Earlier this week, a group of Fateh members got together for a 2 day workshop to begin the task of describing Fateh's future program, and they did it in a new, more collaborative operating style that honors both the wisdom of long time Fateh members and the fresh insight coming from the younger, emerging generation.  Forty such events are planned across the Territory in the coming months.  Perhaps as many as a thousand people will participate.  Each workshop will produce a set of practical proposals for the party, and for the Palestinian people. 

This effort is being led by a volunteer team of 20 Fateh cadres from across the country, men and women, young and old, who engaged in a 7 day intensive facilitator training programme at Hotel Retno in Ramallah from April 15 - 21, 2008.

With the support of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, the training program transferred facilitation skill in the Internationally recognized Technology of Participation (ToP) which has been developed collaboratively by associates of The Institute of Cultural Affairs working in over 30 different nations on all continents.

Participants learned the ToP Focused Conversation method by using it to explore the role of facilitation in groups and also to identify priority trends needing Fateh's attention.

Participants learned the ToP Consensus Workshop method by using it as a group to identify the key elements of the new collaborative style they want for Fateh.  They also practiced the method on their own, using it to decide the key accomplishments they intend for their lives over the next 5 years.

Participants learned the ToP Participatory Strategic Planning Process by using it to pilot the 2 day Input workshops now being scheduled to identify
1.  the key trends which Fateh needs to pay attention to
2.  their practical vision for Fateh, what they want to see in place in 5 years
3.  the Obstacles and Advantages they see to the full realization of their vision, and
4.  Practical proposals for dealing with the obstacles and advantages and moving towards their vision

Participants not only learned these facilitation methods, they practiced them.  Working in 2 practice groups, participants took turns facilitating and participating in all of the steps involved in the 2 day input workshops.  Time was also spent in reviewing each participants facilitation and giving them feedback for improvement.

Finally, participants learned the ToP Action Planning method by using it to create a 1 year followup action plan including both the successful completion of the 40 input workshops and also the development of their team into an ongoing unit within Fateh actively providing facilitation services to groups and units within the organization desirous of new, more collaborative ways of operating.

KEYS TO SUCCESS, WHAT MADE THIS WORK?
1.  Participants were selected for and came with a deep love for the Palestinian people, a realistic commitment to Fateh as an organization committed to a better future for all Palestinians, and a passion for the role that active participation, dialogue and collaboration can play in energizing Fateh's cadres to renew and refresh the party at all levels.

2.  Strong sponsorship.  Haitham Arar, of the Discipline Unit spearheaded this effort, recruited the trainees, and ensured that a variety of leaders from different areas of Fateh's operation visited during the 7 days to show their support for the effort.

3.  Passionate Engagement in the training.  Inspired in part by co-trainers Haitham Arar and Rana Obeid, participants worked for 7 days straight in the training to develop a basic level of competence in the role and methods of facilitation and, importantly, in the subtleties of using them effectively in Arabic and in the culture of Fateh.  They were engaged as facilitators, leading their colleagues through basic steps of the methods, they were engaged as participants -- discussing, listening, brainstorming, dialoguing, deciding together, and they were engaged as peer coaches and trainers, working with each other, giving feedback, coaching one another through the steps and complexity of group facilitation

4.  A strong, diverse and hardworking training team.  James Wiegel a Certified ToP Facilitator and Mentor Trainer with wide international training experience was brought in to design and anchor the training.  However, the major burden of the training was carried by Haitham and Rana, both of whom have some previous facilitation experience with these methods, but no experience in training others in them.  The decision was made early on in the training to do the week primarily in Arabic as a way to maximize participation and practice time and minimize time going back and forth in translation to English.  As a result, we ran a parallel Training of Trainers course in the evenings, early mornings and, often at lunch and during the breaks as well, checking signals, writing procedures, making corrections and coaching. 

Interestingly, this "just in time learning / training approach actually enhanced the participants experience, in that Haitham and Rana were dramatic role models for all participants of both the risk and reward that comes from trusting and demanding active participation and engagement.