Linking and Learning Event Enugu 2022

Fun. Amazing. Excellent. Valuable. Great. Interesting! 

These are some of the adjectives used to describe the Second Linking and Learning Event held at serene Nike Lake resort, in the Coal City of Enugu from 2nd – 4th February 2022. The innovative approach to linking and learning by the Voice project seeks to foster connections, boost collaboration, share learnings, showcase innovations, and apply knowledge to enhance project effectiveness and program implementation of participating grantees. All grantees had an opportunity to get to know each other better on the arrival day as the welcome dinner had everyone revealing interesting details about themselves in a safe space under the night sky enveloping the breath-taking view of the natural Nike lake! View photos here

Day 1

On the first day of the event, Voice grantees worked together to review their learning agendas. Follow-on sessions on Knowledge Management and Most Significant Change (MSC) story collection held thereafter with coaching sessions taking place subsequently on topics including, Photography & video as a tool for storytelling and Policy advocacy & lobbying. There was also experience sharing from the communities of practice on Elderly and Social Justice. The last session for the day was the supercharged TED-talk-styled Set-back fair which had everyone experiencing a mix of emotions.

Day 2

The second day of the event started on a creative note with participants showcasing photograph reels and video clips from the assignment of the previous day which received a lot of positive feedback. This was followed by the engaging coaching session on Amplifying stories through social media. Open space sessions were introduced for the rest of the day's sessions. “Open Space” is a technique for running meetings where the participants create and manage the agenda themselves based on predetermined themes to enable them to participate and express themselves optimally. The predetermined themes were in two categories – Needs-based coaching sessions Presentation Skills & Communication, Mass Media for enhanced visibility, and Digital Marketing amongst others. Communities of practice on Persons with Disability, Women and Youths, Elderly, Social Justice, Technology for development as well as Open Government & Institutional Partnerships were also explored. After reflections from the open space sessions, an informal facilitated session on Self-care was held.

Day 3

The third day’s activities were centred around the digital resource platform for collaborations within and beyond the Voice project for grantees, their networks, and the wider populace. Dubbed Voice Naija, the platform which was co-created by all grantees was presented, site populated, feedback shared, commitments renewed and scheduling of activities determined.

Conclusion

The entire team wound down the linking and learning event with an ‘African night’ where participants showcased their rich cultural heritage and enjoyed sumptuous local delicacies. Check out all the pictures of the event by clicking on the following links: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3. Also enjoy the video of the proceedings directly by clicking on the following link here and subscribing to the YouTube channel for more!