Report: Organisational and community leadership development training
Wednesday, 07 July 2010 10:17
The training was held during the five-day study visit to Brussels, in the period of June 21st to 23rd, 2010.
The primary goal of this training was enhancement of knowledge, understanding the work aimed to ameliorate the position of lesbian and LGBT communities as well as the skills of LGBT activists in the field of organisational management, organisational development and development of the community we represent. Individual goals refer to enhancement of personal professional skills of the participants and the increase of abilities to apply organisational development through management, strategic planning and financial operations. A combination of different methodologies and approaches was used during this training: theoretical lectures, small group work (divided by countries), paired and individual work, analysis of the situation in the countries the participants came from, analysis of individual skills and knowledge, development of action plans for professional and organisational development. Patricia Prendiville, former executive director of ILGA Europe, was the trainer, and the participants were the representatives of the partner organisations in ILGA Europe's Step-up project: Alleanca (Albania), Kontra (Croatia), Juventas (Montenegro) and Labris.
The first day of the training was dedicated to the following topics: community development as a model for social change; Human Rights Based Approach to organising; organisational development; organisation management / styles of management; leadership in managing organisations.
Community development as a model for social change is an approach to positive social change, evolved from the work by Paulo Freire in Brazil in the 80s. This approach includes changes on different levels: personal, community/social, cultural/educational, political - legal and institutional, and economic level. In terms of LGBT community, this approach includes interventions and work in the areas of counselling, support with "coming out", social activities, assembling of the community to present the (importance of) legal initiatives or judicial cases for developing strategies for public advocacy, organizing cultural and social events for the wider community in order to educate them on the LGBT topics, history, culture, etc.
Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) to organising represents the work based on respecting the principles of dignity, fairness, equality, and respect of human rights. This approach uses the laws which govern human rights as a basis for development of policies, provision of services and campaigns toward social change. This approach to organising also implies the actions which have an effect on the personal and societal level, by using the internationally agreed framework for implementation of equality rights established on a worldwide level. The approach can be used on an organisational level or within the networks/campaigns focused on achieving specific goals.
The section on organisational development focused on the development of groups of people working to achieve some common goal of an organisation, as well as on the development of the already formed organisations. In the section on organisation management we discussed the necessity of establishment of several key elements in any organisation: common goal, skilled and motivated people, resources (both financial and human), finances, clearly defined decision making processes, planning process, and coordination of these essential elements.
In between the theoretical inputs for each of these topics, the participants worked in pairs formed according to the country they came from. Within these groups, the participants determined which approaches they use in their own organisations, decided on ways for improvement of management, individual skills and knowledge, determined levels of development of their own organisations, etc. It is important to note that the present crisis in the development of Labris as an organisation served as a case study to other participants. It is also important to state that Patricia was open to spend more time with Labris' activists so that we could together consider possible solutions. She agreed with Labris' activists that the most important thing in the present situation is to first develop a plan for the future work of Labris and then to work on the structure and resource gathering for the execution of that plan, not the other way around. She also suggested the possibility of mediation and interventions for resolution of conflict between Labris' working team and its other bodies, but we agreed that the differences in understanding of the goals of Labris and the directions of its movement are so vast that it would be too late to intervene now.
The second day of training was dedicated to the following topics: team work; human resources management - employees and volunteers; working with staff and specific issues regarding the selection and recruitment; strategic planning and planning; elements of advocacy strategy.
Within the section on team work, the partner organisations determined the strengths and weaknesses of the teams they work in: adequate range of people in terms of skills and knowledge they possess for execution of work responsibilities, clearly defined models for internal and external communication, clearly defined tasks and modes of their execution, clearly defined and equal contribution of all members of the team, etc. Also reviewed were the key elements in human resources management: clear definition of roles and responsibilities; defined communication channels; clarity about authority, relationship between teammates, as well as their own roles; and clear definition of reporting relationships. Differences between managing staff and volunteers were also examined. Each organisation was to determine their strengths and weaknesses in the process of selection and hiring of staff, as well as the strengths and weaknesses in the functioning of the already formed teams.
Within the section on strategic planning in organisations, the key elements were outlined: vision, mission, common and individual goals and objectives, and activities. This section was particularly important for recently formed organisations or organisations which only recently began dealing with LGBT human rights (Aleanca and Juventas). At the end, the key components of planning the advocacy action and lobbying were presented, as well as the strategies for campaigning and program financing. During this segment, the participants were also divided in pairs by the countries/organisations they came from, working on positioning and determination of strengths weaknesses of the organisations they represented.
The final day of the training was focused on rounding up the topics of the two-day training, preparations for the application of the gained knowledge within the participants' own organisations, as well as on development of action plans for necessary refinement and improvement of all sections covered by this training.
Second part of the Study visit within the frame of the Step - up project, ILGA Europe:
Meetings with the representatives of the European Union institutions
During the last two days of the five-day study visit to Brussels, organized by ILGA Europe, the LGBT human rights activists from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, and Turkey had the opportunity to meet with numerous representatives of the European Commission, as well as with the members of the European parliament, namely the first secretary of the Belgian delegation which will be presiding over the EU for the next six months. The meetings represented an excellent opportunity for lobbying at the highest international level, and their goal was to convey information and key problems LGBT population is faced with in these countries to those who have the power to influence the circumstances in the countries which are in the process of European integration.
The activists spent the first day in sessions held in the European Commission. These sessions were in actuality consultation sessions regarding the creation of the Progress Report for the year 2010.2 Individual sessions for each country were held throughout the day, and the topics discussed were mainly concerned with the respect for human rights of women, children, LGBT persons, and Roma people. Representatives of the nongovernment organisations had the opportunity to inform the representatives of the European commission responsible for each particular country of the human rights of the aforementioned groups.
Two representatives of Labris had an opportunity to talk to two representatives of the European Commission team which creates the Progress Report for Serbia. Labris' representatives identified three key problems related to the LGBT human rights in Serbia: right to peaceful assembly, question of violence and discrimination against LGBT persons, and question of respect for transgender human rights. They also reminded the Commission representatives of the failed attempt to hold the Pride March in Belgrade in 2001, and the prohibition of Pride March in September of last year, which came mere 24 hours before the event was scheduled to occur. It was pointed out that the Government of the Republic of Serbia, i.e. the responsible institutions, did practically nothing in the past nine months to remove the reason for not holding the Pride March last year - none of the hooligans and persons who threatened with violence against the Pride March organizers for months were arrested, and none of the right-wing and fascist organisations, which called for lynching the LGBT persons, were prohibited. Additionally, representatives of Labris informed the Commission of the frequent attacks on the LGBT persons, and the problem of invisibility of this violence due to infrequent reporting. Third segment of the presentation was dedicated to the position of transgendered persons in Serbia, primarily discussing the complete lack of any legislative regulations and provisions regarding this population. Despite the fact that over 120 persons changed their sex in Serbia during the past ten years, Serbia still doesn't have any laws which recognize the human rights of transgender persons. Following the completion of their surgery, these individuals are forced to go to the only municipality in Belgrade in which they can, thanks to the good will of that municipality's employees, change their personal data, i.e. change their personal identification number. Representatives of European Commission were also informed of the frequent cases of transgendered persons being fired from their jobs, kicked out of their homes, and frequently forced to do sex work, due to high levels of homophobia in Serbian society. Taken into consideration that prostitution is illegal in Serbia, this population is even more exposed to many types of violence. It was pointed out that the State and its Institute for Health Insurance provide no assistance with paying for the expensive sex reassignment procedures.
Following the group session during which the situation in Serbia was presented, two representatives of Labris had a special individual meeting with the representative of the European Commission in charge of the Progress Report for Serbia, Manuel Munteanu of Spain, during which they provided him with a more detailed overview of the problems facing the LGBT population in Serbia.
In addition to meeting with the representatives of the European Commission, the participants of this study visit also met with the members of the European Parliament. Of specific interest were meetings with Ulrike Lunacek, Sophie in't Veld and Michael Cashman, members of the European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT Rights. In addition to informing the members of the Intergroup on the position of LGBT persons in their own countries, the activists were also given an opportunity to learn about the modus operandi of the Intergroup on LGBT Rights, number of their members, and engagement of their representatives on LGBT human rights promotion, not only in the member countries of the EU, but also wider.
Also, representatives of LGBT organisations from the Balkans talked to Dr. Maria Lensu, policy officer for human rights in the Directorate General for external relations. This Directorate is responsible for relations with the countries who are not members of the EU, but also works closely with other international organisations - United Nations, OSCE, The Council of Europe. Maria Lensu is highly sensibilized to human rights in general, as well as for LGBT human right specifically, as she spends a large amount of time working with Asian and African countries, where LGBT people are more exposed to violence. During the two-hour meeting, activists from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, and Turkey informed Maria in great detail of the key issues LGBT persons face in these countries. In turn, Maria distributed print materials to the activists: Toolkit to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of all Human Rights by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) People, created by the Working Party on Human Rights of the Council of Europe.
Another important meeting for the activists from the Balkans was the meeting with Michel Versailles, the First secretary of the Working Party on the West Balkans Region (COWEB), composed of experts from the member states of the European Union. During this meeting, the representatives of LGBT and human rights organisations from the Balkans discussed specific questions regarding the position of LGBT persons, as well as what Belgium can do within the next six months to promote the human rights of same-sex oriented persons, specifically in terms of the priorities Belgium set during their presidency. One of the conclusions of this meeting was that the following period should be maximally used for advocacy and lobbying for LGBT human rights, particularly considering, that following Belgium, term presidencies of the EU will be given to Hungary and then Poland - countries in which the degree of respect for LGBT human rights is significantly lower.
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