Chairs and projector are set up, flipcharts are placed in the space along with plenty of markers and post-its. There are name badges on the table in the registration area. A few minutes before half past eight the first participants arrive. Slowly but surely the room begins to fill as registered participants begin to take their seats. As the nearby Prague Astronomical Clock on Old Town Square strikes nine in the morning, the pilot Facilitation Bootcamp organized by Participation Factory begins.
On Friday 26th April, we organized the first ever Facilitation Bootcamp in Prague – a full-day intensive hands-on training on facilitation. A total of 15 participants came from different parts of the Czech Republic and Slovakia to gain foundational facilitation skills or to develop their existing knowledge. After welcoming speeches and presenting the daily programme, the morning part began. And what better way to start a meeting of a group of people who don’t know each other very well but will be spending the whole day together than with icebreakers and energisers? When groups of participants try out a particular icebreaker, the room fills with conversation as everyone is getting to know each other. Within minutes, everyone in the room has an overview of who has arrived at the Bootcamp today.
The morning session continues with the basics of facilitation and rules that should not be overlooked when facilitating any meeting. Yes, facilitation has its rules, and to ensure that participants remember them well, the rules are followed during all simulation exercises throughout the day. Hands-on simulation exercises begin right during the morning programme. Just before lunch, participants try out a total of 4 different facilitation methods in small groups, including the Retrospective and Facilitated Discussion. Before lunch, participants are also presented with information about the types of facilitation methods and how to use facilitation techniques to take valuable data out of any meeting for further processing.
After the lunch break, there is a short energizer to kick things off, followed by another series of practical simulation exercises, during which participants are again divided into smaller groups. Everyone has the opportunity to try out both the role of a facilitator and the role of a participant. The simulation of individual methods also includes crisis and conflict situations and how to handle them. To ensure effective engagement of all and enhance the learning process, an experienced Participation Factory facilitator is available to each group of participants to give feedback, help navigate the situations when participants are unsure of the best course of action, and to help resolve complex conflict situations.
The intensive practical programme is balanced by short theoretical presentations in the afternoon session. Are you interested in the use of digital tools during meetings or want to know what a good facilitator’s “First Aid Box” should look like? Are you wondering if your gestures and attitude also play a role during the meeting or whether there is a need to make a report of the meeting and what it should look like? All this information is covered in short expert presentations. The participants also have the opportunity to hear what such a facilitation meeting should not look like. Milan Brlík, Head of the Participation Office at The Prague Institute of Planning and Development, who has experience with many participatory meetings within projects in Prague, was not afraid to share what had gone wrong in the past participatory meetings and what lessons he had learned from each failure.
The whole day passes very quickly thanks to a rich programme. It’s approaching five o’clock in the afternoon, and the first Prague Facilitation Bootcamp is slowly coming to an end. Participants receive a certificate of completion of this full-day training and also have an opportunity to leave their feedback and evalaute the course. Everyone seems happy with the way the day went – the evaluation of the pilot Bootcamp by participants was 1.08 (1 being the highest score)! Thank you to everyone who signed up for the first Bootcamp for the great atmosphere throughout the day! We hope that the newly acquired facilitation skills will be useful for all participants in their professional career.
- Are you interested in the Facilitation Bootcamp and would you like to join our next training on facilitation? We are organizing another edition fully in English in Prague this summer. It will take place on 1st August 2024. For more information and sign-up visit this website.
- If Prague is too far for you, but you are interested in Bootcamp, contact us at info@participationfactory.com.
- Inquire about special offers available for groups of 2+ people.