The need for facilitators is increasing and urgent, especially to fill the ‘Interfaith Training for Climate Justice’ spaces which are spread across various regions at almost the same time. Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah and GreenFaith Indonesia held In-house Facilitation Training, or facilitation training, on Thursday – Friday 30-31 May 2024 in Jakarta. This activity was attended by 10 people, consisting of Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah and GreenFaith Indonesia program management team, as well as several representatives of partner organizations GreenFaith Indonesia.
Description: Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah and GreenFaith Indonesia program management team involved at the In-house Facilitation Training on May 30-31th, 2024. (Photo by: Hening/ @ecobhinneka)
“The enthusiasm of religious communities to receive ‘Interfaith Training for Climate Justice’ continues to flow. The facilitators required must have equivalent quality knowledge and technical facilitation skills,” said Nita Roshita, Media and Training Manager GreenFaith Indonesia.
The facilitation process in a training forum, explained Nita, is expected to help facilitate the process, design and guide the process, and activate participants so they can easily understand the material presented by the speaker. “The facilitator is not a speaker, nor does the facilitator conclude the material,” she explained. “Facilitators are like sponges, are not prejudiced, have strong interests, have positive attitudes and thoughts, believe in the strength of the group, and are empathetic,” added Nita, who is also a facilitator at this in-house facilitation training event.
Description: The Facilitator of the In-house Facilitation Training, Nita Roshita, said that a facilitator should activates participants so they can easily understand the material presented by the speaker . (Photo by: Karin/ @ecobhinneka)
The in-house facilitation training, which was held for 2 days, aimed to introduce basic facilitation techniques for the team, improve team communication skills, and strengthen teamwork. On the first day, participants received facilitation materials and took turns practicing facilitating. On the second day, participants carried out a simulation of handling the entire training process, and shared the task of being facilitators for each material on ‘Interfaith Training for Climate Justice’.
In the material session entitled ‘Building Thought for a Religion-Based Movement’, Hening Parlan as Director of the Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah Program emphasized that the environmental movement must be based on an understanding of the situation and context, so that it does not lose its spirit. “If we build a movement, we need to involve the community, we need other hands to move,” she said. The conditions for movement, according to Hening, must become a topic that discussed by people.
“We can meet people across religions and beliefs at the intersection of environmental issues and humanitarian issues, because the environment and humanity are everyone’s business,” said Hening, who also active as the National Coordinator of GreenFaith Indonesia. Regarding steps to build a religion-based movement, according to Hening, every religion or belief needs to re-examine its religious knowledge or beliefs, understand its values, then increase capacity, take joint action steps based on data, build networks, and then encourage the emergence of champions or ambassadors in their communities.
Description: Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah and GreenFaith Indonesia program management team involved at the In-house Facilitation Training on May 30-31th, 2024.
