Train the Facilitator in Albania

First BRIDGE Train the Facilitators workshop in Albania

Written by Dr. Doina Bordeianu

The first BRIDGE Train the Facilitators workshop in Tirana, Albania was implemented between 4 and 15 July 2022 by the Academy of Political Studies (ASP) with the support of and in close partnership with the Council of Europe and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

The participants, in the majority – representatives of the Central Electoral Commission of Albania – were trained in the use of the BRIDGE participatory methodology and curriculum in cross-cultural environments and were provided with supported experience to customize existing, and develop new, BRIDGE facilitator notes and materials.

The TtF course was facilitated by three BRIDGE Accrediting Facilitators with an extensive experience in electoral support, Dr. Doina Bordeianu (Republic of Moldova), Mr. Zage Filiposki (Macedonia), and Mr. Corneliu Pasat (Republic of Moldova). In total, 18 participants (5 Male and 13 Female) attended the TtF. 15 of them are currently working at CEC Albania. The working language was English.

During the 9 days of workshop, participants were exposed to the various facilitation techniques adapted to different learning styles. For the paired presentations activities/ topics were chosen from 3 BRIDGE modules.

The aim of the nine-day BRIDGE Train the Facilitator workshop was to enhance the CEC capacities in providing modern, qualitative and effective training and education programs for electoral participation and administration in Albania. The course comes after 2 initial module workshops that introduced the BRIDGE methodology to the Central Election Commission of Albania in 2019.

Evaluation of participants’ performance was provided verbally after the each of the sessions presented. Participants were evaluated by their peers and facilitators for both their individual and teamwork. Each participant was evaluated in two one-to-one individual interviews to provide feedback from the facilitators about his/her performance during the training.

Final participant evaluations of the seminar showed the workshop was a success. It was characterized as interesting, intensive, active, relevant, important and useful. Most of participants said that the workshop met their expectations and improved their training skills and capacities as facilitators. All participants highly appreciated how the workshop was organized.