|
|
home / course outline / general information / facilitators / materials / summaries / links
INTERNATIONAL STUDY CIRCLE FIRST PILOT PROGRAMME
EVALUATION SEMINAR
STOCKHOLM, 6-9 JANUARY 1998
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
2. SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS
3. SEMINAR AIMS
4. REACHING THE TARGET AUDIENCE?
5. COURSE CONTENT AND MATERIALS
6. INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION: USING THE INTERNET
7. OUTCOMES AND PRODUCTS
8. CONCLUSION
The evaluation seminar of the first pilot programme of the IFWEA/Euro-WEA International Study Circle project took place in Stockholm, Sweden from 6 to 9 January 1998. The evaluation was conducted by the study circle facilitator from each of the twelve participating countries together with Alana Dave, International Study Circle Co-ordinator based in Manchester, England and Jouko Raatikainen and Jouko Muuri from TSL, Finland responsible for the technical development of the project. The seminar was also attended by the President and General Secretary of IFWEA and observers from the Euro-WEA Women Workers’ Network.
The main aim of the evaluation seminar was to assess critically the implementation of the first pilot International Study Circle which focused on transnational corporations. The course was run simultaneously on a weekly basis for a period of eight weeks. The education materials, methodology and project web-site were designed and shaped by study circle facilitators from thirteen countries at an intensive seminar held in Seville, Spain in June 1997. See Facing the Challenges of Globalisation: International Study Circles; Report of Seville Seminar, June 1997.
On the basis of this evaluation, decisions taken at the Seville seminar would be reviewed and adapted in preparation for the second pilot programme due to take place in March 1998.
This report is a synthesis of the discussion which took place at the evaluation seminar. Each country submitted a detailed report based on a common set of evaluation guidelines covering a range of issues including content, methodology, use of the Internet, international communication etc. For the experiences, perspectives and evaluation of individual countries, see the Appendices attached to this report. Included in the Appendices, it also a general description of the International Study Circle project.
IFWEA and Euro-WEA affiliates from thirteen countries were selected to participate in the first pilot programme. However, due to a lack of internal organisational capacity, the Information Centre for Labour Education in Taiwan withdrew from the project shortly after the Seville seminar. Thus twelve countries participated in the pilot programme although there were significant variations between countries, particularly France and Belgium, concerning the nature and level of their involvement.
Seminar participants included:
Due to internal organisational pressures, Jose Luis Ferrandiz from Fundación Francisco Largo Caballero, Spain was unable to attend the evaluation seminar.
The aims of the Stockholm seminar were as follows:
4. REACHING THE TARGET AUDIENCE?
It was decided in Seville that the programme will be implemented at a grassroots level with the aim of reaching rank-and-file activists in different constituencies. Both trade union and community organisations would be targeted, with the purpose of developing common activities and links between these organisations in their response to transnational corporations.
As is apparent from the table below, the size and composition of the study circles in individual countries differed ranging from three participants in some countries to eighteen in Peru. In total, the first international study circle involved approximately seventy participants.
International Study Circle; size and composition per country
| Country | Number of participants | Organisations |
| Barbados | eight | trade unions |
| Bulgaria | five | trade unions |
| Estonia | thirteen | trade unions and NGOs |
| England | five | trade unions |
| Germany | three | trade unions |
| Kenya | thirteen | trade unions and women’s organisations |
| Peru | eighteen | trade unions and NGOs |
| South Africa | six | trade unions |
| Spain | four | NGOs |
| Sweden | three | trade unions |
The majority of participants were from trade unions, with only a few countries involving other organisations like NGOs. The trade unionists were largely rank-and-file activists such as worker leaders and shop stewards recruited from transnational companies. However, in several countries, there was also participation from trade union organisers and officials. This was deemed appropriate as levels of awareness and experience of transnational companies differ considerably between countries. For example, organising in transnational companies is very new to Estonian trade unionists and therefore there is little existing knowledge of the role of TNCs.
There were several reasons for the lack of participation from community organisations. In some instances, facilitators did attempt to recruit participants from other organisations but were unsuccessful due to the internal organisational weaknesses of these organisations, and/or lack of interest in the topic. Several participants however did not target their recruitment drive beyond trade unions.
For the second pilot programme, their will be an attempt to attract rank-and-file participation from organisations based in the community together with trade unions. Since transnational corporations impact on many aspects of people’s lives beyond the workplace, it was felt that trade unions and community organisations should collaborate in identifying appropriate responses. However, for this approach to be meaningful, the content of our education needs to connect concretely with the experiences and concerns of people in their daily lives. In this way, the topic is made relevant and is likely to arouse more interest and enthusiasm. However, differences between countries and organisations involved in the project, mean that it might not always be appropriate or possible to reach both constituencies.
5. COURSE CONTENT AND MATERIALS
The main feedback concerning the course content was that it was too general and lacked concrete focus on common problems globally which have immediate relevance in people’s lives. There was a strong view that for education on transnational corporations to be effective, there needs to be a clear link between the wider global economic issues and the current problems which people are confronted with in their workplaces and communities. Since this project is international in its content and delivery, problems that are common to different countries should be identified. Participants would then benefit and learn from the experiences of other countries in dealing with a shared problems. Acting on this concern, the second pilot programme will have a specific focus on privatisation and how transnational corporations have benefited from the process. Issues such as outsourcing will also be addressed.
An additional problem with the general orientation of the course was that the emphasis on the power of transnational corporations resulted in feelings of helplessness amongst participants. It was felt that concrete and recent case-studies of positive action taken in response to transnational corporations need to be incorporated. The second pilot programme will include selected case-studies which highlight the issue of protecting workers’ rights and exercising democratic control over the activities of transnational corporations.
An interesting debate emerged concerning the political orientation of the course. On the one hand, there was a view that the course content needed to be more critical and focused on looking at what political alternatives are to the power of transnational corporations. However, others argued that the course was too negative about transnational corporations and needed to present information in a more objective and factual manner. It was argued that independent perspectives on the role of transnational corporations should have been presented, so that participants had access to different views. Underlying this debate, is the vastly different political contexts in which the study circle facilitators and participants are located. It is also a reflection of the different traditions of workers’ education. Tiia Kask from Estonia commented that transnational corporations have only recently entered the Estonian economy and therefore: "Due to our situation, we need more neutral information on the topic. We are not yet in a position to be critical". Yet in other countries, like South Africa, there is a different tradition of political education in the labour movement and workers have expectations of a more explicit political focus in education programmes.
This debate was important in revealing the different realities which need to be dealt with when conducting an international education programme. It raises the question of how courses can be designed in such a way that different levels of political experience and consciousness are accommodated, whilst driven by a shared goal and outcome. However, there is also a need within IFWEA for a wider discussion amongst affiliates on workers’ education methodology so that the different cultures and perspectives within the organisation are understood.
6. INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION: USING THE INTERNET
A common experience of all the countries was the extremely stimulating effect of the international dimension. Many of the participants were very excited about having direct international links and contacts through the project. The practice of international trade union work is often remote from the daily experiences of rank-and-file trade unionists. The international study circle therefore gave participants an important opportunity to build concrete relationships with other workers and trade unionists globally. For most of the participants who had either limited or no involvement in international activities previously, this was a new and inspiring way of working.
Linked to this experience of communicating internationally, was the interest which participants developed in the use of the Internet as a tool for the education, campaign and international work of trade unions and other organisations. However, the access which the participants were given to the Internet in the course was limited. The bulk of the work involving the use of the technology was carried out by the facilitators. There were also no activities in the course itself which exposed participants to the potential of the Internet. There was a strong recommendation that for the second pilot programme, activities involving the use of the Internet (linked to the topic of transnational corporations) are built into the course. The intention is not to provide intensive Internet training as this is beyond the current resources and capacity of the project. Rather, the international study circle would provide a general exposure to the technology. The purpose being to provide participants with a practical sense of how the Internet can be used for information gathering, research, education and solidarity purposes.
Whilst the international aspect of the project was viewed positively, there were serious problems with the quality of the international communication between the countries. It was felt that the reports submitted on a weekly basis were fairly bland and unimaginative. There was only a limited exchange of information and that there was no sustained discussion and debate. The general expectations amongst participants in individual countries was that the international contact between the groups would generate new information and ideas which would be a fundamental part of the learning process. In practice however, the international exchange of views between participants was too weak to influence meaningfully the education process.
Facilitators identified several factors which contributed to these difficulties. The education materials were considered to be too rigid thereby restricting the flow of discussion in the international study circle. There were also insufficient activities which were conducive to generating collective discussion and debate. It was proposed that the education materials must be more flexible thereby encouraging a flow of information and discussion between the participating countries. It was further proposed that the education methods used in an international study circle need to have international communication at their core. Therefore concrete issues and problems must be identified which are linked to people’s lived experience. Without this sense of immediate relevance, participant’s will not have the motivation to engage in discussion. The education materials therefore will be redesigned for the second pilot programme to ensure that they are more discussion based.
An additional problem was the difficulty of maintaining focus in the exchanges between the participants. In the weekly reports from sessions, each country would raise a vast amount of disparate issues. This made it difficult to develop a clear focus in the international communication between groups. In order to ensure that commonalties and differences are being debated, there is a need for the International Study Circle co-ordinator to act as an international ‘moderator’ who synthesises and focuses the issues which emerge from the individual countries. This role is particularly important if the programme is to retain its international coherence.
A further restriction was the fact that the Internet was primarily being used by the facilitators. The facilitators would write the reports, and send and receive them. In reality, this lead to the facilitators talking to each other. The participants were not engaged actively in the process and their voices were largely absent. The facilitators felt strongly that if international discussion is to be meaningful, then the process of communicating must be in the hands of the participants themselves. This will involve integrating the use of the Internet into the sessions of the international study circle. Furthermore, participants must be involved in writing the reports so that both their collective and individual personalities influence the character of what is being communicated.
There were numerous other difficulties of a more practical nature. Reporting was often inconsistent due to the pressure of meeting on a weekly basis. Particularly for those countries where materials and reports were being translated into other languages, the workload was enormous. There will be a longer time period between sessions in the second pilot programme in order to overcome this problem. Some countries experienced technical difficulties which resulted in delays. It was also felt by some countries that the international communication would have been more sustainable if there were fewer countries involved. Perhaps twelve countries in an international study circle is too ambitious. This number will be retained for the second pilot programme, but future international study circles will need to take this into account.
It was fully appreciated that to sustain an exchange of ideas and information using the Internet is complex. Participants are not in physical contact, and therefore it is difficult for them to get to know each other. The technology cannot give the same sense of human contact which is possible with direct meetings, and therefore there will be a ‘distance’ between the groups. This is compounded by cultural and other barriers. Language, for example, was a fundamental factor influencing the flow and nature of discussions between the groups. Translation through the facilitators is bound to lose the spontaneity of free flowing communication. Furthermore, written communication tends to be more formal and less dynamic than direct conversations between people. This might contain the emergence of deeper discussions and debates.
Recognising these difficulties, it was felt that the technology does make a project of this nature possible. International education programmes would otherwise consume vast amounts of resources. Within the existing limitations imposed by the technology, cultural and other differences, it is possible to strengthen and improve the international communication so that it impacts meaningfully on the education process. The second pilot programme will be a testing ground for the new methods and approaches which were discussed and developed at the seminar.
There were reports from individual countries that participants in the first pilot programme are interested in continuing the project. In Estonia, the participants will meet as a group on a monthly basis to take further their discussions on TNCs. They will also observe the second pilot programme. In Peru, there are plans for several activities including a regional international study circle. It was also through the international study circle that the Volvo workers in Peru have established links with the Volvo worker in Sweden. A delegation from Sweden visited Peru and the Peruvian workers have now become involved in the IMF World Council for Volvo workers.
It was reported that many participants had expectations concerning the continuation of the international study circle. It was strongly felt by the facilitators that we should encourage participants to develop international links through their organisations using the skills and contacts developed in the international study circle. It was important that the international study circle encouraged independent activity and was outward looking. IFWEA affiliates in each country could provide support to those independent activities which emerged.
An extremely valuable resource from the first pilot programme is the project’s web-site. The site will now become publicly available and can be usefully used by practitioners in workers’ education and others interested in TNCs. The site contains important information on TNCs and has links to other organisations globally with a similar focus. It will also include the education materials on TNCs which will be available in several languages, and the discussions which took place between the groups. The site is therefore an interesting example of how the technology was used for the purposes of transnational learning.
A full international report documenting the process from the inception to the completion of the first pilot programme will be compiled. This might be useful for other organisations interested in running an international study circle. After the second pilot programme, this report will be turned into a manual which will give detailed accounts of our experiences and guidelines for how to prepare for and implement an international study circle.
At the Seville seminar in June 1997, the first pilot programme was developed in detail. Whilst there was much interest and enthusiasm for the project, it was largely unknown whether this model of education was feasible. We recognised the need for global education and the potential of the technology as a tool, but had little idea of how these would combine practically.
The implementation of the first pilot has now proven that such a model is feasible. Whilst there were many problems and weaknesses, we have a basic approach in place which allows us to improve and move forward. With the experience of the first pilot, we are much more conscious of the precise issues which need to be considered if an international education programme is to be successful. We are also more aware of both the possibilities and limitations of using the technology for this kind of education. Within these parameters, we are confident that the second pilot will be more effective.
An enormous amount of interest has been shown in this project by other organisations including international trade union organisations, NGOs, researchers etc. By June 1998, we will have had the benefit of having run two pilot programmes and learnt from their strengths and weaknesses. We will be in a position to then look at the implementation of this model in other contexts, for example, in the workplace. Future plans include developing regional international study circles; using the international study circle method to deliver international courses on women workers, racism and xenophobia, structural adjustment, child labour and other issues linked to globalisation; and working with the international trade union organisations to build international study circles in transnational workplaces.
IFWEA and Euro-WEA are grateful to the following donors for supporting the first pilot International Study Circle programme: Olaf Palme International Centre, Socrates Programme of the European Commission, Regional Government of Andalucia, Government of Norway, and Government of Finland.
For further information please contact:
Alana Dave
International Study Circle Co-ordinator
Euro-WEA
c/o GMB College
College Road
Whalley Range
Manchester
M16 8BP
phone: +44-161-8605952
fax: +44-161-8811853
email: euro-wea@mcr1.poptel.org.uk
Internet: http://www.tsl.fi/isc
For problems or questions regarding this site contact [Alana Dave].
Technical problems and ideas contact [Technical staff].
This site was developed with financial assistance from the European
Commision's Socrates Programme
