The FORWARD project enters the Test Phase……. The project for Training of Frontline Officers in Community Development in Conflict Affected Areas in Sri Lanka (or the FORWARD project) has now entered a new phase, i.e. the conduct of test phases for all five training modules taught under the training. The rationale for the test phase is to scrutinise the contents of modules and their adequacy, areas for further improvement, translation issues (e.g. use of proper nomenclature), etc. The test phases are being conducted in both Sinhala and Tamil languages in the North Central, Eastern, and Northern provinces at the moment. The test phases were conducted successfully for three weeks from the final week of last month (November). The venues for the Eastern, Northern and North Central provinces are Management Development Training Unit in Trincomalee, Provincial English Support Centre in Mannar, and Institute of Post-Harvest Technology (IPHT) in Anuradhapura, respectively. The test phases concluded on December 12th. The participants for the first two modules, who are frontline officers such as Grama Niladharis, Agriculture Instructors, Economic Development Officers, Rural Development Officers, etc. belonging to both central and provincial setup, expressed their deep satisfaction and appreciation over the contents of the modules and the conduct of the test phases. In addition, valuable comments and suggestions were made to improve the modules further. They opined that it was a good opportunity reawaken their knowledge and learn new concepts that are highly useful in their fieldwork in helping communities. This is because, FORWARD project is for development through community participation, which has a bottom-up approach and hence, the immediate need for building the capacities of frontline officers One of the hallmarks of this training is the active participation of the participants in the learning process as opposed to the traditional teacher-student learning mode. The modules are structured in such a way that theories learnt are immediately tested by way of practical case studies and activities where participants need to devise solutions/ideas through group activities and presentations. Moreover, as part of the training, the participants get the opportunity to undertake filed visits where they have a community meeting by practicing the theory they have learnt in classroom. Though this activity, the participants (FLOs) will deepen their understandings on the lessons learnt during the training programmes and develop their capacity to work effectively with community. The full-scale implementation of the trainings will take place next year. Upon successful completion of all five modules, the participants are awarded a certificate
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 05:56:30 +0000
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