A training workshop held in Poland introduced water specialists, researchers and professionals working on other development issues to 'process documentation', an approach to document and jointly learn from change processes.
Published on: 20/08/2007
A training workshop was held in the city of Lodz in central Poland, 1 - 5 July 2007, supported by the SWITCH research project, IRC and EMPOWERS. The purpose of the training was to introduce participants to practical steps in process documentation for learning alliances and action research. The activities being undertaken as part of SWITCH in Lodz provided the focus for the practical aspects of the training.
This training workshop combined specialist presentations from key resource persons with practical exercises in groups where creativity was encouraged. Participants put theory into practice using a range of media to document an ongoing action research process. They conducted interviews, visited field sites and documented change through photography, video and writing.One of the outputs of the writing group, who focused on writing skills and documenting change processes, was a special issue of the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza under the subheading 'SWITCH Learning in Lodz'. Working in the National Film, Television and Theatre School the participants of the photography group organised an photo exhibition. They explored peoples' lives in Lodz and how they relate to public spaces and water. The aim of the exhibition was to show how rehabilitation and restoration projects around water could be made more socially inclusive. The video and film group made a short film on how the city of Lodz is trying to restore an urban river.
