The PMEC ("Participatory Methods for Engaging Communities") workshop began as discussion facilitation training for language development workers (Bible translators, Scripture engagement workers, language surveyors, literacy and education workers, etc.) to better engage with the communities they work with. The training equips participants to facilitate discussions with local stakeholders and groups of people within a language community so that they can describe, analyze, decide, and make plans for development of their own language. The use of a participatory approach, along with the associated mindset, techniques, and tools, affirms the abilities of the local community, and increases their ownership of the work. 

Over time, the training has attracted development practitioners beyond those with a language focus. Currently, this approach is being applied in many different fields of development work:

• Church and Christian ministries

• Community development and mobilization

• Bible translation

• Linguistic analysis and orthography development

• Literacy and education

• Scripture engagement

• language assessment and language development planning

A participatory approach is also useful for discussions which help any group of people to think and talk together in order to describe, analyze, decide, plan, or evaluate things that are important to them. These skills help participants to work collaboratively with a team, with a group of partners, with stakeholders, or with members of an organization. A participatory approach can be used in many contexts, including:

• Leadership in organizations (churches, community-based organizations, training institutes, and other nonprofits)

• Project planning and management

• Team building and staff engagement

• Conference, workshop, and other event planning

• Partnership and consensus building

• Dealing with complex social problems

• ...and many more where collaboration and stakeholder engagement is a priority

During the workshop, participants will:

• Grow in their understanding of what a participatory approach is, and why it is useful

• Practice some basic facilitation skills: listening well, drawing out people’s thoughts, beginning to interact with a group for the first time, etc.

• Observe some participatory tools being used

• Practice facilitating participatory tools

• Receive feedback on facilitating discussions

• Give feedback to others as they facilitate discussions

• Assess which tools work best in which situations

• Adapt tools to fit specific contexts

• Develop plans for using this approach

For testimonials from workshop graduates and from communities where a participatory approach has been used, click here.