A week for Partnership

 

From June 3 to 7, 2024, PADEM organized its French-speaking seminar under the sign of partnership. On this occasion, all our partners from Madagascar and Senegal, as well as PADEM consultants, came to Dudelange, Luxembourg, to exchange, learn, and for some, meet.

The exchanges between PADEM, the partner associations, and our consultants proved fruitful. The different points of view made it possible to bring out numerous ideas and areas of work to explore throughout the seminar and in the years to come. There is strength in unity, and this seminar is clear proof: all PADEM members are a force, and their common values ​​make it possible to bring real change to the lives of disadvantaged children.

Between intense workshops, friendly evenings and discoveries, a look back at this rich week which brought us together.

The seminar in a few figures

The partnership and the objectives of the seminar

The 2024 vision of this seminar, centered on the notion of partnership, was defined in distinct objectives:

– Consolidate our partnerships, while better understanding the functioning of our actors on the ground. The times of exchange between the workshops, the festivities, the ice breakers, were great moments to exchange and learn to know each other. Our relationships are strengthened, and our partnership solidified over the long term.

– The inter-partner meeting: The Senegalese and Malagasy partners were grouped together and linked through common themes (water, education, housing, health, climate change, gender-based violence, etc.), the opportunity to highlight cross-discussions on certain subjects. This inter-partner meeting makes it possible to strengthen the skills specific to each organization, by comparing the operations and expertise of each.

– At the dawn of the launch of our third Framework Agreement with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the workshops offered during this week of seminar were intended to strengthen understanding of the procedures of project monitoring. Update on budgetary models, notion of sustainability, these workshops had to address the fundamental stages of project management.

But what is partnership? We questioned our partners, who are best able to define what it represents. Key words emerged: cooperation, aid, development… All in the idea of ​​collaboration between structures, for a common objective: meeting the needs of vulnerable populations and children around the world. PADEM’s ability to combine a global vision of projects with the local expertise of our partners is a real asset for developing strong partnerships and ensuring the impact of our activities.

Workshop schedule

The strategy of the NGO PADEM is based on partnership with local actors. Thus, the seminar was built to encourage exchanges on important themes for the PADEM team and its partners: disability, adaptation to climate change, education, food security, child protection, housing, health and access to ‘water. Every morning, the partners presented their respective projects to discuss their activities. Then, the day was punctuated by several workshops:

  • Learning workshops led by experts in their field on various themes: Sustainability of projects, Project indicators, Communication.
  • Workshops on exchanges, needs and feedback from partners: Training needs, Crossed themes, Seminar feedback.
  • Workshops on the internal functioning of PADEM and project administrative procedures: Presentation of our new work platform, Local contributions, new tools and project monitoring.

All these workshops were punctuated by moments of exchanges such as ice breakers, a free afternoon and moments of celebration.

 

Evenings, outings and meetings

In parallel with the workshops, this seminar was an opportunity for PADEM to present its partners, and to carry out awareness-raising activities among the general public. Thus, several meetings took place with various stakeholders:

  • Meetings with the general public:On the evening of Tuesday June 4, PADEM organized a cocktail evening in Dudelange, to bring together in one place all PADEM stakeholders (backers, donors, press, etc.). This festive event was an opportunity to meet all the people who contribute directly or indirectly to PADEM’s activities, and to celebrate the work done together over the 22 years of PADEM’s existence. An enriching evening, punctuated by speeches from key players in the collaboration between PADEM and its partners.
  • Meetings with the donors and funders of our projects: allowed managers to meet local project managers and to discuss the progress and challenges of the projects. These important meetings made it possible to report on activities on the ground, but also to strengthen the bond of trust that PADEM wishes to establish with its donors.
  • Meetings with the press: In addition to the cocktail evening, PADEM had the opportunity to be invited by Radio Ara to record a program on the partnership, and to have the point of view of our partners from Senegal and Madagascar on their projects and their transition to Luxembourg.
  • Expert meetings: Finally, the seminar was an opportunity to share on very specific subjects which impact our projects as well as Luxembourg civil society. This was the case of the meeting between our partner JED and Family Planning, who were able to discuss the theme of female genital mutilation and the actions taken to put an end to it. In this context, our partners also spoke in high schools to talk about their projects, their activities and more generally about their country and culture. The students of today are the actors of tomorrow, and PADEM wishes through these interventions to awaken the curiosity and open-mindedness of young people.

 

Conclusion

These week-long meetings and sharing made it possible to strengthen ties, discuss projects, cultures, and harmonize operations between the associations. To the question “how to work better together?” », this week of seminar found answers: knowing each other, exchanging, discovering, and learning.

The partnership between the different associations present is solidified over the course of the meetings, and once again reassures us in the idea of ​​continuing this cooperation in the long term.

Upon returning from this event, the satisfied feelings of the participants reached us and encourage us, in the future, to continue to organize these moments of sharing.

 

 

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