VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Shana Kirsch in Côte d’Ivoire

Shana Kirsch is an intern at Search for Common Ground Côte d’Ivoire.

In February, I attended a workshop on civic education in Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire, west of Yamoussoukro, for SFCG’s community facilitators. The workshop was part of a 2-year project designed to support a peaceful democratic electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire. In addition to working directly with youth populations and women throughout the country to increase their knowledge of the democratic process and civic rights and responsibilities, SFCG engaged a network of volunteer facilitators who demonstrated an ability to lead activities in their own communities. By providing these facilitators with training and technical support, SFCG helped to develop local capacities to lead community trainings and events, assuring the sustainability and ownership of the project.

Stephanie, one of my colleagues from the Abidjan office, facilitated the 1.5-day workshop, and I supported her by taking notes and helping to organize the activity-planning portion of the session. The workshop was intended to equip the participants with content (such as principles and definitions of civic education, democracy, and good governance) as well as facilitation skills so that they can lead effective civic education activities in their own communities. It was a lively group, and everyone really participated fully, which was great to see. Although the subject matter was rather serious, there were some lighter moments as well.

At the beginning of the workshop, the participants all agreed upon a set of rules to abide by during the meeting – typical things such as turning off cell phones, respecting the opinions of others, etc. However, they also agreed on a “punishment” for anyone who failed to abide by the rules during the workshop: the guilty party would have to dance and sing a song in their mother tongue in front of the whole group! Stephanie had a great rapport with the participants, and when one man showed up late to the training after a short break, she enforced the law, and we were all treated to a spectacle! This happened 2 more times throughout the workshop, and each time was funnier than the last.

Towards the very end of the workshop, one of the two “elders” in the group broke one of the rules by forgetting to turn off his cell phone, and when it rang during a presentation that Stephanie was giving, the group was faced with a dilemma. While some participants insisted that the offender should lead by example and accept to the same “punishment” as the three participants who had already sung and danced, others argued that he should be exempt because of his status in the group as a well-respected elder. The debate and decision-making process that ensued proved to be a relevant exercise, as concepts inherent to democracy – liberty of expression, majority rule, respect of others rights – all came into the discussion.

In the end, the culprit in question was let off the hook. But the moral of the story is not so much about what decision was reached, but how it was reached. By putting newly acquired skills and concepts into practice, the community facilitators were strengthening their understanding of democratic principles, engaging in conflict resolution, and facilitating community decisions… Not just any old song and dance!