Koncom leta 2012 dve desiatky účastníkov a účastníčok z oblasti humanitárnej pomoci, rozvojovej spolupráce a rozvojového vzdelávania absolvovali na pôde Trnavskej univerzity zaujímavý typ vzdelávania. Ako prebiehal tento dvojmesačný intenzívny tréning efektívnej rozvojovej spolupráce (TERS), opisuje jeho koordinátor – bývalý rozvojový pracovník a v súčasnosti odborný asistent Trnavskej univerzity – Juraj Jančovič.

What do you understand by the term effective development cooperation?

Effective development cooperation should be based on mutual cooperation and building partnerships between countries and organizations that provide a certain kind of aid and those who are supposed to benefit from this aid in the form of development (for example on the African continent). The target group of aid should feel a sense of ownership of the carried-out activities (improving health services, support for agriculture or educational activities) and, after the project ends, continue with the initiatives that were started. But the concept of effective development cooperation includes not only alignment between the donor/provider (in Slovakia) and the recipient (for example in Kenya), but also among the development organizations themselves, so that individual activities complement each other and are transparent.

What is your own theoretical background and practical field experience?

I studied social work at the University of Trnava. For this university, I later worked (one year and five months) on its social and health projects in Kenya. Afterwards I worked for eight months for Vysoká škola sv. Alžbety on the hospital reconstruction project in Rutovu, Burundi. I also worked as a consultant when setting up the Uganda-Czech hospital in Buikwe in Uganda. During my work on projects in Africa, I increasingly realized that dedicating oneself to development activities is not easy at all if one wants to achieve the intended results. That is why I began to study development on a global scale, and I have been working in the field of global development education ever since.

Why did you decide to organize TERS in Slovakia?

The decision to organize TERS in Slovakia came from a strong need for education and preparation of people in development issues. At the Faculty of Medicine and Social Work of Trnavská univerzita, a few dedicated people realized that if a person wants to truly engage in this field, one should fully understand the context one is entering. Many things can be learned directly in the field (in Africa or Asia), as I learned myself, but this learning is sometimes very painful—it is learning through one’s own mistakes. Many mistakes can be avoided if a person knows the context, the specific culture, and the basic principles of work.

What modules did the training for (future) field workers consist of?

The training in effective development cooperation was tailored to Slovak conditions. While creating the training curricula we worked with Royal Tropical Institute in the Netherlands and Horizont 3000 in Austria, both of which have extensive experience with this type of education. It consisted of seven modules, of which the first four made up the core part of the training. These were: Trends in Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, Cultural Sensitivity in Development Work, Community Development, Project Management, through which participants gained a comprehensive view of development cooperation. The next three modules: Specificities of Work with Vulnerable Groups, Community Health Care, Public Health with a focus on environmental health were already focused on specific areas in the development context.

Who was TERS intended for? Which people ended up taking this pilot training?

Since this training was a pilot, our goal was to gain meaningful feedback from participants so that we could improve it in the future. That is why we decided to offer participation to people who already have experience with work in a developing country, or who work in this area in Slovakia or the Czech Republic. Mostly these were people who had already worked in some low-income Third World country. The aim of the training was not only to transmit information, but through various practical exercises and group work also to obtain skills to use the acquired knowledge in practice. Emphasis was placed on mutual interaction and sharing the experiences of the TERS participants themselves, so this was not one-way knowledge transfer only from lecturers, but also from each other. Exchanging field experiences is always a valuable contribution.

With whom could participants of TERS meet?

The modules were led by teachers from the Faculty of Health and Social Work at the University of Trnava, who have experience in work on development projects. Michael Obrovsky from the Austrian Austrian Research Foundation for International Development (ȌFSE) accepted the invitation and presented the challenges of international development cooperation. Braňo Tichý from PDCS spoke about a human-rights approach to development, Vladimír Krčméry focused on ethical dilemmas in development work, and Nora Beňáková and Zuzana Fialová from Platforma MVRO spoke about official Slovak development aid.

Which specific activity from the training resonates most strongly in your memory?

The simulation that dealt with intercultural issues within the community development module affected me the most. Participants were divided into two groups: one consisted of those who came to offer help and the other group represented the local community. Each participant played a particular role, and the climax was the meeting and discussion between both groups. It was interesting to observe the interactions and the subsequent analysis of the situation. Participants directly realized on the spot their ingrained behavior patterns, prejudices and differences in interpretation.

How will TERS develop in the coming year?

We would like to continue similar trainings at the University of Trnava. We want to incorporate what we learned during the pilot training. In addition, we are considering opening the training in English and partly online in e-learning format, which would make it accessible also for people outside Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Text: Božena Baluchová Foto: archív Juraja Jančoviča, A part of Božena Baluchová’s interview with Juraj Jančovič is published in the bulletin Rozvojová pomoc (spring 2013), published by Platforma MVRO. The TERS project was funded with the support of the European Commission.