Training Workshop on Needs Assessment and Programme Planning for Latin America, 21-24 January 2003, Bridgetown, Barbados
The last of our regional workshops on needs assessment and programme planning was held in Barbados early this year. With participants from all over the Caribbean, this workshop marked the end of the first training phase of the Global Youth Network project. We have now trained over 100 youth and youth workers in the participatory techniques of needs assessment and programme planning across South Asia (New Delhi), Central and Eastern Europe (Sigulda, Latvia), South-east Asia (Bangkok) and Eastern Africa (Nairobi).
As in the past, the training was broadly based on the module developed for us by Dr. Harinder Sethi from India. This particular training module included a visit to Deacons Farm, a poor community near Bridgetown, to try out some assessment techniques and to develop and present fictitious project proposals. Youth groups from 12 countries were represented, including Anguilla, Barbabos, Antigua, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Giovanna Campello, coordinator of the UNODC/WHO global initiative on primary prevention, and I conducted the workshop, and Ms. Rania Karam of the UNODC office in Barbados coordinated the event. CARICOM and the National Council on Substance Abuse were cosponsors for this meeting and were represented by Dr. Heather Johnson and Ms. Paulavette Atkinson, respectively.
What did we do? Well, as usual, we covered various techniques of needs assessment, like role-plays, interviews, focus group discussions, observation, and we practiced developing a project proposal and presenting it effectively.
Since a lot of the participants in this meeting were Caribbean Youth Ambassadors or CYAs (a programme run by the CARICOM secretariat that seeks to empower youth in the region to take meaningful leadership roles in their communities) and were already accomplished speakers, we skipped doing a formal session on making presentations and devoted that time to a question-and-answer session about programming, fundraising and other practical matters.
Highlights of the five-day meeting included two remarkable presentations that we heard on the last day, one from Ms. Victoria Beecher, clinical director of the Verdun House treatment and rehabilitation facility in Barbados, and the other from Mr. Richard Carter, director of Youth Affairs, Government of Barbados.
Victoria spoke eloquently about the methods they use in their programme to reach out and help addicts according to their individual needs. She engaged with the audience all the more because she spoke about her life and how it led to the creation of this facility and to its very philosophy. Richard gave an enthralling talk on the subject of youth culture, particularly music and the links with violence, crime and drugs. He played some popular songs for us from the Caribbean and for the not-so-young in the audience, he translated the patois into English. While most of us thinking people do acknowledge the violent content of mainstream "artists" like Eminem, I, at least, was completely taken aback at the virulence and casual violence of the lyrics when I really heard them.
The shared common culture and heritage of all the youth participants proved to be a great source of cohesion, allowing the group work to go smoothly and for the group dynamics to function rather well.
As one of the follow-up activities, it was proposed that under the stewardship of Dr. Heather Johnson, we would find ways to attain regional consensus on using the training module for youth and youth workers across sectors.
On a personal note, conducting these trainings has been a rewarding experience for me. I have learned so much from working with the youth participants and trying to adapt the training materials to the specific needs of each region, often to comical effect! I would like to say Thank You to all of you who participated in the trainings, and I hope we will meet again sometime.
UNODC, Vienna