The SA training: Day 1 and 2

We had presented the citizen journalism training to the country focal point representatives from South Africa and Zimbabwe in November last year. That went very well, and there was lots of animated discussion. Yesterday, we began the three-day training for the country participants for South Africa. We were unsure about how this would go. Firstly there would be many more participants than in the first training, we had to get through the same amount of material in fewer days, and participants had widely varying levels of experience with using online tools. I found Day 1 quite hard. There were a few technical glitches, but that didn't derail things too much. Then participants seemed very quiet at first. This had me wondering -- was the material relevant? Were they finding it interesting and useful? I think part of the problem was the venue -- no windows, and a bit too big for the group, so that people on one side of the room at first had problems hearing those on the other side. Also, the first day involves a lot of introductions, with the facilitators doing most of the speaking -- I think we need to rethink that a bit. But the feedback from the blogs today does indicate that people gained something valuable. And today, on Day 2, the atmosphere is more lively. The programme is very practical and hands-on today, and that has made a huge difference. I'm feeling a lot better about things. I'm certainly enjoying getting to know everyone, and finding out about the valuable work they do.