PRIA Facilitates Exploration of Participatory Research Field Practices by Staff of Calgary Board of Education

Following the success of the exposure visit by members of the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) in 2010, PRIA is once again hosting a delegation of 20 CBE members from 2nd – 22nd July 2011. CBE is the largest public school system in Western Canada and the second largest school board in Canada. It has 200 schools under it, with almost 100,000 students enrolled in public schools.

The CBE team comprising the CBE trustee, director, global learning staff, principals, vice principals and teachers will gain an understanding on participatory research with a special focus on issues of gender mainstreaming and education during their three-week visit. The objectives of the visit are:

• Strengthening understanding on participatory approaches in development and governance interventions in the Indian context
• Exposure to participatory approaches in the field and initiatives towards women’s empowerment
• Exposure to innovative approaches in education

A welcome ceremony was held on 4 July 2011 for the team. The CBE members shared their expectations from the visit. Most members expressed their desire to learn about participatory research and how it empowers communities and individuals, particularly disadvantaged and marginalized populations, to undergo change. They were also interested to learn more about the role of women in Indian society, about Indian culture and the educational system which is prevalent in the country.Sessions were also held during the day on the concept of participatory research, orienting the participants on PRIA’s work on citizen’s participation and democratic governance, and India’s culture.

The following two days were dedicated to discussions on the themes of participatory research in practice, strengthening citizen’s participation in local self governance, participatory urban planning, orientation on gender and gender mainstreaming in development, and participatory approaches to women’s empowerment with a special focus on PRIA’s girl child education programme and female foeticide programme.

The participants are currently on an exposure visit to three field sites –Sonepat in Haryana, Jaipur in Rajasthan and Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. In Haryana, theywill learn about PRIA’s work on Women’s Political Empowerment and Leadership (WPEL), Prevention of Female Foeticide Programme, citizen participation initiatives and education initiatives. The field visit to Jaipur will focus on giving an insight to the programme on Strengthening Gender Response of Local Governance in Rural Rajasthan (Govindgarh) with special emphasis on sex selection and maternal health. The purpose of their visit to Dharamshala is to understand the interventions being done by a local partner in the areas of citizen participation and empowerment of women and men, water and sanitation programmes, and educational initiatives.

The participants will also be taken to a public school in Delhi and given an opportunity to interact with teachers, principals and the director and to learn more about the Indian educational system.

The exposure visit will end on 22 July 2011 with a consolidation of learnings.