Together with Norwegian Church Aid, Digni invites staff in Digni’s member organisations to an engaging day in two parts about localisation and locally led development, an important topic for anyone who wants to create sustainable and long-term changes. The day will be in English.

Part 1, 09-11.30 The Activist, the game (for all employees, regardless of function or department).
"The Activist" is developed by Norwegian Church Aid as part of their internal work on locally-led development, localisation and equitable partnerships. The game has been held for all departments in NCA, several country offices and most recently during Arendalsuka with 16 different organisations present. Now it’s Digni’s turn :) The game introduces a range of topics related to the power dynamics between grassroots organsations and international donor organsations. Engaging and interactive, "The Activist, the game" has been well-received by the participants, sparking broader conversations about locally-led development across different departments, not just among those directly involved in partnership work.

This is fun and relevant for everybody in the organisation, including those working with finances, communication, fund raising etc. Participants attending only part 1 can choose to leave at 11.30 or stay for lunch until 12. Please let us know when you register.   

11.30 Lunch

Part 2: 12.15 – 15.30. How do we use our power? Dilemmas when working in equitable partnerships (for staff working with partners and their leaders, such as head of international departments and general secretaries)

Through real cases we will explore what locally led development can look like in practice as we face various dilemmas that might affect our partner relation. This can for example be regarding securing trust vs control/compliance; when there is disagreement between your and your partner regarding project design in a new application; to what degree you should and can affect internal matters in the partner organsiation etc. We want to create a space where we can openly reflect upon how we in the Digni fellowship practice locally led development and what might stop us from succeeding with it. Please let us know if you have faced a concrete dilemma regarding this, where you are willing to share the choice you made in that situation and the reasons behind. In that case send an email to lw@digni.no before 11 November. Such real cases and dilemmas will be very helpful to create useful and practical reflection.

 The workshop will be held in English to accomodate for staff that doesn't speak Norwegian.

The day will be facilitated by Senior Civil Society Advisor Jon Ragne Bolstad from Norwegian Church Aid. He has previously worked as a country director for Mission Alliance in Vietnam and as a marketing and communication director for CARE and YMCA-YWCA. He has an extensive experience with different civil society organisations and is passioned about localisation and how we can create truly equitable partnership with mutual accountability and trust.