The romantic but somewhat dormant city of Bad Soden came alive just last week as students from all corners of the globe arrived to participate in a transformative one-week development workshop. From September 2nd to 7th, the town welcomed aspiring changemakers for an intensive program designed to equip them with the skills needed to drive impactful, sustainable development. These students were drawn to our city due to a collaboration between Weltweit- Gesellschaft zur Forderung lokaler Initiativen and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to take part in a one-week intensive program, aimed at equipping them with skills in participatory project planning, monitoring and communication to enable them independently manage small development projects and convincingly present their project logic to potential partners and funders.
The DAAD and Weltweit have since had a long and successful commitment to fostering and empowering young people to become the main agents of change. This year, the main focus of the project management workshop on “sustainability” underscored the global issues we face today as people, particularly when it comes to insecurity arising from conflicts, climate change, education, health and poverty alleviation.
The Program Bridging theory with Practice
The one-week program was carefully designed to be both theoretical and practical or what will call hands-on. Making it a point to ensure that participants not only leave the projects with just a theoretical knowledge but had also in the process acquired concrete tools to further use in their implementation of their respective projects. Highlighting on the very core components of the program, the president and co-founder of the Weltweit Initiative on the very first day of the workshop broke them down into three main points
- Participatory Project Planning
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Communication and Presentation Skills (Story telling).
According to Kajo Stelter all these three-component together provide the essential skills needed for every project manager to successfully design, implement, manage and evaluate a project especially in collaboration with local communities.
The Final Day Showcase: Local Citizens Join the Conversation
The final pitch presentation was slated on the last day of the workshop, and locals from the Bad Soden town were invited as judges. Leading up the event, the students had spent the whole week refining their projects ideas and preparing for their presentations. The final pitch was not only a critical aspect of the program’s learning objectives, there was also a provision of a grand prize of 1000euros for the team that earned the most points from their presentation.
During the pitch each group presented its project idea to a panel of experts and an audience which consisted of the locals of the town. The panel offered constructive feedback on each project and also offered some advice on how certain aspects could be improved and perfected. The students were further evaluated on the clarity of their project logic, goal, its feasibility and its sustainability. The interaction between the students and the local citizens, created a quite dynamic and engaging atmosphere, fostering a sense of global interconnectedness and shared purpose.
The Winning Project: Pathways to Joyful Integration
Among the six projects presented the standout project that earned the most points from both the local audience and expert representatives, was “Pathways to Joyful Integration”. This four-member team focus was on integrating Afghan nationals into Germany. With the fall of the Afghan government, more and more refugees from Afghanistan keep entering into Germany, with only an insufficient integration system to smoothen out their immersion into the German culture. This situation has caused unpleasant, even violent incidents and has led to the generation of many preconceived perception on the side of the Afghan and the German people. The integration project aims to mentor Afghan refugees by already integrated Afghan nationals, so they can easily immerse and adopt to the rules and customs of the German society, thereby clearing up all the preconception that both sides have about them. Second place was taken by “Sustainable Cocoa Production in Cote d’ivoire” and the third place by “Bee-Keeping in Tanzania”.
The week-long development program in Bad Soden in the end was a resounding success, leaving a lasting impression on both the participants and the townspeople. The students were able to gain valuable skills and also network among themselves, leaving a lasting relationship that will surely extend beyond the workshop. The winning project, “Pathways to Joyful Integration”, highlighted the importance of addressing current global issues and challenges with innovative ideas borne out of the community. This program highlights the power of collaboration and education in shaping a better future for all of us.
Author: Margaret Akowuah-Manu