Drawn to help in Benin

In July, Nicolas Verdot traveled to Benin to introduce people to visualization techniques and the work of facilitators in collaboration with the Benin Institute of Culture (ICA). During his week-long workshop, the topic of women's rights was particularly close to his heart. In Africa, women still hold a very different position than most of us are familiar with. It was all the more regrettable that only a few women were able to participate in Nicolas's workshop. However, despite the fact that the workshop was predominantly attended by men, the participants were able to make tremendous progress in a short time. And as newly trained facilitators, they are now creating spaces for communication in Benin and across Africa, advocating not only for women's rights, but also for education, clean drinking water, and much more.

We at Neuländer supported the project with the necessary materials as part of our "Drawn to help, help to draw" initiative because we believe that every step in the right direction, no matter how small, brings us all closer to our goal. Visualization can also help with understanding.

We learned about Nicolas' experiences in Benin from his letter to us:

Dear Neuland team,

It was a wonderful trip for me. A trip where I got to know many people and a new culture, a new way of thinking and acting.

At first, I was very surprised by the number of women who showed up on the first of the five days… just ONE! You can imagine how surprised and disappointed I was. During the preparations with the local cultural institute, ICA Benin, we had expected around 15 to 20 women. In the end, we only managed four. Why only four women? Because the workshop was very far from the villages in the north, and it was too dangerous to travel that long distance. And since women are the ones who take care of children and the household, and also have to work, they couldn't participate in the event. Some didn't even get permission from their husbands to join the community! Yes, it sounds crazy, but "welcome to Africa," where women are sometimes their husbands' slaves. During the workshop, I had many discussions with men to raise awareness about women's rights and to share with them what it's like for women to work in Europe. Sometimes it felt like I was talking to my grandfather.

BUT 🙂 that was just my first impression. In the end, the workshop was a great success. One of the four basic principles of the "Open Space" method is: "Whoever comes, they're the right people." And that's true!

Many of the participants work for various non-profit organizations. They focus on women's rights, access to clean drinking water, nutrition, education, health, and much more. The four women who participated were very courageous and had strong characters. They were full of energy and want to change the world and the position of women in Africa. And I am convinced that they can. Furthermore, we agreed that the combined intelligence of everyone involved could be the key to solving many problems in Benin .

The first three days focused on the basic techniques used in workshops:

• Structured conversations: a way to facilitate group discussions
• Consensus Workshop
• Action planning

During the training, we asked the participants to choose topics and then experiment with the individual methods. The following topics were particularly important to them: planting trees, reducing plastic, improving the lives of women, creating access to clean drinking water for all, and a healthy city – all of which are to be put into practice through various community events.

Over the past two days, we focused on graphic facilitation. One day covered the basics, and the other addressed practical application. Participants received guidance and were shown specific techniques, which they then immediately put into practice on a project. The focus was on developing their local ICA and exploring what they could achieve in the coming years.

At the end of the workshop, all participants committed to:

• To improve your moderation skills
• To promote oneself as a facilitator and to help people in Benin achieve their goals.
• to involve young people
• to offer workshops in the local language
• To organize materials for the premises
• To create and use platforms to spread their message and announce events related to facilitation and graphic facilitation in Benin and Africa.
• Organizing workshops with renowned organizations to gain partners

One of the participants even donated 5 hectares of land to a non-profit organization.

And the best part: They have all committed themselves to becoming professional facilitators and "changing culture and women's rights through facilitation".

I am very proud to be a part of this project and to be able to show people who long for a better life a completely new world!

Nicolas