Testimonis

The Training for Trainers sustainable activism programme was a turning point in my life. As an organiser and activist I’d been aware for a while that a culture of sustainable activism was absent in Romania and Eastern Europe; the course helped me to organise trainings which worked with networks and groups to explore themes of burnout and sustainability, helping us to more skilfully address different problems, and work together more efficiently and creatively.  Through the training I made new friends and we’ve continued to work together to give trainings, particularly in the area of migrant solidarity work.

In order for me not to burn out at work and be able to sustain looking deeply at our complicated, difficult and often frightening reality I need to be fully present – I need my heart and brain to work together. The training by Col·lectiu Eco-Actiu provided me with a practical holistic approach and tools that can be used to support a healthy, resilient culture. Integral activist training helps participants develop the inner resources and strategies to meet the struggles of these times.

Gaining an increased understanding of the challenges and importance of effective collaboration is vitally important for a complex international campaign network like ours. This work added capacity and motivation across diverse organisations and groups.

Col·lectiu Eco-Actiu’s training has really supported capacity building in organisations we work with. Activists have taken their learning into diverse campaigns from anti-fracking camps to anti-fascist street work, and used it to support effective, impactful collaboration with an ability to remain resourced and engaged in challenging situations. Beyond this the trainings have inspired other creative training initiatives, especially amongst grassroots groups in our Eastern European network, for example those conducting migrant solidarity work, anti-authoritarian education or queer-feminist skill-sharings. On a personal level I learned practical tools which to use in my daily activism (in particular strategising methods) and new communication skills to offer and receive feedback for radical personal change. It also helped me understand my behavioural habits in the past that I associate with processes of burn out, and to develop different possible responses among which to choose in the future. Col·lectiu Eco-Actiu rocks!

One of the best trainings I have experienced, both as activist and educator. I would recommend it to anyone who is concerned to sustain their activism over the long haul and to support others to stay involved against all the odds.

These courses are not just courses – they have the power to shift our perspective on social change, on our relationship with our environment and with ourselves. The design and delivery is excellent and the courses are fun, engaging, thought provoking and stimulating. Being with people working in social change from all across Europe feeds the soul!

For civil society organisations and social movements to succeed, we need training structures in place to foster leadership, skills, powerful strategies and impact. I would not hesitate to recommend these trainings as crucial for these times. They provide a space and an established learning platform for organisations like ours to meet with others who are shaping progressive pathways. We can share our experiences, skills, and develop programmes of learning together, intersecting our strategies to bring about a world that is better for all.

These workshops have made a significant and vital contribution to the health of grassroots organising in the UK. I’ve no doubt that the people who participated on these courses have been influential in making this shift.  Over the seven years the workshops have run, I’ve observed a steady shift amongst organisers to taking more care of ourselves as an essential part of taking care of the world around us.

The courses I’ve attended have been of exceptionally high standard. Through profound insight, care, and attention to detail, and a unique approach to course content, they provided me with invaluable resources and skills, across a wide range of subject areas. These have transformed my ability to contribute to the networks I’m involved in and dramatically influenced the course of my life. By providing me with tools for personal resilience the trainings have helped me to refocus my energies and understand better how I can contribute meaningfully to creating social change. The skills and tools I have learnt have been formative in the work I have taken forwards, and I feel privileged to have received training in how to pass on these experiences to others and spread this unique combination of techniques through my networks. In particular I have been exceptionally thankful for the bursary funding which has enabled me to attend when I needed to most but when my personal finances were minimal.

As a training organisation ourselves we found our collaboration with Col·lectiu Eco-Actiu creative and enriching. It felt like we were all able to give and to learn in an enriching co-creative process. Our work focuses on synergy and Conscious Collaboration. It felt like our work together really embodied that.