March and April were busy months for the Mindchangers team of Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles! Following the first two workshops that were held in February, the capacity-building activities continued with three other meetings. During these sessions, the grantees experimented a new awareness-raising tool on the Sustainable Development Goals, reflected on their own practices in the light of the Mindchangers Practical Guide and discussed how to integrate multiculturalism in their projects whether or not they specifically address migration.
The third capacity-building workshop, held by Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB), took place on the 16th of March at La Maison Verte et Bleue, located in one of Brussels’ greener areas. In this favourable environment, the grantees were invited to change scenery to learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They discovered CAP2030, an awareness-raising tool introduced by Sandra Godeau from Associations21 and designed to help citizens and organisations evaluate or develop actions and projects in the light of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs. The workshop was also designed as a way to maintain contact between the two groups of grantees, as the host of the day received a Mindchangers’ grant for their project “PermaCHAM” in the first call for proposals. Koen, the coordinator of La Maison Verte et Bleue, therefore also participated in the workshop and later brought the group on a tour of the beautiful community garden they have developed.
One month later, the grantees gathered at the Ministry for the fourth capacity-building workshop which was devoted to the Mindchangers Practical Guide and led all participants to question and share relevant tools and practices for their Mindchangers-related activities. During the morning session, the grantees were introduced to the guide, debated the benefits and limitations of its recommendations and discussed the best ways to put them in practice. In the afternoon, each project team presented a tool that they use either to raise awareness among young people or to engage them in climate or migration-related activities. The variety of tools presented ranged from board and card games to collective intelligence exercises and theatre activities such as the ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’.
Finally, the fifth and last capacity-building workshop was held on the 27th of April at WIELS, a contemporary art centre that was awarded a Mindchangers’ grant in 2022. Focused on migration and intercultural encounters, the meeting was facilitated by Altay Manço and Joachim Debelder from IRFAM (Institute of Research, Training, and Action on Migration) who provided their expertise and gave invaluable advice and food for thought tailored to each project.
As in the first capacity-building cycle, the grantees who participated in those workshops showed their commitment and willingness to question, improve and learn. They emphasised the importance of networking and benefiting from the experience of others. Now that the capacity-building meetings have come to an end, each project team is hopefully better equipped to develop their activities and engage with young people. The FWB Mindchangers team eagerly looks forward to seeing the outcomes of all the projects and to meeting some of the young participants at the International Youth Meeting and Regional Event after the summer!
