Closing

Key explanation points Facilitation notes This exercise also is a reminder of what gives us strength, and how important it is to take time to feel and celebrate our successes – individually and collectively. This exercise balances out the energy of some of the difficult and draining aspects of the workshop to help participants remember … Continued

Key explanation points Facilitation notes Adaptation notes For some groups, the ‘next steps’ discussion may be focused specifically on their individual and organisational strategies. However, in some cases, a group of human rights defenders may want to use part of this brainstorming process to also develop key ‘advocacy’ points to take to international and regional … Continued

Key explanation points Workshop example Download Session to see workshop example in an array. Download Session 9 »

Key explanation points A primary task of the facilitators is to listen carefully to participants and to ‘reflect’ back to them some of the key themes and concerns—spoken and unspoken—raised during the workshop. This is an ongoing process, and part of it will happen during the ‘contextual analysis’ presentation and discussion on Day Two. However, … Continued

Key explanation points Facilitation notes This can be a challenging exercise for women human rights defenders – many have told us that they did not have any strategies, and if they did, they were just ‘negative coping mechanisms’. Sometimes they focused on externalised strategies (for example, exclusively obtaining support from international agencies) or challenged some … Continued

Key explanation points Facilitation notes This is usually an interesting session, as most participants find the exercise challenging and intriguing. Many have said that they were shocked to look hard at how they were using their time and to see how little they had for themselves. Reassure participants that the written exercise is for them … Continued

Key explanation points Facilitation notes While participants will list two different threats, the strategies (as well as the capacities, allies and missing elements) may apply to both threats. The important part of this exercise is the process of group work—as participants work through each other’s threats and strategies together, they will really support one another … Continued

Key explanation points Notes for facilitators:

Facilitation notes This is a particularly useful process for groups that are struggling to shift from discussing the larger political aspects of their security challenges – that is, the underlying causes and drivers of insecurity in their context – to the specific challenges and threats that they, and their organisations, are facing. For example, while … Continued