercise towards the end of the session certainly proved my deduction. We were divided into groups of three and the task assigned to us was to simulate a negotiation exercise with two people working as negotiators and one as a mediator.
It was heartening and inspiring to see the commitment with which people battled out the negotiations. And I am not just using âbattled outâ as an expression, those were literally battles fought and won! Heated arguments ensued between peers and team-mates about a hypothetical situation which goes to show the commitment Prof. David Brown had successfully managed to instill in us about the process of negotiation and its importance.
With the help of Dr. Rajesh Tandon and Dr. Kaustuv Bandyopadhyay, he had managed successfully to make us behave like our life depended on pushing our agenda through during the simulated negotiation. A true litmus test of the success of the workshop!
At the end of the workshop, Dr. Tandon used the concepts explained to us, as a lens through which one could understand PRIAâs work. And it all fit in like a neat if complex jigsaw puzzle.According to German psychologist, Gestalt, the whole is larger than the sum of the parts; and in its spiritI canât wait to understand and assess the ways in which what we have learnt pans out in the real world context: What needs to be tweaked to fit the context, what compromises one needs to make and how far one needs to go to reach that mid-way zone where negotiations and collaborations become fruitful.
Thank you PRIA, once again for giving me this inspiring opportunity to understand the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle.
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PRIA’s MobiliseHER team traveled to Bangalore during the week of June, 10 – 14, 2024. The aim of the visit was to gain relevant insights into the civil society ecosystem in Bangalore and meet different organisations to understand the city through a lens of gender and inclusive mobility.
Working at PRIA, often leads us to various cities across the country. Each trip is an opportunity to witness firsthand the challenges and triumphs of different communities.
Mr. Yedukrishnan V has recently joined PRIA after gaining valuable experience in the development sector. Drawing from his journey in the social sector and personal encounters in Kerala, he emphasises the importance of participatory governance and research in empowering marginalised communities.'
