"This toolkit provides a selection of 100 participatory learning and action (PLA) tools which you can use for HIV/AIDS programmes. PLA tools are interactive activities which enable communities and organisations to learn together about a HIV/AIDS in their community, develop a plan, act on it and eval
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uate and reflect on how it went. The philosophy of this set of publications is that organisations and communities have to work as closely together as possible if they are to address HIV/AIDS successfully." (Page 6)
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"The most important point for all types of workshops is that the participation of the representatives of all relevant stakeholder groups is ensured. This goes beyond mere discussion: at some stage there is always the necessity to make binding decisions. At this point, the workshop participants must
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be empowered by their respective organisations and/or groups (constituencies) to make such binding decisions (commitments concerning the use of people, materials, equipment, time, and money).
A second important point for all types of workshops is the recommended use of a team of two facilitators. Years of experience in the context of organisations in the field of development have clearly demonstrated the advantage of having two facilitators rather than only one: a single facilitator simply cannot keep track of all the details of the group processes and, at the same time, keep the discussion focussed along the lines of the previously agreed agenda. Therefore, it is essential that the two facilitators compare their perceptions in the breaks between sessions and take turns in facilitating. Their perceptions thus gain in objectivity and their activity is less influenced by the emotional and cognitive strain that group processes invariably produce.
It should also be obvious that the less the facilitators are directly involved in the project under discussion, the more efficiently they will work. The more they are "outsiders," the more impartial they can be towards the expression of (sometimes diverging) interests in the processes of discussion and negotiation that are the essence of the MAPA-PROJECT workshops. This will not only increase the trust of all participants in the results of the workshop (i.e. the project plan), it will also enhance the credibility of this plan in the eyes of outside organisations, such as a funding organisation. For the same reason it is often advisable to conduct the workshop on "neutral grounds" (i.e., in a location different from that of the organisation which will be running the project)." (Overview, page 21)
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