A 3-month Participatory Action Research Education Programme
The SevenSenses Challenge is a 3-month Participatory Action Research education programme for students, post-graduates and professionals who aim to experience Participatory Action Research in the field while at the same time working on their own personal and professional development.
Local demand driven
A Challenge always derives from a community issue defined by the local stakeholders experiencing the issue. The issue may be related to poverty, (public) health, nature, human rights and many other things. The Challenge concept is unique in that it is designed to focus purely on local demand rather than donor demand. That gives us the flexibility to go with what is really necessary locally.
Working in a diverse team
An international, multi-disciplinary team of people outside as well as inside the community, performs Participatory Action Research on the identified issue at location. Challenges so far have been carried out in Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Sweden and Zambia.
Aim of a Challenge
The aim of a SevenSenses Challenge is two-fold. Firstly, the Challenge aims to empower local people to find the best suited local assets to tackle the addressed issue, boosting their independence from traditional paternalistic western aid. Secondly, the Challenge gives students and professionals the opportunity to experience the impact of Participatory Action Research at location and offers them the opportunity to grow professionally as well as personally.
What’s in the name
This Participatory Action Research education programme is called ‘The Challenge’ for its intense character. As a Challenge participant, you are dared to challenge your boundaries and presumptions in multiple ways. The Challenge is a time-period of hard work in a probably yet unknown community to you. You will be challenged in a cultural, social, personal and professional way. Former Challenge participants come home revived with new worldviews and experiences, ideas for their future career and memories they will never forget.
Why participatory action research in the form of a SevenSenses Challenge?
Throughout history, there has been a huge gap between (scientific) research and practical impact in communities. Furthermore, particularly in the development sector, we often encounter the ‘orphanage syndrome’, paternalism and other issues. Read here to find out how the Challenge programme is designed to bridge this gap.
What’s in a Challenge package?
Since the SevenSenses Challenge is such an intense program, we offer extensive support before, during and after the program. In detail, the Challenge package contains the following:
Before departure
In the Netherlands, you will:
- have a personal strategy session before departure to determine your learning goals.
- receive a preparatory E-course with PAR training videos recorded in the slums of Kampala by SevenSenses;
- join 3 intensive preparatory training days in The Netherlands in the methodology of Participatory Action Research, including intercultural communication and Sustainable Development.
During the Challenge
At location, you will:
- join 3 context specific PAR workshops;
- join 3 or more peer supervision meetings;
- have, based on your needs, up to 12 individual support sessions with the Challenge Coordinator;
- have 1 Skype – support session with Madelon Eelderink, founder of SevenSenses and initiator of the SevenSenses Challenge;
- have 10 hours of local language classes (if necessary), so you are able to have a basic conversation with locals. Translators for interviews will be arranged if necessary;
- be in the field performing Participatory Action Research three or more days per week;
- be part of a mini-documentary to be made about the Challenge;
- enjoy a surprise fun activity;
- receive a SevenSenses Certificate at the end when you have fulfilled all requirements.
After the Challenge
When you come back home, we offer support to help you find the right track to continue your career. You will have:
- 1 ‘come back’ session with the entire Challenge team, reflecting on the process and researching how you can use your gained experience in the future
- 2 personal sessions with the Challenge Coordinator to brainstorm about your further career path and to see where the SevenSenses network could be helpful for you.
Long story short, the SevenSenses Challenge, on the one hand, empowers people to tackle community issues worldwide and on the other hand, is an extraordinary experience for you as a (young) professional, boosting your personal and professional development in a way you will remember for the rest of your life!
Get inspired!
Check out this video of three Challenge programmes in 2015 in Kampala Uganda. Fun and hard work combined!
The impact of the SevenSenses Challenge is not going unnoticed! For example, the Healthy Cooking Challenge won the Albert Schweitzer Prize and the Healthy Teeth Challenge won the UvA Alumni Prize, both for their enormous positive impact on local communities. Will you be the next person to win a prestigious award for your impactful Challenge?
Or do you prefer to coordinate a Challenge?
In our SevenSenses Action Research Academy we train professionals in coordinating a SevenSenses Challenge. So, you will be guiding an international, multidisciplinary team at location in your action research, while you also perform action research activities yourself. Do you see yourself more as a Challenge Coordinator than a Challenge participant? Please let us know via academy@seven-senses.nu and ask for the possibilities!
Footnotes
[1] A stakeholder is defined as someone involved in, affected by, knowledgeable of, or having relevant expertise or experience on the issue at stake (Cuppen 2012). So, these are all people who are directly or indirectly involved in a societal issue. These are for example the inhabitants of the area where the societal issue is taking place, local community leaders, local NGOs, policymakers and civil servants.
[2] By ‘rich’ I mean the people having direct access to financial means. This may be the funding agencies or western people visiting a developing country. By ‘poor’ I mean people who do not have the financial means to exercise power, and who are often pushed into a certain direction which is not directly their ideal one, but it at least delivers some income for the time being. However, the main reason why ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ are between single quotation marks is because the terms rich and poor are relative. Talking e.g. about happiness, who would be the poorest?