Multi-stakeholder Facilitation Workshop in Cairo
08 October 2012 | Article
Through IUCNs effort to combat climate change in the region and as part of The Social, Ecological and Agricultural Resilience in the face of Climate Change (SEARCH) project, a workshop involving climate change experts was conducted in Cairo, Egypt on the 30th of September 2012 aiming at increasing capacities towards facilitating multi-stakeholder processes.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature - Regional Office for West Asia (IUCN-ROWA) organized the workshop in cooperation with The Islamic Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (ISESCO) , The Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) and the Wageningen University.
The workshop focused on grouping climate change experts in the region, through the SEARCH project, to acquire facilitation skills needed to effectively guide a complex dialogue between different sectors and stakeholders with a not necessarily common agenda. These acquired tools will enhance ownership and accountability of all relevant key stakeholders and end-users for a more interactive planning and management process. The aim of this workshop was therefore, to provide them with the knowledge and skills for designing and facilitating multi-stakeholder and social learning processes.
Our partners in Egypt, took the chance to show case SEARCH's work in Minya. A field visit was conducted to the village of Al Ruby, portraying how engaging the local community can in fact help and support decision making processes that benefit their area. With SEARCH's help, the local community was able to join together and analyze common climate change impacts and problems in their areas. Problem trees and stakeholder analysis were achieved for a common purpose, that later created a local common vision.
SEARCH is currently working in those targeted areas to perform a climate change vulnerability assessment, which will later aid in creating climate change adaptation strategies for these areas.