By: Alastair Ager

August saw the rollout of the first CPC Learning Network methods training workshop. Held in Gulu, Northern Uganda it was delivered in collaboration with the Program Learning Group established with support from PFMH and Save the Children last year. Participants for the workshop, ‘Assessing Needs, Mapping Progress’, were predominantly drawn from national and international NGOs working in Gulu the field of child protection. However, as a pilot of the regional events that the CPC Learning Network is considering for 2010 the meeting was opened to participants from Rwanda and Ethiopia. The workshop addressed the importance of reliable information on child protection needs and systems response as a basis for planning and advocacy, sharing insights from an analysis by PFMH student Shweta Dewan of current information held in Gulu (work which is part of CPC’s piloting- with Save the Children Sweden – of National Child Protection Index Reports). The workshop then focused on sharing emerging field methods for relevant, efficient and sensitive data collection in community settings. The fourth day of the workshop saw participants visiting projects in the Gulu area and putting these methods into practice, with the final day given over to presentations based on the assessment and evaluations completed. Feedback on the training provided was very positive, with local members of the Child Protection Working Group planning to use the skills learned in an inter-agency child protection assessment in the District in the coming months. The workshop was extensively filmed by a videographer for use in future open learning programs (including the planned ‘Global Classroom’ initiative) of the PFMH.