UISG Mission

Report of the follow up session held in

Dominican Republic

1st – 4th June 2006

Introduction

Planned as one of the components of the activities envisaged in the framewrok of the “CT training program for religious personnel”, this follow up session took place in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, in the “Sisters of the Cardenal Sancha Spiritual Retreat Centre” located in Pietra Blanca, Jarabacoa.

20 sisters attended the follow up session, out of the 26 who attended the first “basic” training held in s.Domingo from Novembre 27th to December 3rd 2005.

The follow up session, originally planned on three days, was performed in four days. It starter on the 1st of June at 12.00 and ended on the 4th of the same month at 13.00.

Day one

The follow up session started with the set up, made of the presentation of the session and its aims, the gathering of the individual expectations, the establishment of the common goals to be achieved through this session and the methodology of work.

In particular the almost all the sisters asked to work on the networking, because, in spite of the tremendous amount of activities done by the commission (see point one and following) the majority of the participants felt isolated or not very well connected with the members of the commission.

So it was decided that the follow up session would have been dedicated only at building up a network within the participants and connected to the already existing ones.

The first activity was dedicated to what had happened in the past six months.

Commission on TIP: at the end of the first course, the sisters created a special commission made of five members of the group. During these six months the commission began its activities starting from the promotion of a pilot project aimed at updating the religious life about trafficking in persons. This initiative was submitted to the Dominican board on the 18^th December 2005. After this first step the commission gathered in order to prepare the participation at the National Assembly of the religious life, scheduled on January 2006.

Liaison with the University: in occasion of the “women’s day”, scheduled as usual on the 8^th march, the commission was invited by the “centro de genero” of the University of S.Domingo to give a speech on TIP at the annual assembly (107 attendees).

Media: the commission received an invitation by a radio in S.Domingo for broadcasting a prevention program on TIP.

Haiti: the Haitian member of the commission has been working at the border.

Schools: various schools of the island requested the commission for implementing meeting to reorient groups of youth about the risks of migration.

After this presentation the participants were asked to divide in small groups for the first exercise: a) to share and discuss the perceived experience, both individual and congregational, b) listing the obstacles/difficulties/gaps, c) identifying the resources needed.

The results of the discussions were brought in plenary, where three main points of discussion emerged: the relation with the other “knots” of the net; the communication within the network of the sisters and in general with the community; the situation in Haiti; the dimension of the networks.

The outcomes of the exercise gave the chance to the trainers to frame the main topics to be faced when building up a network: to share and define values, goals, and resources. Through this discussion the group of participants learned the distinction between operational and policy making activities.

Day two

As requested by the participants, in the second day started the process of establishment of the network. From this point on, all the activities had the meaning of experience a new coordinated way of working in the TIP field.

The first activity was a brainstorming about the personal picture of a net. As expected, the sisters provided the images of a fishnet, an electronic section, highway system etc.

At the end of the exercise the three metaphorical roles of the network were highlighted: to catch, to support, to link.

After the brainstorming the trainers gave a theoretical speech about the characteristics of networking: effectiveness and efficiency, kind of goals (same activities in different territories or different activities in the same territory), modalities of activation of a network.

After have shared the theoretical platform, the first step of the process of setting up the network started with the first exercise, in which the participants were asked to provide a definition of TIP and find out the reasons of working in group considering the potentiality of each member of the group.

The mission is the first brick, the cornerstone of any network.

The presentation of the results of the work of the four groups revealed a difficulty in providing a definition – shared and accepted – of TIP; probably because the original definition (the UN protocol) is perceived as cold and not able to meet the feelings of the participants.

On the contrary each group easily found the aim of the group; probably because the sisters are used to work in group, and are therefore acquainted to the benefits of this way of working.

Participants where asked to work out a new definition of TIP, able to interpret the feelings of all; a “comfortable” definition where to find their role and duties.

At the end, a “warm” definition was provided, in which the three typical elements of the UN definition (movement, coercion and exploitation) were changed in three concepts as follows: the exploitation of migration transform people in goods paving the way for their abuse and violation (see photo).

Day three

The third day was organised in three steps, each one played through a group exercise.

The first one was to identify the stakeholders active in counter TIP both in Dominican Republic and Haiti, distinguished for their role (political or operational).

In the second exercise the participants were asked to identify goals on the base of the resources represented by the elements present in the small groups.

The third exercise was played through the OST methodology and the participants were asked to identify activities linked to the goals identified in the exercise above described.

At the end of the day these exercises, followed by plenary discussions, provided to the participants shared, feasible goals, the activities for achieving them and the “map” of the stakeholders with whom to collaborate for their implementation.

Day four

Established during the first three days a common platform made of values, aims, goals and activities, the last step remained was the form of coordination and communication among the members of the network.

Different matrix - star, circle, diagram, cluster - as well as different metaphors of the organizations – system, brain, machine - were introduced and discussed. The choice for the coordination was the cluster, each branch of the tree represented by the main territorial areas (S.Domingo, north side, east side of the island, Haiti) where the sisters are currently located.

The final decision was about the functions of the commission: it was stated that the commission is the body where all the information in/out are filtered and spread among the other members.

The last activity was the assessment of the expectation expressed at the beginning of the session; all the participants were aware of the process made (even if the trainers didn’t explain) and understood the methodology used. They felt strengthened and willing to go ahead with the new structure of the network.

The follow up session ended at 13.00.


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Report of the follow up session held in Dominican Republic 1st – 4th June 2006 Introduction Planned as one of the components of the activities envisaged in the framewrok of the “CT training program for religious personnel”, this follow up session took place in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, in the “Sisters of the Cardenal Sancha Spiritual Retreat Centre” located in Pietra Blanca, Jarabacoa. 20 sisters attended the follow up session, out of the 26 who attended the first “basic” training held in s.Domingo from Novembre 27th to December 3rd 2005. The follow up session, originally planned on three days, was performed in four days. It starter on the 1st of June at 12.00 and ended on the 4th of the same month at 13.00. Day one The follow up session started with the set up, made of the presentation of the session and its aims, the gathering of the individual expectations, the establishment of the common goals to be achieved through this session and the methodology of work. In particular the almost all the sisters asked to work on the networking, because, in spite of the tremendous amount of activities done by the commission (see point one and following) the majority of the participants felt isolated or not very well connected with the members of the commission. So it was decided that the follow up session would have been dedicated only at building up a network within the participants and connected to the already existing ones. The first activity was dedicated to what had happened in the past six months. Commission on TIP: at the end of the first course, the sisters created a special commission made of five members of the group. During these six months the commission began its activities starting from the promotion of a pilot project aimed at updating the religious life about trafficking in persons. This initiative was submitted to the Dominican board on the 18^th December 2005. After this first step the commission gathered in order to prepare the participation at the National Assembly of the religious life, scheduled on January 2006. Liaison with the University: in occasion of the “women’s day”, scheduled as usual on the 8^th march, the commission was invited by the “centro de genero” of the University of S.Domingo to give a speech on TIP at the annual assembly (107 attendees). Media: the commission received an invitation by a radio in S.Domingo for broadcasting a prevention program on TIP. Haiti: the Haitian member of the commission has been working at the border. Schools: various schools of the island requested the commission for implementing meeting to reorient groups of youth about the risks of migration. After this presentation the participants were asked to divide in small groups for the first exercise: a) to share and discuss the perceived experience, both individual and congregational, b) listing the obstacles/difficulties/gaps, c) identifying the resources needed. The results of the discussions were brought in plenary, where three main points of discussion emerged: the relation with the other “knots” of the net; the communication within the network of the sisters and in general with the community; the situation in Haiti; the dimension of the networks. The outcomes of the exercise gave the chance to the trainers to frame the main topics to be faced when building up a network: to share and define values, goals, and resources. Through this discussion the group of participants learned the distinction between operational and policy making activities. Day two As requested by the participants, in the second day started the process of establishment of the network. From this point on, all the activities had the meaning of experience a new coordinated way of working in the TIP field. The first activity was a brainstorming about the personal picture of a net. As expected, the sisters provided the images of a fishnet, an electronic section, highway system etc. At the end of the exercise the three metaphorical roles of the network were highlighted: to catch, to support, to link. After the brainstorming the trainers gave a theoretical speech about the characteristics of networking: effectiveness and efficiency, kind of goals (same activities in different territories or different activities in the same territory), modalities of activation of a network. After have shared the theoretical platform, the first step of the process of setting up the network started with the first exercise, in which the participants were asked to provide a definition of TIP and find out the reasons of working in group considering the potentiality of each member of the group. The mission is the first brick, the cornerstone of any network. The presentation of the results of the work of the four groups revealed a difficulty in providing a definition – shared and accepted – of TIP; probably because the original definition (the UN protocol) is perceived as cold and not able to meet the feelings of the participants. On the contrary each group easily found the aim of the group; probably because the sisters are used to work in group, and are therefore acquainted to the benefits of this way of working. Participants where asked to work out a new definition of TIP, able to interpret the feelings of all; a “comfortable” definition where to find their role and duties. At the end, a “warm” definition was provided, in which the three typical elements of the UN definition (movement, coercion and exploitation) were changed in three concepts as follows: the exploitation of migration transform people in goods paving the way for their abuse and violation (see photo). Day three The third day was organised in three steps, each one played through a group exercise. The first one was to identify the stakeholders active in counter TIP both in Dominican Republic and Haiti, distinguished for their role (political or operational). In the second exercise the participants were asked to identify goals on the base of the resources represented by the elements present in the small groups. The third exercise was played through the OST methodology and the participants were asked to identify activities linked to the goals identified in the exercise above described. At the end of the day these exercises, followed by plenary discussions, provided to the participants shared, feasible goals, the activities for achieving them and the “map” of the stakeholders with whom to collaborate for their implementation. Day four Established during the first three days a common platform made of values, aims, goals and activities, the last step remained was the form of coordination and communication among the members of the network. Different matrix - star, circle, diagram, cluster - as well as different metaphors of the organizations – system, brain, machine - were introduced and discussed. The choice for the coordination was the cluster, each branch of the tree represented by the main territorial areas (S.Domingo, north side, east side of the island, Haiti) where the sisters are currently located. The final decision was about the functions of the commission: it was stated that the commission is the body where all the information in/out are filtered and spread among the other members. The last activity was the assessment of the expectation expressed at the beginning of the session; all the participants were aware of the process made (even if the trainers didn’t explain) and understood the methodology used. They felt strengthened and willing to go ahead with the new structure of the network. The follow up session ended at 13.00.