Learning together
for the community©Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project©PILCD©Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project

©CEE

©BRAC

©Mizushima Foundation

People-led Learning and Community Development through the
Author©Matsubara Mall ProjectMatsumoto City Education Board /Mr. HIRABAYASHI Yusuke

Mechanism

Human Resource and Community Development through Environmental Learning
AuthorMizushima Foundation /Ms. FUJIWARA Sonoko

Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project
Author

Dozen Hometown Miryokuka Foundation /Mr. SAWA Masaki

Project Prajwala: Validating Scalable Models for WASH in Schools
AuthorCentre for Environment Education (CEE ) /Madhavi Joshi, Priyanka Sinsinwar

Ganokendra: A People-centered Approach for Rural Development
AuthorDhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM ) /Ehsanur Rahmanm, Shaﬁqur Rahman

Inclusive Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction
AuthorPeople s Initiative for Learning and Community Development (PILCD ) / R a m o n G . M a p a

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6
10
14
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Case 1            People-led Learning and Community Development
through

Mechanism

Mr. HIRABAYASHI Yusuke
①
Overview

Community development based on resident-led learning at the small community level suchas autonomous town councils and community halls (), which characterises

Matsumoto City②

A positive cycle of learning and practice, where resident autonomy is strengthened throughlearning and practice, which in turn are enriched as resident autonomy increases.

In Nagano Prefecture, including Matsumoto City, concrete activities and initiatives were born
during the post-war reconstruction period based on resident-led learning in a wide range of ﬁelds
related to daily life, such as industrial promotion, welfare, and sanitation.
History

were thebase for this "learning and practice" in the community, and its directors and staﬀ (both are local
government oﬃcials) have been leading community building initiatives as coordinators. (In thecase of autonomous, residents hold these positions.)

On the other hand, engaging in learning and practice together with residents itself has
stimulated staﬀ development, enabling policy formulation rooted in people s daily lives.

The term “learning” here refers not only to learning and educational activities to acquire
knowledge, but also to the process of discussion, analysis, and action by diverse residents. The
entire process of self-governing activities, in which local residents deepen mutual understanding,Broadlydeﬁned learning

foster solidarity and cooperation, come to terms with diﬀerent opinions and put into practice as acommunity or association can be interpreted as learning in a broad sense.
The

arrangement and its staﬃng in all 35 districts comprising former municipality

are also the result of residentsʼ movement against the city s policy to merge districts. And it isalso the foundation of our current community development system.
Unlike an association or theme-based community, a local community is home to a diverse
Learning toturn diversity
into strength

population. In order to overcome today s social issues, which are diﬃcult to foresee, it isimportant for us to recognize and transform our diﬀerences into a strength rather than closing
our eyes to things we do not understand about each other and working together solely on thingsof common interests. Resident-led learning is an important process for recognizing andtransforming our diﬀerences into strength.

-2- Let’s startwith the idea

Informal learning and dialogue(Drinking and tea parties/chatting/calling out for participation/actively enjoying and having fun)In Matsumoto City, people always get together for drinking and tea parties after local meetings and events. While community
development tends to be dominated by sectionalism and projects fragmented by sector, learning and dialogue based on
openness, creativity and imagination in informal settings allow us to reconﬁgure it into initiatives that encompass a variety ofﬁelds and are rooted in the daily lives of the community people.
Openness

A place where you can express your true feelings and concerns as an individual

At meetings and events, participants speak on behalf of the organizations to which they belong such as town councils andcommunity groups, taking into consideration the collective will of the group. On the other hand, in a place for informal
conversation such as a drinking party or a tea party, people speak as individuals without titles and often reveal their true feelings.
In addition, while meetings are attended only by the board members, informal gatherings provide a space where residents fromdiverse backgrounds can casually discuss issues in an equal relationship. This “openness” will lead to increased mutual trust.
Creativity

A place for free discussion and ideas based on one s daily life, without setting goals or destinations

Diverse statements and opinions, which do not come out in meetings with clear agendas and positions, are often generated in
informal settings. We believe there are four reasons.
１）

One can think and act actively and proactively for things that excite and interest them.

２）

People make decisions with hesitation and sometimes live with regret. In informal settings, where one can speak as
individuals, there is room for hesitation making it easier for people to speak freely.

３）

Naturally, peopleʼs daily lives span across various sectors such as welfare, environment, labour, leisure, etc. Free
discussions based on individual interests and concerns allow us to think in terms of our everyday lives in which
various sectors are multilayered and interrelated, and generate free-minded ideas.

４）
Imagination

One can think and voice their opinions while reﬂecting on the activities and discussion at meetings and events.
A place for discussion where one can embrace diversity

When you speak on behalf of a group, you are expected to make a clear statement. However, as an individual, you can freely
speak out what is not necessarily “for/against” or “black/white,” and express your concern and understanding for both sides ofthe opinions. It is with this mind of embracing diversity within yourself that you can be tolerant of diﬀerences with others and beconsiderate of other communities, the past and future, as well as others with diﬀerent positions. Therefore I believe that informal
learning makes it possible for us to communicate with a broader perspective in regard to space, time and individual diﬀerences.
I also think it is important for the local government staﬀ to be involved in these learning opportunities, to think about thecommunity and daily lives of the residents together, and to support resident-led community development. By participating in bothformal (oﬃcial meetings and events) and informal (drinking/tea parties, chit-chatting in the lobby, engaging as a citizen rather
than as a government oﬃcial) occasions, we are able to understand the true feelings of the residents.
In community development, there is rarely a right answer thateveryone can agree on, and there are often times when we haveno choice but to choose the next best solution and come to termswith it. By building a relationship based on mutual trust among
and between residents and government oﬃcials, we can reach acompromise, which is diﬃcult but important in community
development, and put it into concrete actions and practices rather
than ending with discussions only.
In addition, ideas and plans that are born from informal
learning opportunities are easy to take on as a challenge and canbe changed ﬂexibly. This is because they are easy to put into
practice by simply letting whoever is interested to join, without
involving consensus building in the community. The advantages of-3-©Matsubara Mall Projectsuch ideas and plans are that the voices of the vulnerable which tend to be overlooked in formal processes can be incorporated
and that they are highly feasible. I believe that experimenting in this way can bring creativity and diversity into formal activities
such as those of community associations.

For
example...

In one of the residential areas, there is a pedestrian space called Matsubara Mall with a stream running
through it. However, with the declining birthrate, ageing population and motorization, the number of people
visiting the area has declined and maintenance activities such as weeding and sweeping had become a burden.

At a meeting of the district board, the chairman of the Environment and Health Council proposed spraying herbicides. Since
the Matsubara Mall was administratively regarded as a road and the majority of the residents were in favour of reducing theburden, it was decided that herbicides be used.
Later, a mother of a toddler who visited a community welfare centre expressed how she actually felt about the plan -that thechildren in the community played in the stream, infants of neighbourhood nursery schools went there for ﬁeld trips, and that themother herself had memories of playing there as a small child, so she wished the Matsubara Mall continue to be a place where
they could spend their time in peace.
Amanager, who happened to be present, consulted with the board members. The mother s concern was taken

seriously and this eventually led to the implementation of cleaning activities as well as the organization of a music concert at the
Matsubara Mall, supported by volunteers andstaﬀ.

As these activities were carried on, the local government realized that the Matsubara Mall was a place that many residents
cared about, and they evolved into a community event supported by the district community association.

Tools and methodology
When we think about certain matters or implement activities, it is important to ensure that there are opportunities
for both learning based on one s oﬃcial position and learning as an individual. Of course, “learning” here means
learning in a broad sense.
①

Build relationships among the members participating in the meeting
In order to think broadly about a certain matter from the perspective of bettering our daily lives, it is eﬀective
to organize learning opportunities such as casual meetings at a salon or cafe where people can state opinions
and discuss with ease without any predetermined goals and nurture common and mutual understanding
regardless of one s position.

②

Develop feasible plans and make decisions through meetings with goals and objectives
While informal discussions as described in 1) allows for creativity and imagination, it is often diﬃcult toconnect it to concrete action and activity. Democratic and feasible planning, decision-making and implementationthat ensure creativity and imagination are possible when the implementing body is composed of and isinstitutionalized by members who have gone through the informal process of 1).
By reiterating 1) and 2), we can create initiatives that meet the needs of the community and those of the people s

daily lives without being bound by preconceived ideas. In addition, many residents will be convinced and willing toparticipate in these eﬀorts.

©Matsubara Mall Project-4-©Matsubara Mall Project©Matsubara Mall Project
MORE..

For more information on the mechanism and process of collaboration →-5-            Case 2

Human Resource and Community Development
through Environmental Learning

Ms. FUJIWARA Sonoko
Located at the mouth of the Takahashi River basin, one of the three major rivers in Okayama Prefecture and facing the Seto
Inland Sea, lies Mizushima, Kurashiki City. This is where a vast petrochemical complex was built as part of regional development
and where a court case was fought. With a portion of the settlement money from the Kurashiki Pollution Lawsuit, which wassettled in 1996, patients and their supporters established the Mizushima Community Environmental Restoration Foundation(Mizushima Foundation) in 2000 to create a community for environmental restoration.
In 2013, the Mizushima Foundation launched the Council for Human Resource Development and Community Building throughEnvironmental Learning so that people from diverse backgrounds can work together and take charge of community development
through environmental learning as a starting point.
The Council members broadly viewed their environmental learning activities as learning practices to open up a vibrant future
for the community. This viewpoint was essential in order to bring the diverse entities in the Mizushima region to work together.
We have created diverse learning opportunities for the locals, young people, and visitors from outside the area by connecting
various learning resources.
Through a series of discussions, we proposed to the local community the vision of Mizushima as "Mizushima: where its richnature, history, healthy lifestyle, and vibrant industry nurture the world s best city for environmental learning.” As a result, threeworking groups were set up: the Environmental Learning Promotion WG, the Corporate Citizen WG, and the Community Exchange
WG, and each group was responsible for creating educational materials, a communication platform, as well as promoting various
learning initiatives such as the Mizushima Studies classes.
In March 2018, the Mizushima Stay-based Environmental Learning Consortium was newly launched by realigning the
Corporate Citizen WG. To scale up the initiatives, we requested the planning department of Kurashiki City to join the consortium,
strengthened our partnership with local companies, and welcomed the chairman of a local company to chair the consortium. The
fact that Kurashiki City needed to embody the Kurashiki Declaration, adopted at the G7 Kurashiki Education Ministers' Meeting inMay 2016, as well as the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 also facilitated this process.
Kurashiki City was selected as an SDGs Future City in July 2020. Collaboration with diﬀerent communities along the Takahashi
River is emphasized and the consortium s initiative is also included as one of its speciﬁc activities. In addition, the consortium wasselected as one of the ten excellent initiatives and awarded the Okayama SDGs Award.

 Let’s startwith the idea

“We can work together in this area.” What are the common thoughts of the members?

After sharing objectives, it is essential to look for areas where everyone can feel comfortable collaborating. In the case of
Mizushima, we found that people had two common feelings: "We want to make Mizushima a good community" and "We want tosupport children's learning." Building upon these common feelings, we repeated implementing speciﬁc environmental learning
activities and sharing the results. We believe that the accumulation of such experiences -planning and implementing exciting andfun activities and sharing the joy of children's growth and achievements- has led to building a relationship based on trust.
-6-

To develop a “merely knowing the person s face" type of relationship into a more dynamic one, we ﬁrst

For
example...

created the Council as a table of communication. Even though we share a community, our views and values
diﬀer depending on our positions. As we proceeded with our discussions, we noticed the diﬀerences and weresometimes surprised. I think it is necessary to recognize the diﬀerences and to value what the other party
values in the collaboration.

Tools and methodology
In order to share our thoughts on the community, we organized a workshop to write down the following three points
on paper.
1） Three things I like about XXX (name of the community).
2） The value of XXX (name of the community) in my eyes.
3） Things I expect from this Council.
In the course of discussions, it was felt that there was a slight discrepancy in the understanding of the Councilʼ s
direction and initiatives, as people from various standpoints such as local residents, businesses, government, andeducational and research institutions were involved. As a result, there grew a diﬀerence in awareness between members
who wanted to clarify roles and responsibilities and to proceed in a speedy manner and those who wanted to put more
importance on their own initiatives.
Therefore, we thought it was important to express in words and conﬁrm in writing what we could agree on at thesixth meeting of the Council. Learning from other examples of collaboration, we were able to propose in writing aplatform that even organizations with diﬀerent fundamental principles could ride on and reached an agreement. We
understood that the process of decision making diﬀered depending on the personʼ s position and learnt the importanceof putting consensus in formal writing.

 
Taking a broad view of the environment, learn from the past and acquire new knowledgeLet’s startwith the idea

In order to discuss the future of the community and carry out activities, it is essential that everyone understands theimportance of learning from the past. To move on from confrontation to sharing and trust, we tried to take a broad view of theconcept of "environment" in our learning activities.

For
example...

It is important to learn and accept that people in the same community may have diﬀerent views and values
depending on their positions. While learning about the past is important, there was a risk that our relationshipand activities will become rigid once we referred directly to the pollution issues.
For this reason, we decided to view "environment" more broadly and deﬁne environmental learning as alearning practice to open up a vibrant future for the community. In this eﬀort, we as a team have worked to create various
learning opportunities for a wide range of people.

Tools and methodology
More speciﬁcally, we worked on the following:・ Lectures on local history that do not focus solely on pollution
・ Setting up a platform of mutual learning where a loose dialogue
is nurtured
・ Working together as supporters (lecturers and organizers) of
the environmental learning model tour

©Mizushima Foundation-7- Let’s startwith the idea

A loose and dynamic relationship that enables co-creation of values

Rather than a membership in which everyone is forced to participate and roles are clearly deﬁned, we emphasized a loose
partnership in which those who can do try to implement what they can while others support it. We created such an atmospherethat appreciates making ﬂexible changes and a supportive relationship.

For
example...

The Council has evolved and changed over the years. For example, one of the three working groups has
evolved into the Mizushima Stay-based Environmental Learning Consortium.
Another example is when adirector joined us as a new member, and we were able to organize

joint learning activities on disaster prevention with a senior high school and local residents. In addition, we also
expanded our linkages to a local junior high school, where the director used to serve as principal.
One of the latest developments is that the Mizushima Foundation is preparing to build a museum of environmental pollution
where resource materials will be stored, organized, open to the public and utilized so that people can learn and study about theanti-pollution movement and how the issue was resolved. This is where the collaborative members are now loosely involved.

Tools and methodology◎ About letter of agreement
While it is important to clarify the roles and responsibilities in a written agreement to promote collaboration, we
decided not to prepare a letter of agreement in order to ensure the participation and activities of diverse stakeholders.
The reason for this was that we feared such a formal arrangement would become a hindrance.
Consequently, we were able to respond ﬂexibly to the evolution of the structure, such as the establishment ofworking groups within the Council and the creation of the consortium, and, by leaving it to those who can take action,
we succeeded in ensuring the accountability of each member and creating new values. However, after a few years, amember from the local government was replaced, and there were times when things did not go as well as before. It has
become clear that there are situations in which the existence of a written agreement makes it easier for thegovernment to take action, which remains an issue to this day.
◎ Searching for new attractions of the community and sharing them with people
We are working steadily to create a museum of environmental pollution. As part of this eﬀort, we launched a new
project called "Mizushima Community Cafe" in search of new attractions in the Mizushima area, which is ﬁlled withvarious charms of modern Japan. We visit people and places of our interest and listen to their stories. Based on what
we hear at the Mizushima Community Cafe, we edit and compile the information into a booklet of 16 pages titled"Mizushima Memories” and deliver it to the local community. Collaborative members are loosely involved, participatingin events and oﬀering cooperation in publicity.

©Mizushima Foundation-8-©Mizushima Foundation©Mizushima Foundation

MORE..
For a video presentation on the project↓

For more information on the mechanism and process ofcollaboration ↓-9-            Case 3Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project

Mr. SAWA Masaki
The vision of the Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka* Project is to create an attractive and sustainable school and community. In
the Dozen District of the Oki Islands in Shimane Prefecture, comprised of three towns, namely, Nishinoshima, Ama, and Chibu, wehave been aiming to contribute to the long-lasting happiness and aﬄuence of island life through education. More speciﬁcally, withthe project s objective of creating an attractive school and learning environment that students want to attend, parents wish tosend their children to, the local community wants to utilize, and teachers and staﬀ wish to be assigned to in mind, we aim toachieve the following:・ Attractive school: A school that creates and connects to the future
・ Attractive community: Islands where people grow together, circulate and learn from each other・ Attractive people: Glocally-minded people loved by others
These are stipulated in the Third Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Framework (5-year plan), and they serve as a reference
point in our planning and implementation of learning in the community.
The framework is updated every few years, starting from the Oki-Dozen Senior High School Miryokuka Framework (2013),
followed by the Third Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Framework (2018). Each time we formulated the framework, we set up a
new committee and opened it up to the school and community to collaborate on its development. In 2016, the project s namewas also changed to Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project and expanded its target from the senior high school to the entire
district.

©Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project- 10 -

Since the start of the project in 2008, we have established a coordinator position to connect the school with the local
community, the island study programme to recruit students from all over the country, a boarding facility and the island parent
system where an “island parent” is assigned to each student coming from outside the district, a public tutoring school, curriculumwith inquiry-based learning to solve local issues, as well as the global inquiry programme to study abroad. As a result, the total
number of students has recovered from 89 to 184. The percentage of junior high school graduates going on to Dozen SeniorHigh School has also increased from 45% to 77%. This has created a virtuous cycle that has led to an increase in the number ofI-turners (people migrating from other parts of the country) among the younger generation and the revitalization of the entire
district.
To further promote the in-ﬂow of people to the Dozen district, we started the Island Study and Experience Project for Adults
in 2020. The project provides people in the younger generation with an opportunity to try moving into the area while gaining
work experience. On the other hand, the most pressing issue now is the decrease in the number of children in the Dozen district.
Looking at the current number of students, the number of local junior high school graduates will continue to hover around 30.
Even if they all decide to go on to Dozen Senior High School, it will be diﬃcult to maintain two classes. If we need to shift fromtwo classes per grade to one, the number of teachers will decrease and, in the worst-case scenario, we may face thereorganization of schools and lose the only seniorhigh school in the district.
The sustainability of human and ﬁnancial
resources is also an issue. With regard to humanresources, the number of remote islands andmountainous regions that are engaged in similar
initiatives is increasing nationwide, and it has
become increasingly challenging to ensure thequantity and quality of human resources than it waswhen our project began. In terms of ﬁnancial
resources, the importance of education is now
widely recognized, and a certain amount has been
earmarked. However, it does not last permanently,
and therefore we need to resort to diﬀerent
sources.
literally means making something
attractive in Japanese.

©Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project©Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project- 11 -

 
Coexist, co-learn, and co-create beyond diﬀerences and instability of valuesLet’s startwith the idea

Local and global, education and community, school and tutoring, U-turn (act of people moving back to their hometowns) andI-turn, local students and visiting students -there are values that at ﬁrst glance seem contradictory. Each has its “rightness“, andthey often criticize, confront, or exclude each other.
However, these diﬀerences and instabilities are the sources of vitality, and it is through opening up to and mixing with others
that the attractiveness is developed. Letting go of the obsession of being the same and embracing diversity is the condition forcontinuing with collective learning and action.
In order to achieve this, we need to have a soil that fosters being together, learning together, and creating together, as well as
dialogue techniques and mechanisms that allow us to enjoy the process itself.

©Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project©Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project◎ Discrepancies between the trust from the islanders and expectations from the outside

For
example...

What the parents of students on the islands want for their education does not necessarily overlap withwhat those oﬀ the islands want. There can be discrepancies between them, such as the need to improve

non-cognitive skills as opposed to cognitive skills, or autonomy as opposed to cooperation. Rather than putting energy into
resolving these gaps, we have found value in them instead. While going back and forth between confrontation and harmony withthose who are diﬀerent, we have created a soil in which everyone can grow and nurtured multicultural cooperation while enjoying
the meaning of diﬀerences.
◎ Formulation of the Miryokuka framework
As mentioned earlier, the project updates its framework every few years, and so far we have formulated the Oki-Dozen SeniorHigh School Miryokuka Framework (2013) and the Third Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Framework (2018). The committee
consists of the Miryokuka Promotion Committee members, school principals, PTA presidents, presidents of the alumni
association, and others. It has taken more than a year to formulate each plan as we try to respect the perspectives of botheducation and the local community and move back and forth between the two.

Tools and methodology① A tool to encourage daily inquiries: “Questions to future self” ()→ Questions like “ What are the things you love or love to do?” “What weakness of yours are you willing to accept?”
help us unwind our values as we move back and forth between “same” and “diﬀerent.”② A tool to encourage dialogue beyond positions and roles: “Pattern language to connect school andcommunity” ()→ It helps to discover commonalities and nurture relationships while embracing diversity and respecting others as they are.
③ A tool to promote evidence-based discussion: School Miryokuka Evaluation System ()- 12 -

→ While wisdom certainly lies at the ﬁeld level, if one goes too far, he or she tends to fall into thetrap of “legitimacy” and argue about what or who is right or wrong. We build our discussion
based on evidence and try to move back and forth between tacit and formal knowledge.
④ A tool to stimulate information communication in the community: Shimashima(Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project News)→ A quarterly magazine is issued and made available at libraries and other public places ineach town. This eﬀectively fosters the awareness and attitude of the entire community tonurture children and students as consorted eﬀorts.

©Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project©Oki-Dozen Education Miryokuka Project
MORE..
For a video presentation on the project↓

For more information on the mechanism and process ofcollaboration ↓- 13 -

            Case 4

India

Project Prajwala:
Validating Scalable Models for WASH in Schools

Centre for Environment Education（ CEE） Madhavi Joshi, Priyanka Sinsinwar
Girls are more vulnerable to the impact of inadequate sanitation and hygiene conditions. Promoting hygiene and sanitation
practices too would enable improved WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) behaviour and positively impact their health. In thiscontext, Rajasthan Elementary Education Council and the National Stock Exchange Foundation proposed a comprehensive WASH
intervention for residential girlsʼ schools at the upper primary level (G6-8) called Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBVs):
Project Prajwala - Swachh Balika Swachh Vidyalaya (Clean Schools for Clean and Healthy Girls).
The KGBV initiative was launched in July 2004, setting up residential schools for girls studying in grades 6-8 who belong
predominantly to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Castes, and other minority communities. The scheme
is being implemented in Educationally Backward Blocks of the country, where female literacy level is below the national averageand the gender gap in literacy is above the national average. In Rajasthan, 200 KGBVs have been set up in 13 focal districts. The
Centre for Environment Education (CEE) is the knowledge and implementation partner of the Prajwala project and UNICEF
supports the initiative as its technical partner. The project is operational in 200 KGBVs of Rajasthan.

©CEE- 14 -©CEE
The Project s main objectives are to１）

work towards awareness, capacity-building, and behavioural changes regarding WASH amongst students,

２）

ensure WASH compliance at KGBVs by renovation and retroﬁtting of existing WASH facilities and setting３）

develop operation and maintenance protocols with continued monitoring for sustainability.

teachers, and communities around the KGBVs;
up performance benchmarks; andTo achieve the above objectives, a series of training activities for capacity building of various stakeholders was organized.
Accordingly, Project Prajwala has demonstrated visible changes in the behavior of the girls, their families and the communities.
For example, long handled ladles are now used for taking drinking water from pots in 58% of schools instead of dipping a
glass directly into the water and glasses to drink water in 84% of schools, an increase in hygiene practices among staﬀ isreported, and the menstrual hygiene management and waste disposal have improved. These quantitative achievements point
towards a marked positive change as a result of the project.
Qualitative outcomes include improved awareness among the students, integration of WASH in school management plans andthe government guidelines, and collaboration at various levels to improve WASH in schools. With its whole-school approach, theproject has enhanced awareness of all stakeholders resulting in improved WASH systems and practices.
It has supported curricular activities, built leadership and involved students in hands-on action. Through the School
Management Committees, it has further strengthened communityʼs awareness and practices.

- 15 -

 Let’s start with
the idea ❶Multi-stakeholder and participatory dialogue;

Respect and Trust-building based on dialogue

Collaboration can be between a variety of stakeholders and at various levels. In the case of Prajwala, at one level, it is between
the project proponents, funders, knowledge partners, and government bodies; at another level, it is between the school
management, students, staﬀ, parents, and larger community; at yet another level it is between the NGO, the school management
and the school community. For a collaboration to work between all these diﬀerent actors with diﬀerent views, agendas etc., adialogue process which ensures everyoneʼ s opinions are valued is important.

Let’s start with
the idea ❷Shared value and vision while maintaining ownership

For collaboration, it is important that stakeholders agree to a common purpose and a shared value. At the same time, these
entities are unique and therefore maintain their uniqueness, adding value to the collaboration.

Let’s start with
the idea ❸Recognizing and leveraging mutual strengths

Diﬀerent stakeholders bring to the collaboration diﬀerent strengths. A mutually workable collaboration model where people
respect and leverage these diﬀerent strengths towards a common purpose can strengthen the process.

For
example...

The project was conceived as a multi-stakeholder one with several layers in which collaboration andpartnership was essential. Roles and responsibilities of each of these stakeholders had to be clear andmutually supportive. The collaboration between the project partners, between the NGO and the schools, within

the schools - all of these required the aspects mentioned to work for a successful outcome.
Taking concrete actions in collaboration with various stakeholders is crucial, based on dialogue and consensus made throughtraining and consultations. Child-friendly WASH facilities were constructed following the Government of Rajasthan guidelines and
UNICEF, with the active participation of teachers and students. Intensive work with the schools through the holistic approach has
led to an institutional transformation with whole-school approaches and management, prioritizing WASH facility augmentation in
the school development plans and grants available to them.

Tools and methodology
・Participatory training methodologies

・Consultation and dialogue

・Subject expertise and knowledge

・

Alignment with the school system (i.e., integration of documents, monitoring and evaluation processes
within the school activities, and demonstration of solutions at school)
As speciﬁc methodologies, we organized training focusing on WASH-related behavioural change in school staﬀ

members, Student Councils, Adolescent Girls Groups, and other students in dealing with the emerging and existing
problems with sanitation in schools and communities. Concrete actions followed to tackle speciﬁc issues andproblems. Furthermore, experience-sharing workshops on areas such as solutions to waste management, water,
sanitation, and hygiene were organized with non-teaching staﬀ members. As participatory dialogue processes
provide an equal playing ﬁeld to the stakeholders and are not prescriptive, solutions evolve through such a dialogue
process that builds mutual respect and trust among collaborators.

- 16 -©CEE



For more information on the mechanism and process of collaboration →- 17 -

            Case 5

Ganokendra:
A people-centred approach to rural development
BANGLADESH

Dhaka Ahsania Mission（ DAM） DR. Ehsanur Rahmanm, Sk. Shaﬁqur Rahman
Ganokendra is a Bangla word that means people's centre, popularly called Community Learning Centre (CLC) in many
countries. It is a community-based institution managed by its members. The members are primarily disadvantaged rural people.
At Ganokendra, the local people organise themselves, act together and address their needs and issues. They protest unitedly ifthey ﬁnd any injustice in the community. Ganokendra thus functions as a people's organisation for their development throughsocial, economic and cultural activities. Rural people from all walks of life visit Ganokendra regularly. They meet here to tellstories, discuss problems, identify issues, ﬁnd solutions, and collectively make decisions. They dream about their futureadvancement.
The philosophical perspective of Ganokendra is relentlessly striving for disadvantaged and poor people's empowerment
through tapping their untapped potentialities. Through an interactive discussion, people discover the causes of their deprivationand try to eliminate those. Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) in Bangladesh started the programme with 20 Ganokendras and around2,000 members, mostly for continuing education and post-literacy of neo-literate women. Gradually new elements were added tothe activities of these centres by the community as they felt the need. For example, poverty alleviation and income generation
activities were added in 1995, supplemented by skills training and microcredit. Water and sanitation activities were introduced in
1997, and anti-drug and anti-tobacco activities in 1998. With the increase of child and women traﬃcking incidents, particularly inthe border districts in the west part of the country, awareness activities on this issue were added in 2000. Since then,©ACCU- 18 -

Ganokendra has been expanding roles to build a learning society, for people's economic self-reliance, access to entitled services
and support to ﬂourishing people's inner potentialities. So far, DAM has established 1,169 such centres spread over eight
districts in Bangladesh.

 Let’s start with
the idea ❶Sharing management-related responsibilities with the communityLet’s start with
the idea ❷Functioning as a lifelong community learning centre

Let’s start with
the idea ❸Creating opportunities to discuss social issues

Let’s start with
the idea ❹Providing information communication servicesLet’s start with
the idea ❺Facilitating service delivery to people by various agencies

Ganokendras are locally managed institutions and, as such, each Ganokendra is developed according to local needs andexpectations. Ganokendra focuses on creating the scope for literacy practice and for acquiring life skills through the provision ofa mini-library providing access to information and organising community development activities through local initiatives. Eachelement in Ganokendra reinforces the others. Basic literacy skills allow issue-based information materials such as health andhygiene to be read and understood. The availability of easy-to-read materials that people can read facilitates the retention ofliteracy skills and promotes lifelong learning. The availability of reading materials in Ganokendra brings the community together.
The provision of development services from various agencies encourages the community to ensure that CLC-based services are
retained.
Community-based programmes are implemented to raise social awareness on issues such as gender, drug abuse,environment and so on. For example, campaigns are organised through Ganokendra addressing health issues such as the highdeath rate during childbirth, infant mortality, diarrhoea, and drug abuse, with the COVID-19 pandemic lately added. The
campaigns are also organised coinciding with national days. Ganokendra oﬀers information services collected from local oﬃces
of government and NGOs.
Ganokendra links up with various service providers in its periphery. Gradual strengthening of Ganokendra as an institution
helps local people fully realise their potential for accessing services that are already available in the community. It also facilitateslinkage with health, nutrition, agriculture, skill training, micro-credit facilities and other rights-based organisations.

For
example...

Ganokendra has wide and diverse community stakeholders with whom it keeps linkages and mobilises theresources and potentialities in favour of the people in poverty and disadvantaged situations. The community
stakeholder groups are linked with each other and importantly play a role in improving the life and livelihood of
the people. DAM usually starts its operational intervention at the household level and gradually mobilises thehouseholds to work through an organised framework. Thus, a micro intervention pathway moves from families to the community
and then to the union (the last tier of the government administration), gradually linked with the national structure.
Alongside the expanded roles, there are many examples of sharing management-related responsibilities. This has resulted in
an increased role of the community in organising and managing Ganokendra activities.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the main activity in Ganokendra was to engage learners in awareness building on health safetymeasures. In addition, in order to support the students learning amid the pandemic, various approaches were followed. These
include online/live classes, phone-based communication, home school trail, each-one teach-one, connecting learners to broadcast
classes on television for school students, etc. DAM's education institutes and education project staﬀs used Ganokendra as a hub
for disseminating COVID-19 related information. Solutions that are considered relevant and feasible reached all aﬀected families.
Ganokendra was also used as a meeting room and relief material distribution centre during this pandemic situation.
- 19 -

Senior citizens are one of the most vulnerable groups during a pandemic. At this time, they were made aware of social
distancing, safe health practices, and frequent handwashing as a precaution against coronavirus. The committee also made theirfamily members aware of following the guidelines to stay safe. At the initiative of Ganokendra, the poor, vulnerable older people
were also linked with some government schemes for the pandemic aﬀected families.

©ACCU
Tools and methodology
At the Ganokendra level, steps are continuously taken to ﬂourish the inner potentialities of people. A few
examples are cited here. Adult neo-literates, youths and children practice creative writing as part of Ganokendra's
regular activities and publish magazines by compiling interesting stories. Sometimes, the stories are published in theform of books. Moreover, various cultural activities, games and sports are organised in diﬀerent centres for nursing
creativity. Diﬀerent types of life skill development and leadership trainings are conducted in the centres. Other
activities of Ganokendra include book and magazine reading, video shows and discussion with family members andneighbours. All these activities aim to ﬂourish their inner potential and dream of an improved life.
In institutional sustaining, each Ganokendra practices democratic leadership and transparency principles
from the beginning. They maintain records of members, accounts, assets and internal governance and accountability
systems.
As a self-sustaining initiative, building linkages and networking among Ganokendras and with other potential
local institutions also proves quite eﬀective.
Each Ganokendra has its unique characteristics and excellence that may diﬀer from others and is very context,
culture and need-speciﬁc. The most common feature for all these centres is keeping the community people inthe central focus. Community development work with the people and their participation plays a critical role insustaining the process.

- 20 -

©ACCU
・

Asia South Paciﬁc Association for Basic & Adult Education (ASPBAE). 2000.

・Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE). 2000.

・

Cordaid (2003).

.

The Ganokendra of Dhaka Ahsania Mission.
of Dhaka Ahsania Mission.

・German Adult Education Association (DVV). 2010.

・

UNESCO Institute of Education. 1999. Breaking Through ‒ Engendering Monitoring and Evaluation in Adult Education.

・

UNESCO Principal Regional Oﬃce for Asia and the Paciﬁc, Bangkok. 2001.

・. Bangladesh Experience:

Ganokendra ‒ Peoples Forum for lifelong learning and social development.
Monitoring Participation in Literacy and Continuing Education: The Dhaka Ahsania Mission Experience

UNESCO.

, April 2003. Literacy in Communities ‒ Village Revolutions (the case of Hira, a beneﬁciary

woman).

For more information on the mechanism and process of collaboration →- 21 -

            Case 6

Inclusive Community-based
Disaster Risk Reduction
PHILIPPINES

Ramon Mapa

The project is a community-based education and capacity development intervention that promotes disability-inclusive disaster
preparedness and response. It was implemented in two coastal cities of the Samar province, namely Calbayog and Catbalogan, in
Eastern Visayas, Philippines. Hydrometeorological hazards make these areas susceptible to disasters due to typhoons and heavy
rains that cause ﬂooding and storm surges.
Vulnerability during disasters is the main issue faced by poor and disadvantaged communities of the project. Persons withdisabilities are disproportionately placed in a more vulnerable situation during disasters. The project was designed to makedisaster-risk-reduction and management (DRRM) disability-inclusive with the following objectives:
１） to increase the capacities of high-risk groups and individuals in government engagement andparticipation, especially in DRRM planning and decision-making processes.

２） to strengthen the capacities of local government and communities in disability inclusive DRRM
planning and emergency response.

３） to increase awareness of local communities about climate change and its relationship to theincreasing risks of natural disasters.

４） to establish linkages and partnerships between and among non-governmental and peoplesʼ

organizations, local government units, schools, academia and other stakeholders in inclusive DRRM
and climate change education.

The development and implementation of the project involved engagement and collaboration among diﬀerent stakeholders
ranging from relevant government units at diﬀerent levels (i.e., municipal, Barangay or village-level) to civil society organizations
representing diﬀerent sectors (i.e., persons with disabilities, women, youth, the elderly, farmers, and religion), as well as partners
from the academic and educational institutions, each tasked with clear roles and responsibilities.

- 22 -

 Let’s start with
the idea ❶For
example...

Common vision and perspective on the issue
The very nature of disasters that they aﬀect everyone regardless of social and economic status provided asolid basis for the diﬀerent stakeholders to work together to address the problem. There was also a common
understanding that addressing disasters require a multi-stakeholder and inter-disciplinary approach. Facilitating

a common understanding of the issue was done during the project's early development stage through a series of consultations
and dialogues in the community.
The project idea was ﬁrst presented and laid out to all for validation and analysis of the issue. After jointly identifying how theissue aﬀects them at the personal and institutional levels, the process then developed into a collaborative planning anddecision-making where diﬀerent groups from diﬀerent sectors and agencies arrive at a common understanding of how toaddress the issue.
The multi-stakeholder approach in analyzing the causes and eﬀects prompted people in the community to share their own
experiences. The re-living of these shared experiences somehow created a sense of personal attachment to the issue andbonded them to take collective actions.

Tools and methodology
The "Community Disaster History Timeline" is valid in facilitating a common understanding of the impacts ofdisasters in a community. The process asks the workshop participants to share their stories of disasters in thecommunity during the past ten years. They discuss how the community was aﬀected, how they responded as
individuals and as agencies or institutions, and what the results of these responses were. An important part of thisprocess is the identiﬁcation of gaps in their previous responses and how they can collectively address these gaps.

Community Disaster History TimelineLet’s start with
the idea ❷For
example...

Institutional and personal commitment of key stakeholders
Commitment to undertake a role and carry out speciﬁc responsibilities and tasks is key to making the
involvement of each stakeholder active and meaningful in achiving the project s goals. This must be ensured at
the institutional level down to the individual level directly involved in the initiative. We ensured this during a

consultation with the stakeholders at the early stage of the project development. Necessary information and technical support
was provided to stakeholders in the project s entire process for them to carry out their roles and responsibilities.
Building institutional and personal commitment of key stakeholders took oﬀ from the result of the joint analysis and shared- 23 -

understanding of the issue. The process then transforms into a joint planning session where individual and institutional roles are
identiﬁed. The needs assessment and analysis of each stakeholderʼ s capacity in taking on these roles followed andcapacity-building activities are identiﬁed to address the gap. These activities somehow become a source of motivation for
individuals and groups since they provided a training and learning opportunity for their personal and institutional development.
They also became part of our project' strategies.

Let’s start with
the idea ❸For
example...

Inclusive, ﬂexible and dynamic project design and learning framework
Successful collaboration requires an inclusive framework, especially for the lead agency. Context, needs
and interests, including institutional mandates, should be considered and aligned within the project frameworkand design. This was very important in the early stage of the project's development process, as being inclusive

starts with understanding the context of each stakeholder and identifying their capacities and limitations. This process is very
similar to identifying their roles, except that it focuses on the social, economic, political, cultural, and physical factors that may
limit or prevent them from actively participating in the project.

Tools and methodology
Social Venn Diagram is used to identify thediﬀerent stakeholder groups, determining
their level of importance and role in thecommunity. In our project, stakeholders that
require more attention to be able toparticipate were also identiﬁed and a separate
capacity-building activity was designed andimplemented speciﬁcally to meet their
particular needs.
Another helpful tool is a basic "SWOT"
analysis, with the addition of "barriers" under
the W (weakness) and T (threats) areas. Thisis primarily done using group-based methods
to ensure participation, and inter-sectoral
group work to facilitate exchange andSocial Venn Diagram

understanding between and among diﬀerent
stakeholders.

Let’s start with
the idea ❹For
example...

Managing power balanceDiﬀerent stakeholders have varying degrees of power and inﬂuence over the planning and decision-making
processes in collaborative undertakings. The project acknowledged the existing dynamics between participantsfrom the government, academic institutions, and the community. Participants from low income anddisadvantaged groups tend to be at a disadvantage in terms of power. The project addressed this by providing speciﬁc
capacity-building support in leadership, facilitation, public speaking and working in groups to more disadvantaged groups likepersons with disabilities. Adopting and utilizing participatory and group-based methodologies also enabled disadvantaged groups
to express and participate in discussions and activities, facilitating engagement and exchange between diﬀerent stakeholders andprovided awareness-raising among groups with more power and inﬂuence.
- 24 -

©PILCD©PILCDFor more information on the mechanism and process of collaboration →- 25 -

Asia-Paciﬁc Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU)
Education Cooperation Department
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