For Transcend Oceania, Facilitation is not just something that we do or get invited to fulfill for someone else who needs assistance in guiding groups towards a desired goal. For us, Facilitation is a state of being ! We see opportunities to facilitate human interactions all the time in both informal and formal situations where people interact with each other. In fact, like peace, justice and non- violence, Facilitation for us is a way of life – something we try to model and pass on to others all the time. As an art, Facilitation transforms and transcends unjust relationships and is a peacebuilding intervention strategy for social conflicts and concerns.
Committed to strengthening local peacebuilding capacity in the Pacific region, Transcend Oceania in partnership with the Nazareth Center for Rehabilitation (NCFR) in Bougainville and Conciliation Resources in the UK, facilitated an intensive 7 day Training of Peacebuilding Facilitators at the Nazareth Center for Rehabilitation (NCFR), Chabai, North Bougainville. 22 participants from various peacebuilding organizations and communities completed the training from 23-29 January, 2017. The knowledge and skills learnt will then enable these trained facilitators to convene a series of three-week community peacebuilding intensive training courses all over Bougainville. Renowned peace practitioner and Director of NCFR, Sr. Lorraine Garasu will lead the peacebuilding intensive training course. The Training of Facilitators helped to enhance and strengthen the facilitation skills of the 22 peace practitioners. As alluded to by one participant, Magdalene Torowansi, “I studied peacebuilding but now how to transfer the knowledge and skills to others. This training has really provided for this missing link. Now that I am fully equipped with participatory and interactive methodologies and skills, I am ready to engage adults in peacebuilding, especially as Bougainville prepares for Referendum in 2019!