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CIV-JAM held its first partners’ workshop at the Pegasus Hotel, entitled The Principles and Practice of Effective Partnerships, facilitated by Michael Silberman of MSI.
As noted in the workshop agenda and objectives , the day included both presentations and opportunities for small group reflection on their own partnership practice. In addition to the information and discussion provided in the presentation, participants were given a number of complementary and detailed handouts .
To begin, each participant was asked to state his/her dream for Jamaica. These visionary dreams included:
Silberman talked briefly about necessary it is that we all work together to fulfill these dreams, as they are wide reaching and ambitious—and very important. To get an overall picture of CIV-JAM partner capabilities, Zoey Breslar then presented a summary of the IDF results from December-January surveys. These results showed that generally, the partner organizations were strong—but there were still distinct areas that needed improvement, including the collaborative work among them.
Upon group reflection, the participants noted that they are most successful at bringing people together, creating a shared vision, and crafting organizational roles to reach their goals. More challenging in their collaborative work was establishing trusting relationships, collectively resolving conflicts, supporting their individual members’ efforts, and evaluating the results of their partnership.
Finally, workshop participants identified a number of areas where the CIV-JAM project could assist in facilitating partnerships among Jamaican organizations:
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Examine the role of civil society as a catalyst for democratic practice |
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Assist organizations in identifying opportunities for and crafting partnerships |
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Sharing of knowledge, skills, strategies for advocacy practices and organizational sustainability |
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Facilitate collaboration between civil society organizations and the media |
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Train partners to catalyze partnerships among community-based organizations |
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Establish communication strategies and tools for building and strengthening coalitions |
Overall, participants were satisfied that the workshop objectives were met, and with the delivery of the materials. One participant noted, “The day was very useful. I’ve been reassured that some of the strategies I was using in my organization to our programmed activities were good ideas. It’s good that several organizations could be privy to today’s proceedings because we work together from time to time and the information will better our working relationship.”
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