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ESD never sleeps!

Intro page
top ten list
Top Ten Change songs! Being added to all the time..

The work for the ESD 2012 group never stops, and so early Wednesday morning saw the commencement of Change Management training, led by Brigit & Fabian, both freelance trainers in the topic of Change.

While on the field trip, country groups were encouraged to analyse what they saw in the context of change. Each country was asked to look for one of the following on their visits; ‘Change Agents,’ ‘Management of Change,’ ‘Resistance to Change,’ and ‘Energy for Change.’

Wednesday morning gave each group an opportunity to share with everyone what they had found.

Fabian also asked participants to contribute their song ideas to his Top 10; What songs inspire/deal with change?

 

discussions among students
The students discuss the question at their ‘Station’

‘Station Talk’ was the next exercise, with participants breaking into three groups to work at three stations, each with a different question to think about on Change. Once complete, groups moved clockwise to the next question, to analyse the work done previously; approving, questioning, endorsing or disapproving, before adding their own thoughts on the question.

Partner Interviews, concentrating on the participant’s role in their organisation back home, was the next step. ‘Where do you see yourself making changes within your organisation?’ Partners were to listen, before swapping roles and considering their own position. Gestalt, a psychological theory of looking at things as a whole, rather than their smaller parts, was introduced to the group before lunch.

The practice of Scanning, a simple but essential action, was discussed thoroughly on the participants return. For example, in everyday life, people scan their surroundings without thinking, making decisions based on what they experience. The difference was also explained between ‘Data’ & ‘Knowledge’, the fact that knowing something is not all the information that you need; it must be comparable to be of use and to become knowledge.

Students talk in a group
Group members reflect on their Innovation Projects, using Scanning & Awareness

Awareness was also highlighted as an important skill for Change Agents. The group were read a paragraph, about which they had to answer questions. The range of answers showed that people often fill in information they don’t know, forget what they did know, or misunderstand information. They then discussed how the ability to be aware can be transferred to organisations e.g. in analysis, in forming a mission statement, and in solving problems.

Finally, the group tried to link these two skills to their Innovation Projects – did they feel they needed to take a step back to do additional scanning or gain more awareness before continuing?

Tomorrow will see the continuation of this learning, completing steps 3-6 of the Change Management training…

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