Manual for Workshop Leaders

2011

Baiba Bekisa (Riga) Barbara Schwendtner (Wien) Jakub Ondruch (Brno) Svetlana Samsonova (Moscow)

ManualforWorkshopLeaders

Table of Contents
Introduction Preparationforaworkshop Leadingaworkshop Workshopoutput

Howtopickathemeforyourworkshop? Workshopleaderapplication Gettingincontactwiththecongressorganizerteam Settingupthestructureandtimetableforthe workshop Tasksforparticipants

3 4 6 7 8 11 13 17 19 21

Howtopreparetheworkshopoutput? Whatcoulditbe(poster,opendiscussion,report)? Howtofinishyourworkshop?

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INTRODUCTION
EGEA is a student organization focussing on building up a European wide network for students of geography. We meet during exchanges, on congresses and other semiscientific events andseminarsorganizedbythemembersthemselves.Congresseswithoutworkshopswouldnotbe congresses. The exchange of universitybased knowledge among the members is one of the most important aims of EGEA. Learning from others, sharing experience and having geographyrelated discussionsisthecontentofeveryworkshop. To support the scientific level of EGEA, this Workshop leader Manual has been created by the members from the Scientific Committee. Brainstorming with all members of the committee helped to develop the main ideas further and to find common elements. The main work has been donebytheabovementionedauthors. With the help of a questionnaire, sent to former workshop leaders within EGEA, this Workshop leader Manual was written. Furthermore, face to face interviews have been carried out to gather information on a more informal base. Hereby, we want to thank all workshop leaders whofilledintheformsastheyhelpedalotandgaveabroadoverviewandinsightintheirprevious work. Your advice, data and experience will help prospective workshop leaders! Thank you and maintainyourgoodwork! The main aim of this manual is to collect and share experiences, ideas and methods employed by practised leaders in order to help to improve the quality of workshops within EGEA. The chapters describe the whole process starting with becoming a workshop leader until the very end of writing a summary for the report. The first chapter deals with the overall preparation of a workshopandfocusesontheapplicationforbeingaworkshopleaderandsettingupthestructure. The second part is dedicated to the workshop itself and contains hints on how to keep people attentive and how to run sessions smoothly. The third and last chapter gives information on and inspiration for the final output. This is one of the most important parts when leading a workshop as every workshop should have a conclusion and a reflection. There are many possibilities how to finish; some are stated by the organizer while some are optional. The most common ones are describedinhere,todemonstratefutureworkshopleadersexamplesofthehugevariety.

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PREPARATION FOR A WORKSHOP

Becoming a workshop leader is a responsible decision, which should be well thought through and performed in an extraordinary manner. A good workshop leader requires the possession of certain soft skills such as leadership, speech ability, motivational skills etc. They all can be learned and trained and will be improved through the whole process of workshop management. Besides collecting plenty of information and knowledge, workshop leadership offers personalscientificgrowth. During the whole process, starting with the creation of an idea and ending with the very last outcome, many challenges will arise. You should think of your time resources, as the preparations will take mostly some months. During this time a lot of things can happen: you will havetowork,studyforyourexamsorevenyourmotivationisshrinking.Beforeyouarestartingto writeyourapplication,thinkaboutyourknowledgeinyourfieldofinterest:isitprofoundenough? Youhaveto keepinmindthatittakesalotoftimetogetbasicknowledgesothat youcanpresent ittowardsparticipants. But also your benefits can be quite immense: your preparations can be a valorisation of your present work (thesis, projects, specialization), you can gain new experience in international cooperation,youcanobtainnewknowledgeetc.Youmightgetintouchwithcurrentdiscussionsin the world of geographers (e.g. climate change and its impacts on the regional level, controversial building projects like Stuttgart 21 or the Brenner Base Tunnel). Most likely, you will talk to experts to ask them for their piece of advice, help or leading an excursion. Therewith you get your first contactsintheprofessionalworld.Furthermore,youwillgainexperienceinleadingagroup,giving presentations in English, writing a report and creating a poster. Your personality will benefit from thewholeprocessofbecomingandbeingaworkshopleader. Sowhenmakingthedecision,thinkofthevalueleadingaworkshopcouldhaveforyoubut also about the work that is being involved. You should be sure why you want to hold a workshop, whatcontentyouwanttoconveyandwhatyouandyourparticipantsshouldlearnoutofit. One of the most important stages in workshop organization and leading process is pre workshop stage that starts far before the congress (almost half a year in advance). This chapter is dedicatedtoapreparationstageinworkshoporganization. Depending on how you work at this stage, the quality of your workshop will be influenced directly.Ifyouworkthoroughlyanddoalotatthisstage,youwillprofitfromitlateron.Beforethe congressyouwillalreadyknowyourparticipants,theirlevelofknowledgeintheareaofworkshop topic; you will receive their home tasks etc. The only thing you have to do now is to be a moderatorofaworkshopandtomakeagoodteamwhichwillbecapabletogetaninterestingand usefuloutput. The aim of this chapter is to describe what you should do before the congress. We tried to dividethepreparationpartinseveralsubstages: Howtopickatheme? Howtoapplyforbeingaworkshopleader? Gettingincontactwiththecongressorganizerteam Settingupthestructureandtimetable Tasksforparticipants
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How to pick a theme for your workshop?

When you have decided yourself to lead a workshop on an EGEA congress you should start verybasically.Ingeneraleverycongresshasaninnovative,relevantornewthemecoveringusually alldisciplinesofgeography(humanandphysicalgeographyaswellascartography,geoinformatics andspatialplanning).Alreadyhavingaspecializationinoneofthosefieldsmightmakeiteasierfor you to find a workshop theme which suits you, your knowledge and your experience. In general thecongressthemesarequitewidespreadandofferahugerangeofpossibleworkshoptopics.

The general theme was fixed by the theme of request of the congress organization. The specific theme was based upon myowninterestandknowledge. EmielBlok(EGEAGroningen)

Sometimes brain writing or mind mapping can help you to specify your workshop theme. Write down all your ideas and sort them into topicrelated groups. Also a brainstorm discussion with your second workshop leader is an ideal way to find out, in which field you both have nearly the same knowledge. One should keep in mind that it should refer to the region where the congresswillbeheld.Forexample,ifyouarehavingademographyworkshopinRussia,talkabout Russiasdemographicsituation,notonlyaboutyourowncountry.Ifyouhaveatopicthatisrelated tothecongresslocationitwillbealsoeasierforyoutofindafieldworkopportunity. Thinking about the main theme of the event as well as its place, I made a simple research on internet screening a possible sub theme that could be interest both,themeandplace. DanieleClimente(EGEABologna) A theme is easy to find just connect the congress theme to your own interests. If then you think you can actually do a good workshop about that (structure, goals),goforit. TomDeBruyn(EGEALeuven)

For the majority it is good to have one succinct main title and an explanatory subtitle. For example, 4 countries 1 problem: Trans alpine cargo transport in the 21st century or Hydro cities:theintegrationofwaterinurbanareas,etc.Yourworkshopthemeshouldbeconcise,short and encapsulated. Try to be innovative and creative! Do not have a too ambitious theme. Concentrateonthemostimportantandsignificantfeatures.Stayproblemcentredanddesignyour titleeveninaprovocativeway.

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The theme was different modes of transport and their strengths. This is a very general theme that always interested me a lot. Its also a theme that is easy to understand and learn about no matter how long youve studied. The idea was to give something for the both, the beginners and the more experienced geographers. SatuOnnela(EGEAHelsinki) Congresses and their workshops are a possibility for a transnational exchange of knowledge, interest and research. Therefore, future workshop leader should keep in mind to integratethesepartsintotheirworkshop.Trytofindatopicthatisontheonesideinterestingfora lot of people and on the other side scientific and in a way special: e.g. a certain method that is taught at your university, a state of the art discussion or something where an international comparisonandexchangecanleadtonewperspectives. Tosumitup,athemeforyourworkshophastofulfilltothefollowingcriteria: Thegeneralcongresstheme; Yourpersonalknowledgeandexpertise(whataretopicsyouareabletoteach); Yourpersonalinterest; Interestsandexpertiseofacoworkshopleader(ifyouhaveone); Congress location (country/region) and how to combine a topic with the congress location; Interestingtopicforparticipants; ThemeshouldbeaEuropeanwidephenomenon,withEGEArelatedtopics. Upondecidingforaworkshopthemeyoushouldalwaysconsiderthesepoints.

Workshop leader application

Due to the new protocol in the EGEA Statutory Base, every regional congress is asked to have an open workshop leader call for their congress. For upcoming workshop leaders it is very helpful to fill out a given application form. The organizers of the Western Regional Congress 2009 in Bingen/Rhein began to develop a wellwrought and comprehensive application form. The organizers of the Western Regional Congress 2010 in Steinach/Brenner developed it further and this form got reused by the organizers of the Euromed Regional Congress 2011. But also a simple motivationlettercanbeaskedbytheorganizers. While you are writing, focus on points of high relevance and do not forget to stick to the guidelines (length, words). Keep it short and simple and abide to the given questions. In an introductory partyou can show your knowledge: your specialization, internships, projects, etc. but also your knowledge related to EGEA and experiences in leading workshops, being a trainer, member of a committee or organizer of some events. Furthermore, it is important to weigh your
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders content related to the congress and workshop theme. Do not promise too much, you should not neglectyourpromises! Iftheorganizingteamdoesnotasktofillinanapplicationform,youshouldsendaproposal tothecongressorganizers.Agoodapplicationislikeaprojectplan.Itshouldconsistof: Workshopleaderprofile Titleofyourworkshop Thematic abstract (subject and results of the workshop; the aim of the workshop; the reason to choose this topic; who could be the workshop participants? what knowledge isneeded?whatshouldtheparticipantslearnduringyourworkshop?) Timeplan Methods(likegroupworks,excursions,expertcontactsetc.) Suggestedliterature

I believe a good application for a workshop leader should include a basic summary of the CV, educational background and relevant information what is connecting one to that specific workshoptopic.Ididmineinaform of a PowerPoint presentation, as it was more interactive and not as boring as a typical A4 page with justpuretext. GeorgOftedal(EGEABerlin)

I just wrote an email to the congress organizers asking whether they still needed a workshop () and offered basically two different types of workshop. The organizers chose one of the two offered topics and I wrote out amoredetailedworkshopconcept. If I may say so I prefer to do it this way than applying with a full fledged workshop application and thennotbeingchosen CindyBruhn(EGEABerlin)

Getting in contact with the congress organizer team

From the moment your submitted workshop application has been approved, you should start to work in a close cooperation with the congress organizers. The organizing team does not only guide and help you with questions, issues and suggestions etc., but also gives you more detailed instructions about the workshop concept and their expectations. It is important to have a good cocommunication with the organizers to encourage a progressive and successful development of your workshop. Moreover, if you are not familiar with the area/region where the congress is hold, the organizers usually are. Furthermore, it is advised to contact the organizers as soonaspossibleafteryouareacceptedasaworkshopleaderandtrytocommunicateasoftenasit isnecessary.Itisforyourownandyourworkshopparticipantsgood.
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders Usually, there is a scientific coordinator in every congress organizer team, with whom you will have frequent contact. As a workshop leader, you will find many topics that you will need to discusswiththeorganizersanditisnotpossibletodescribeanddiscussalloftheminthismanual. However,wewouldliketosuggestthreetopicsthatshouldbetakenintoconsideration.

1) Equipment
What kind of equipment do you need? Do you need a computer, projector, flipchart, and blackboard?Willyoubeprovidedwithpaper,pensandpencils?Willtherebeanaudioplayer?Do youneedaprinter?Doyouneedameansoftransportforanexcursion? Basically, all these questions are related to the technical issues of your workshop and more or less these questions are depending on your chosen methodology. However, it is important to ask them before you find out that some parts of your workshop are not realisable as you do not have the necessary tools for them. As a workshop leader you need to consider which equipment tools will be necessary to increase the quality of your workshop, which would be helpful and without which ones the workshop still could be managed. Will you need a data projector or is a flipchartjustenough?Andwillyouactuallyhavethesetoolsatyourdisposal?

2) Time management
The main time schedule will be given by the organizers, e.g. total hours for the workshop, hours per day, time for the workshop outcome, frame program etc. Nevertheless, thinking about and planning your own workshop time management is never a bad idea. Usually, two major problems occur: it can happen that you are running out of time and can not fulfil the workshop aims or the opposite you have some time left. Many of the previous workshop leaders agreed thattheywouldlookandpaymore attentionto thetimetablethantheyactuallydid.Some ofthe examplescanbefoundintheappendix. As the whole event has its own schedule your workshop should have it as well thus the latter elements should be harmonized. You might be thinking of an excursion. When is it manageable?Coulditbesqueezedintothemainschedule?

3) Budget for the workshop

In the planning phase you might also think of necessary workshop expenses. Will you have some additional costs for you workshop, e.g. an excursion or an admission fee for a museum, nature reserve? Will you organise a field trip or field work during your workshop? How will you reachtheexcursionplacebyfoot, bicycle,car,trainorbus?Istherea transportnetworkclose to thecongressplace?Isitpossibletorentabus? You should always keep in mind that the congress organizers have limited resources of money.Ifyouplantouseadditionalmoneyforyourworkshopactivities,theyneedtoagree.Itcan also happen that your plans not always coincide with the organizers vision and you would have to changeyourprimaryidea.

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Setting up the structure and timetable for the workshop

Normally,theorganizersgiveyousomeguidelinesconcerningtheworkshop,e.g.thatthere should be two workshop leaders, a defined schedule with the workshop time, the group size, a budget, infrastructure (you cannot lead an ArcGIS workshop in an alpine hut without electricity) andarequestedoutput.Youneedtoorientateyourselfconcerningyourworkshopaccordingtothe givenstructureandsetuptheframeworkofyourworkshop. I always need to have a workshop design with minutes in time per sessions, each session with its specific objective, materials to be used and methodstobeapplied. VladDimitrescu(EGEABucharest) On the basis of the congress program, which should be more defined from the organizers side, the workshop structure and its content can be prepared more in detail. You should define your theme and focus on the most relevant points. This can happen in the process of dealing with the topic of the congress and workshop theme. Sadly, the workshop theme has to be compressed in the congress program, it has to be specified and only the most important points can be presentedanddiscussed. I first set up a rough plan, like in which period what topic could/should be tackled. By doing so, I realized how much/little time I had and that I had to focus more closely on one or two specific questions, if I wanted to have a round workshop. I therefore wrote down the key questions and thought of methods & materials to conveythemessage. CindyBruhn(EGEABerlin) According to the congress schedule, a workshop leader has to construct the timetable for the workshop: e.g. on which day in which hour in which minute will be which part of the workshop. You should think about a thematic structure of your workshop. You can subdivide your workshop for example into parts (A, B, C). So in Block A there would be the basics of the topic discussed or the theory part, part B would be more specialized and the place for presentation of examples from different countries or the applied part and C is the conclusion part. We suggest
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders thinking about the methods used during the workshop (presentations, discussions, focusgroups, role or simulation games etc.). Furthermore, it is the best to combine listening, thinking and doing somethinginaninteractivecomprehensiveway. Its really important to make brainstorming and this more brain absorbingpartinthebeginningwhen peoplestillhavemoreenergyLater there can be excursions and more relaxing parts. Workshop leader shouldnt be too much ambitious and have too big requirements from participants. JoannaWawrynowicz(EGEAWarsaw) Ingeneral,aworkshopoutlinecanhavethefollowingstructure: Gettoknoweachother(someicebreakinggames) General introduction (presentation given by workshop leader, aims and expected results) Participantspresentations(presentationsofhomework),appliedpart(casestudy,) Excursionandexpertmeetings Discussionsandwrapups Outcomeandpresentation The structure of the workshop should be ideally a mixture of theory (a basic knowledge of all participants should be achieved this can already be achieved before the congress), professional absorption, new topics and a state of the art content with a practical approach and a reflection.

There was not always a need for an excursion but I would highly recommend one. It is much better to have a theoretical AND a practical approachinsideaworkshop. VladDimitrescu(EGEABucharest) Thedurationoftheworkshopcandiffergreatly.Consequently,thetimescheduleshouldbe detailed and wellconceived. Another difficulty is the aspect of time and buffers. Very often some points lasts longer because of intense discussions, technical problems, tired participants, delays. Thereforeitisessentialtohavetimeandcontentrelatedbuffer.Lessimportantpointsshouldbein
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders every workshop program, they can be skipped if necessary or left in the schedule. Keep the keywords in mind: Prepare more, bring less! If you were lucky and you fulfilled your workshop program totally, think of some addon activities, like group games, further discussions or feedback sessions. We made a schedule of our workshop, but then we realized that we planned to do too much. You have to be aware that for some people coming to your workshop its first time when they met people from other countries (and have to say or present something in English tointernationalaudience). JanSmutek(EGEAKrakow) In the end, when you finished your plans, you should think of the probability of realization ofyourworkshop,ifitisfeasibleunderthegivenconditions.

Tasks for the participants

What would be a workshop if there were no participants?! Thus, a workshop leader has to promote his/her own workshop without knowing the participants. Making an abstract for the congresswebsiteisoneofyourtasks.Itwillcontaininformationsuchastheaim,pointsofinterest, difficulty level or special interest needed. Regarding this small message, people will make up their mind and consequently also their expectation towards the workshop. You have to stimulate an interestforyourworkshopinjustafewparagraphs. Assoonasyourworkshopgroupisformed(youwillbeprovidedwithemailaddresses),the communicationbetweenyouandtheparticipantsstarts.Themainadvantageliesinthepossibility ofestablishingadiscussion(ontheforumf.ex.)withinputsfromvariousparticipants.Moreover,in order to reach a good quality of the workshop, every participant is asked to obtain a certain knowledgeandinformationinadvance. Generally,itdependsonyourconceptwhichtasksmaybegiventotheparticipants.Usually, twobasicgroupscanbedefined:themorepassiveonewiththeoreticalpreparationandtheactive approachbypreparingafirstoutput. Firstly, providing study materials such as scientific articles help understand the workshop topic and its related issues. They are useful to look at a subject in a critical manner and by extracting the first conclusions. Moreover, the study materials help to prepare the workshop presentations and discussions because the participants will be familiar with the topic and specific terminology.Valuabletimecanbesavedduringtheconductionoftheworkshopsessions.
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders Secondly, a workshop leader can ask the participants to prepare homework regarding a certain topic. It can be done in different ways such as making a presentation, writing a paper/review or an essay, looking for some data or case studies from the participants home country. Giving homework assures a certain level of knowledge of each participant attending your workshopandabundanceofinputsduringdifferentstepofsessions. Generally, I would put the participants to prepare homework, especially when the congress is preparing a congress brochure after the event. But the risk is that not all the participants come prepared or if they prepare something the content of the homework is very low. Would much rather go on sending them something like a packagematerialkitfromwheretheyshouldgathersomeinfoandusethisinfoinside theworkshop. VladDimitrescu(EGEABucharest) Yeah! I like to have active participants, as they get active through homework. It makes sense that they present case studies that can be found in their home countries which are connected to thetopicoftheworkshop. SandraBarthel(EGEAWien) We send practical tasks to our participants telling them what to do. For example, some made video, or posters, or paperwork about the subject. It was proven to be very useful and helpful because it made our discussion very interesting, and we were able to make some very goodconclusionsintheend. ValentinaValjak&Branimir Arbanas(EGEAZagreb)

Beforehandpreparationofparticipantscan bringsomedifficulties,too. Generallyspeaking, you should not expect that everyone is fulfilling their given tasks and some will not deliver homework in high quality. Keep in mind the process of last minute placing, which may cause changesinyourparticipantslist.Mostlikely,someofyourparticipantswillgettheplaceinthelast moment and they will not have time for preparing for a workshop. Therefore, you should think of sometasksforparticipantswhoreceivetheirplacelaterthantheothers.

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LEADING A WORKSHOP

Duringthewholeprocessofthinkingofbeingaworkshopleader,youalwaysshouldkeepin mind the structure of your workshop: the whole content, possible excursions, companies or scientific institutes in the near surroundings of the congress location, which you can visit or from where you can invite some experts. Time goes by very fast and the congress is coming closer very quickly. The closer the congress is the more details should be worked out concerning your workshop. When you know who is going to be in your workshop, you should also think of this composition.Thestructureofyourworkshopgrouphasalsoaninfluenceonthecontent.Youhave to consider the different levels of knowledge, interests, motivation of your participants, but also the knowledge of English. In general, the organizer takes care of the composition, so that the workshopgroupismixedwithnotonlypeoplefromoneentityorcountryinoneworkshop,agood mixture of experienced and not so experienced EGEAns, when the priorities given make this possible. You can ask for a short description of everybody (year of study, knowledge in this field, Englishskills,interests...)viaMailtogetamoreclearprofilefromyourparticipants. When it comes to think about the realization of your ideas, try to be creative, think of new discussion forms, which also can be realized in smaller groups, poster presentations, working with postits,flipcharts,etc. Workshops are interactive you work for some days on one topic they should not be leadercentred. Workshop leaders are facilitators; they stand in direct interaction with the participants, give the basic inputs, take care of the quality and the attractiveness of the topic but mostly lead the discussions further. Furthermore, workshop leaders are the responsible persons whokeeptheparticipantsinterested,motivatedandingoodmood. Therefore,youcanthinkoficebreakers,didactics,fungamesetc.andtheirimplementation inyourschedule.Alwaysthinkofthe10minutesrule:changesomethingeverytenminutes(anew question, a new material, a new method, a new group formation) and the concentration will stay high. Moreover, congresses provide an opportunity for participants to train their skills, e.g. presentation, creation of posters, (leading of) discussions, bringing in their knowledge etc. Workshop leaders play an important role in communicating those things towards the participants andsharetheirknowledgeinthesefields. You must do your best not to have a long and boring lecture. All participants have that on their faculties and they do not need that on a congress as well. You need to have short, interesting and motivate interactive lectures and not to talk more than 3 minutes. You have to include participants as muchaspossible! MatevPremel(EGEAKoper) In my opinion a good mix between different techniques keeps participants motivated and awake. Also make sure to take enough breaks to relax a bit so participants can focus better in the next part of the workshop. Plan those beaks in advance so you have enough time foryourprogram. EmielBlok(EGEAGroningen)

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ManualforWorkshopLeaders Interactive games, ideas and projects are very good for creating a special working atmosphere, motivation and group dynamics. Another central point is to make sure to have enough possibilities for discussions. Firstly, between the workshop leaders and the participants, whichhaveabroaderinsightintothesubjectandmostlikelyabetterknowledge.Secondly,among theparticipantsitselftheycanworkontheirownideasandconcepts,sharetheirknowledgewith the others and compare the different situations in their home countries. In the third place discussionswithexternexpertscanbefruitfulandeyeopening.

Avoid too much listening to presentations, as these are pretty boring most of the time. Remember the name is workshop. Theory shouldbeexplainedinliteraturethat is sent to the participants some weeks before the congress as preparationfortheworkshop. TimVanDeLaar(EGEAGroningen)

First is to get know each other, make them to feel free to say their opinion, not to be too much serious and humour is also always good companioninthiskindofworking. BranislavKaruoviae(EGEA)

Iamusuallyusingalotofnonformaleducationmethodsandlessacademic/formal ones. First of all because these methods are more cool and catchy, and second of allthatIbelievethesemethodsaremuchmoreproductiveforthelearningoutcomes of the participants (sociologically demonstrated). So in any workshop that I lead ice breaking/energizers/teambuildinggamesareindispensable,Iusealotofsimulation games also, work in groups, brainstorming, etc. All these methods are themselves waysofmotivatingparticipants. VladDimitrescu(EGEABucharest)

Workshops are most interesting, when they take into consideration the origin of the participants but also the congress region. Geographers love field trips. You get to know your environment in a different way, more intensively, focused on the relevant points but you also see theproblematic/challenging/humanimpactsonthewholeconcept.Therefore,anexcursionduring a congress is highly recommended. If you are not really familiar with the congress region, contact the organizer and ask, if they can help you looking for companies, nature parks, contact persons, etc. Mostly, the organizers have after some time quite good connections and networks in this region. Within an excursion, it is easier to make a reference to this province. During the indoor workshop sessions, the focus is on the broad overview of the topic the transfer of basic knowledge, the European wide differences, and some projects as example. Field trips concentrate on the regional issues, show the participants a place outside the congress location and offer them to get to know another (maybe unknown) region in Europe. Cooperating with local companies, touristoffices,residentsorevenpoliticiansisaverygoodwaytoseeotherspointofview.

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The excursion was about winter tourism in the Alps. As we, of course, had people from different parts of Europe in our workshop and we were talking about mass tourism in alpine Austria and its implication, for us as workshop leaders it was in the first instance important thateveryoneknowswhatwearetalkingabout,sowewenttoseethetouristinfrastructure andtookpartourselvesintouristprogram. The other purpose was to meet different actors: talk with the mayor of a municipality and hear his opinion and with other people working in the tourism industry. People could get someknowledgebyexperiencingitandalsosurelyhadanicetimeandsawplacestheyhave neverbeentobefore. Afterall,workshopsshouldbealsoagoodtimeandnotstudyingovertheories.Thisyouwill have anyway at home at University. With an EGEA workshop you are free (if the orgateam and you are able to arrange it) to work on a topic in an applied way. I dont see it always necessary to do field work, but I see it necessary to work applied this can be done by having excursions, but also by using other methods. But in the end an excursion is always nice, especially if you can gather further information with it. Imagine visiting a country for a congress for 5 days and you always sit in a lecture room doesnt make too much sense, especially if the purpose of this conference is to gather further information for yourself and tolearnsomethingnew. LisiGruber(EGEAWien)

The scientific input of your workshop is also very important. Workshop leaders should be wellprepared and experienced enough to moderate the workshop. It is important to present your participants exact data, facts, correct tables, maps etc. If you have any doubts regarding the information you have, check it beforehand. According to the survey amongst experienced workshop leaders, many of them did not need any adviser they based their workshops on the courses they had at university, on their bachelor or master thesis or PhDresearch. However, some of them had a scientific coordinator at their university. It is always useful if you can ask more experiencedandprofessionalpeopleinthesubjectofyourworkshoptheme. Make sure youre well informed as workshop leader, you always need to know more than theparticipants. SamanthavanderSluis(EGEAGroningen) Asaworkshopleaderyouneedtoseeaworkshopasanopportunityforfocuseddiscussion, ideas and exchange of opinions and potential collaboration with a group of people who just met on a specific field of interest. The workshop will generate ideas that will give not only participants but also you a new, organized way of thinking about the topic and maybe even promising directions for the future. Sometimes the participants come to the workshops with different expectations. Therefore it is useful to ask for their personal aims and wishes in the beginning. Usually, following a more applied approach is definitely more interesting than theory parts and boringdiscussionsaboutthingssaidbeforeathousandtimes.
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders Most likely, your workshop group will be incoherent. Workshop leader have to face tired, disinterested or timid participants. It will be a daily challenge to integrate all students. Usually, games or smaller groups can help in those situations. There are plenty of good books in all languages who deal with difficult participants they are mostly referring to trainings but are also goodforEGEAworkshops. A friend of mine had a non English speaking participant in her training. She totallyrestructuredherconceptandmadea role play instead! Challenging for oneself butsimplyawesome! BarbaraSchwendtner(EGEAWien) Creative thinking is not easy in the beginning but will be the most convenient solution for you and your workshop. Pick out a specific part of your content and find its correlations, consequences etc. (f.ex. Natural Hazards and the consequences in densely settled areas: what needs to be done, what should be taken into consideration, who are the agents...) This can be embeddedinasimulationgame,smallerdiscussiongroups,postercreationprocessorwhatsoever. Performing something different than used at university and daily life makes the workshop more funandisanopportunityfordifficultparticipants. Some of the workshop leaders prepare printed materials for their participants which could includesometextswithbasicinformationonthetopic,somemaps,schemes,diagrams,chartsetc. The input of the materials package depends on the workshop leaders choice. Last minute participantsfinditusefultohavesomeprintedmaterialswhichtheycanreadonthecongresssite. Ithelpsthemtogetmoreinvolvedinthethemeandintheworkshopdiscussions. We gave to participants a small booklet with maps and information aboutthetopicanditwastheideathat they form their opinion (with relevant information) concerning their perspectiveonthetopic. IngeWiekenkamp(EGEAAmsterdam)

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WORKSHOP OUTPUT
Thinking of the workshop means thinking of the output! Why? An easy answer: can you imagine yourself working on a project without an aim and strategy, and not knowing the final result?Someorganizersrequireanoutputtobepresentedattheendofthecongress.Outputsofa workshop can be miscellaneous and vary from poster presentations, spoken presentations and discussion forms. Sometimes you need to present the content of the workshops, while others ask for more detailed ideas or solutions. Working out the output of the workshop is most useful in cooperation with the participants. They bring in their point of view and what they worked on during the congress week. Very often the output is used for a congress report or even for regional institutions,whenyouworkedtogetherwithacompanyorprofessors/experts. This part will discuss different questions as how to prepare the workshop outcome, what should it be and how to finish the workshop? However, we would like to remind you that these suggestions are guidelines that could help you to improve the workshop outcome. Keep in mind, you are a workshop leader and therefore you can decide on how to organize and structure your workshop.Nevertheless,itcanbehelpful,right?

How to prepare a workshop output?

Being a workshop leader means a lot of preparation and studying, so you need to be ready to spend some time on it, especially concerning the workshop output. You will see the more preparedyouarethemoreconfidentyouwillbe,andmostimportantyouraudiencewillnotice it.Therearemanywaysofhowtoorganizeaworkshopbutalsodonotforgettobecreative. Preparing the workshop output generally means that the whole workshop should be focusingontheoutput.Therefore,thinkandformulateaclearaimoftheworkshop.Itisimportant for you as a workshop leader to transmit the message in a comprehensive way towards the participants. You can even make it visible, e.g., on a blackboard thus the goal will be there and everybodycanlookatitwhenitisneeded.Itworksreallywellinsituationswhendiscussionsgofar beyondthescopeoftheworkshop.

It was difficult to express what the goal of the workshop is it should be made really clear and concrete, I learned. SatuOnnela(EGEAHelsinki) The next step you need to consider while preparing the workshop output is the framework of the outcome session set by the congress organizer. There are many ways and strategies of preparing the workshop outcome. One of the most successful is to have discussions it can be in various forms (plenary, everchanging groups, working in pairs or small groups, role play, simulation game etc.). Discussions usually help to learn more about the topic, to bring up new points of view and to find solutions but most of all it helps to establish a closer link between participants.
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders I tried to bring up discussions. This can happen through splitting them into groups and some role plays when you are really lucky participants are interested and lead thediscussionontheirown. StefanRopac(EGEAWien) We divided the people in different groups to think about the topic from different perspectives, which motivated the participants, because they had to seetheproblem. SatuOnnela(EGEAHelsinki)

During these discussions, sooner or later you will discover the variety of different viewpointscomingfromtheparticipants. Usethem!Itcanbehelpfulforthefinalstageasyouwill be able to not simply sum up the discussion but in a contrasting way. Furthermore, these viewpointscanbedevelopedasworkshopoutcome. We tried to have some output everyday in form of discussion and through participatory methods. It always helped us with the next steps. SatuOnnela(EGEAHelsinki)

Asaworkshopleaderyouwillmostlikelyleadthesediscussionsandmostprobablyyouare trying to involve each participant. Consequently, it is worthto remember thatyou should focus on the general motivation and also not forget about documenting the main discussion points. During this step, you can ask for a help from the audience, for example, summarizing, writing and re evaluatingtheirideasandputtingthemdownonposters,makingmovies,takingpicturesetc. You will experience that not all participants will be as enthusiastic and talkative as you expected, therefore you always need to have a ready plan on how to involve them in the whole process. A successful example how to increase participation is using a visual setup of activities as mindmapping,postitstickers,painting,acircleroutingpaperetc.Therearemanywaysofhowto makethemfeelcomfortable.Onceagainbecreative! Write down the things that gave you today the strongest feeling of having learnedsomething. SatuOnnela(EGEAHelsinki) Also rephrasing of the discussion points and statements can help a lot, for instance, by askingaparticipantifhe/shecouldrephraseitwithhis/herownwords.Inouropinion,itisagood practicetoinvolvelessoutgoingpeople.Rephrasingisalwaysagoodmethodbecauseyouhavean automaticallysummarizedoutputofastatementordiscussionbyyourparticipants.
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders Bear in mind: question, try to prepare the workshop outcome in a way your participants wouldappreciatethemostinvolvementinthewholeprocedurehelpsalot!

I experienced that the moment of producing the output, whatever type, is the main moment of collaboration.Thisrequiresthateach attendantstandforapositiononthe topic and actively put in practice whatheorshethinksaboutit. DanieleClemente (EGEABologna)

To sum up, we have developed a graph to show how many stages are needed before the workshop outcome is achieved, and the graph clearly shows that the outcome depends on many actors, factors and interconnections. And for a better workshop outcome, all stages should be implemented.

Mainfocus

Organizers
Time management Structure ofthe WSoutput etc.

Contentofthe WS Goalsofthe WS Outputorientated WSetc.

Participants
Discussion Rephrasing Directinvolment

Discussionkey points Finaizedsolution

Theme ofWS

WSleader

WSoutcome

What could it be (poster, open discussion, report)?

Each workshop should have (any) kind of result, so that the participants do not think that they have just been toanotherworkshop. VladDimitrescu (EGEABucharest) Outcomes of the workshop can be different and applied in various ways, for example, an oral presentation (power point presentation), a poster presentation, small videos and miscellaneous discussion forms. As an EGEAn most probably you have experienced that our congresses are as diverse as EGEA itself, therefore also workshops and their outputs are different fromonetoanotherregion,too.Thenagain,thewayofpresentingtheworkshopoutcomeismore
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders orlessdependingonthecongressorganizersastheywillgiveyouaframeworkinwhichdirectionit goes. For instance, sometimes you will be asked to make a poster/power point presentation to introduce other with your workshop content, while other may ask for specific details and statementsforthefinaldiscussion.

I think the combination of producing suggestions and introducing good cases was a good idea although I always find it difficult to produce something specific with the group that has never met before and who has very limitedtime. TomdeBruyn(EGEALeuven)

Having previously decided the WS topic and requested a certain homework to the attendants, I simply lead a final discussion on whatwehavedoneandtrytomake everybody conscious about results in order to let them decide the appropriate output to present and sotomakeit. DanieleClemente(EGEABologna)

Nevertheless, the workshop outcome also depends on your participants, your theme and your discussion conclusions. As you might understand, it is important to think about the workshops outcome from the very beginning already when making the first scratch on paper. It will help you to crystallize the key constructs and approaches in your workshop outcome session. And surely it will be successful if it will be done in cooperation with the participants. Therefore, while working on the output try to stimulate and motivate your participants by giving some ideas andalwaystrytoplansomeextratimeforclosingtheworkshop(wholikestoworkinahurry?). If you get an output, be proud of it show your results to everyone; if not, simply write down that there were no results with the explanation, why not etc. Concerning your workshop it willbemoreasummaryaboutyourworkshop. The best output you can have is to make sure the participants and the workshop leaders have learned something, both about the subject and about how to think reason and haveadiscussionaboutthetopic. TomdeBruyn(EGEALeuven) At the point of choosing the output (given democratically to the attendants)Isimplydoachangeover. Iftheresultsontheoutputareclear,I chose the right topic and lead it ok. Inothercase,Ifailedinsomething. DanieleClemente(EGEABologna)

Another possibility of how to present and model your workshop outcome is by writing an article for a congress report. A congress report is an overview of the event itself, including the scientific (workshops, excursions, final discussions and training sessions) and social program (cultural fair, regional meeting, a congress preevent, opening ceremony etc.). The workshop reports do not need to be long but you need to include the main points and conclusions. Next to the general content of the workshop, you can also write about the excursion, the general
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ManualforWorkshopLeaders atmosphere, involvement of the participants etc. Basically, you need to present an outline of your workshop in a clear and understandable way as this report will be read by people who have not participated in your workshop. The output is a paragraph for itself as it is necessary to point out, whatselfsetaimsyouachieved. Writing articles and publishing them in congress reports would be a very good way to train workshop leaders scientific writing and it is also a nice rewardafterwards. StefanRopac(EGEAWien)

WeastheScientificCommitteebelievethataworkshopreportshouldbeanobligatorytask for every workshop leader. Because writing a reflection of the workshop will help yourself in your development as a workshop leader and also concerning its content and its output. We would encourage all organisers of all regions to bring their work for the congress in a nice and comprehensive form of a congress report. It helps to promote EGEA among their departments, sponsors and is a special memory of that period of time. We understand that it is a hard assignment and extra finances are needed but the supplementary work is compensated for the honour of the final product. Therefore we suggest to all regional and also annual congress organisertoworkonanoverallcongressreport.

How to finish your workshop?

Tofinishaworkshopisanimportantstep,becauseitisareflectiononthewholeworkshop youandtheparticipantslookbackandtrytodrawasummary,outcomelinesorthingsthathave been learned all together. Also, the negative side of the workshop can be discussed things that need to be improved, done differently or changed. Who could do it better than those people who participatedinyourorganizedworkshop?Takethefeedbackasapresent,donotfeeloffendedand learnoutofit. Conclusion to give people a take homemessage! IngeWiekenkamp(EGEAAmsterdam)

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what we also should not forget is that not only participants are the one who should learn something during the workshop but also workshopleadersthemselves.Ithink this is something that EGEAoffers to us: the possibility to improve ourselves. LisiGruber (EGEAWien) Many of the previous workshop leaders agreed that it would be useful to have a feedback time that would be planned for the workshop leaders by the organizers. They could share their experiences, as well as things that went wrong or the contrary went really good. It will definitelyhelptheminthefuture! Additionally,itshouldbesuggestedtohaveafeedbacktimefromtheparticipantsaswell.It would be really supportive for the workshop leaders if they plan to become a workshop leader again. Each workshop has to have an evaluation,ofcourse,nomatterhow it is done simple nonformal methods (smiley faces or sad faces onaflipchart)ormorecomplexones questionnaires. VladDimitrescu(EGEABucharest) Attheveryend,thinkofagoodbyegroupgame,thankyourparticipantsandintheevening drinkabeertogether. However, the last thing we want to bring across: plan, manage, and think of a workshop notonlyas aworkshop leaderbutalsoasaparticipantinthiswayyouwillfindmanyanswersto yourquestions.Trytorememberallworkshopsyouhaveparticipatedinandifyoulikedthemuse theirmethodsandstrategies,ifnotthinkofbettersolutions.Goodluck!

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