ILGA-Europe would like to invite you to apply to participate in the training on Community and Organisational Development to Lead Sustainable Change taking place on 27-29 November 2015 in Warsaw. This training is organised with the support from our Polish member Campaign Against Homophobia within the framework of ILGA-Europe’s capacity building strategic objectives.

What you’ll learn

LGBTI organisations and groups in Europe are different in all possible ways: in the scope of their actions, their size and structures, in the resources they have available, etc. It is not possible to identify one single model of LGBTI organisation or one single strategy that serves our objectives. There are many models and approaches and all of them can work perfectly in a certain context. What we can do though, is to identify those discussions that - no matter what - it is important to have to identify the best possible ways to achieve full equality and effective enjoyment of human rights of LGBTI people.

What are the approaches and strategies to bring about social, political and legal change? What is the role of LGBTI communities in such strategies? How can we make sure that all needs are assessed and all people are included? How can we build bridges between our community and advocacy work? How do organisations evolve and how can organisational processes be stimulated? What is the role of leadership in managing organisations and in engaging communities?

We will explore different strategies to achieve sustainable change; we will focus on ways to engage communities, to empower LGBTI people to trigger the social, political and legal changes identified as necessary for equality. We will also look into organisational processes which support prioritising issues, to coherently and strategically plan work, to have functional internal structures. We will finally look into how to lead processes that yield sustainable change.

How we’ll do it

The training will be interactive and provide opportunity for peer-learning and experience sharing on successful community building, organisational development and leadership. Participants are expected to actively follow-up on the training by developing community building, engagement strategies integrated in their organisational (and where possible) national advocacy plans.

Who should come?

You are welcome to apply to take part in the programme if:

• Your organisation works on LGBTI issues in the European Region (members states of the Council of Europe plus Kosovo and Belarus)
• Your organisation supports your participation in the training
• You personally work with the community or have a role in building your organisation’s overall strategies
• You are committed to integrating the learning from this course into your daily work context
• You are able to participate for the full duration of the training session and can commit to attending the follow-up action-learning groups
• You communicate effectively in English.

Selection criteria

The selection will be based on the:

• General quality of the application (Is it well written? Are the arguments and explanations used coherent, specific and of a good quality?)
• Relevance of the organisation’s work in relation to ILGA-Europe’s work (Is it an LGBTI organisation? Does the organisation engage or aim at engaging in community work?)
• Role of the applicant within the organisation (Is the role of the applicant coherent with the topic of the training, and relevant to guarantee a proper follow-up?)
• Motivation (Is the applicant/organisation’s motivation significant and does it complement the training topic? Is there a clear link between the participation, the training and organisational processes?)

Date and Place of the Training

Date: 27-29 November 2015
Place: Warsaw, Poland
Arrival: 26 November, Thursday
Departure: 30 November, Monday (the training will finish on the 29th at about 18:00; you might want to leave that evening)

Travel reimbursement

Travel costs will be reimbursed by ILGA-Europe following full attendance at the training. Upon selection, participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements by the cheapest mode of transport available (economy class airfare or 2nd class train). Should your costs exceed €300, confirmation should be sought from ILGA-Europe prior to the booking/purchase of the ticket.

Local travel (buses, trains, etc.) will be covered through a per diem provided at the training.

Meals and accommodation

ILGA-Europe will cover the accommodation and meals from the evening of 26 Nov to the evening of Sunday 29 Nov included. Any other costs related to meals and accommodation outside of these times will have to be covered by the participant unless previously agreed by ILGA-Europe.

Application process

Please complete the application form, and return to Valeria Santostefano, Programmes and Policy Officer  by 30 September, 18:00 CET. The result of your application will be announced by the end of October 2015.

Find the application form here