The Kabul TtF (organized by TAF and funded by AUSaid) had the the following considerations:
The course was structured as follows:
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Presentations by Facilitators (2 days);
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Preparation for First Set of Presentations;
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Presentation of First Set of Teams;
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Preparation for Second Set of Presentations;
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Presentation of Second Set of Teams;
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Presentation of Ice-Breakers and Energizers by participants;
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Participants Evaluation;
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Facilitators Evaluation.
While the course was conducted in English, the participants could choose to present their activities in Dari or Pashto. The participants were assigned into teams of two or three that were regularly changed so that participants had the opportunity to work with different people and share different experiences and knowledge.
TtF participants received package containing the following materials:
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BRIDGE Handbook two Volumes;
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BRIDGE Implementation Manual;
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Facilitators Information Booklet, translated into Dari (Persian);
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Compilation of Ice-Breakers and Energizers translated into Dari (Persian).
In the first two days, international facilitators explained to participants the aims and methodology of BRIDGE Program, its importance and content of the Modules, presented different role-plays and energizers. Through out the two days, participants were given guidelines for comprehensive understanding of course methodology and BRIDGE Handbook. For the rest of the course, participants were assigned into teams to prepare and present icebreakers/energisers and two sets of presentations.
The first set of presentations required that the participants work in teams to present the BRIDGE activities selected from various modules. This provided the participants with a deep understanding of BRIDGE content and methodology as well as improving their training and presentations skills. The second set of presentation were used for creating or modifying any activities from the 10 Modules. Participants were requested to create activities and draft Facilitators Notes to accompany it so that other teams could present them. During the preparation, participants were asked to be creative and clear when riting the Facilitators Notes (FN). The second set of presentations focused on developing and strengthening participants’ creativity and FN writing skills.
The introduction of second set of presentation was a significant part of the course. The creation or modification of new activities gave the participants practical knowledge on how to write Facilitator Notes and how to design simulations or role-plays.
The first and second pair of presentations were performed with great enthusiasm. Participants used brainstorming, group-work, simulations and role-plays methodologies. Almost all participants used the basic trainers’ skills and were very creative. It was noticeable the degree to which their facilitation skills had progressed over the 10 days. By the time the second set of pair presentations came around several teams chose to create new activities, demonstrating their growing familiarity with the material and their increasing confidence.
The participants evaluations were unanimously positive. They thoroughly embraced the learning outcomes and stating that the BRIDGE methodology created a democratic environment that helped participants to learn more than they otherwise might have.
The BRIDGE TtF course created preconditions for establishment of the firm corpus of facilitators in Afghanistan, whose experience will be used for future courses. The knowledge the TtF participants pass on will help Afghanistan manage fair and impartial elections.
