All those attending, engaged and participated fully in all aspects of the workshop and were open-minded and self-reflective throughout.

The training provided an opportunity for sharing examples of their engagement with representatives of other communities, culturally different to their own, this is a theme the group would like to explore further.

The priority for the group was getting the opportunity to have their voice heard along with sustainable approaches to funding and resources.

The group was appreciative of the work of Co-operation Ireland and their inclusion on the Connect: Engage: Transform: project. Feedback from the training was overwhelmingly positive and the group highlighted the various aspects they found to be personally valuable, e.g., understanding stereotypes and stereotyping, the value of active listening, holding judgement and checking in on assumptions they might be making and what motivates them.

Participant’s overall feedback from the training included;

• Feeling good, it’s been different, the action is to keep going, no fear engaging with the other community and learning from each other.
• Positive, listened to, an opportunity put our voice across.
• Enjoyed the course, thought it was fantastic.
• Thoroughly enjoyed the course, feeling positive
• Thought it was tremendous, it’s given me a different take on things.
• Feeling positive and thought the residential format worked very well.
• Feeling very positive, enjoyed the group inputs, it was fun.
• I enjoyed the course and the company and the host was very capable.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Joe Hawkins who kindly facilitated the discussions.