Proyecto de aprendizaje en equipo, PAE's

This video reflects main points on the implementation of Joint Learning Project ( JLP's), an approach implemented by Cinara, Empresas Municipales de Cali (EMCALI) and other municipal and regional institutions in the rural municipality of Santiago de Cali in Colombia. JLP's are situations inspired by the concept of Sustainable Human Development, where professionals with diverse backgrounds, different institutions and communities adopt "self-discovery" and an open process of dialogue to learn about water and sanitation solutions. Problems concerning water supply cover various disciplines and they touch on many issues. One organisation or institution alone does not have all the answers. Joining forces with the communities can actually solve problems. By achieving a transparent environment, community members and staff from other organizations can exchange experiences and participate actively and creatively in the entire project cycle, transforming decision making into a more democratic process. As one community member stated: "we are all born with a leadership capacity but we never have the opportunity to bring it up". The video shows pertinent testimonies and images of significant aspects of JLP's from the point of view of both community members and institutions' staff. Sharing knowledge is seen as a participatory and continuous process. As one community member put it: "we feel like grown up people because we finally understand what is being done and we participate in it". However, not only communities change but institutions and their staff also change and find new concepts, new techniques and new ways of applying them. The JLP approach was initially developed in the TRANSCOL project (see IRC publication: Technology transfer in the water supply and sanitation sector : a learning experience from Colombia, TP 32E) and the experience is adapted and replicated to other national and international projects with satisfactory results.