My impressions of the GA

The GA so far has been a great experience. Being a part of the SCOPH Sessions Team has been greater than expected. I have learned so much from the SCOPH-D, the RAs and the other active SCOPH members in the Sessions Team. Watching them work, delegate tasks and keep the SCOPHians happy, from behind the scenes, has been amazing.

I am especially proud of today. I achieved a lot and learned that I still have a lot to work on. 8:30 am post-NFDP, I had a session about Community Based Participation Research. What I thought was a complex topic, turned out to be a great way to involve the community in our projects. I also was happy to create two energizers on the spot. One thing I hope to do as a facilitator is to keep the energy level in the room high. It is very common for participants to take a short snooze during a session. The energizers I created are

1. Standing up, smiling and stretching from side to side
2. Changing the place you sit and hugging the person on your right

The perfect energizer formula is a mix of moving, connecting with your peers, and smiling.

However I also learned I need to work on my conflict resolution skills. I was in charge of organizing a small working group on organ and tissue donation. We split the group in two then we were supposed to merge. Unfortunately, I wasn’t agreeing on the way to achieve this. Our participants got confused and didn’t know how to react to us not collaborating correctly. I will keep this in mind, and hope to learn from my mistake.

Tomorrow, it’s the Contract Fair. I can’t wait! (as I sit here typing my blog post in Plenary session.)

Post again soon,
Aline D. Khatchikian