Announcement of Annual Stepping Stones TOT by ActionAid

[Guest guest]

Dear All

ActionAid is pleased to announce the National Stepping Stones TOT 2010 in

English to be held from 8th to 17th November 2010 at Ecumenical Christian

Centre, Whitefield, Bangalore, Karnataka India.

Stepping Stones has been designated `Community Best Practice' by UNAIDS, UNICEF,

WHO and International NGOs. Working with communities on the issues of gender,

sexuality, HIV and AIDS and relationships requires constant innovation and

participatory approach.

Stepping Stones offers a unique opportunity to explore these aspects and equips

participants with life skills to deal with problematic issues at every stage of

life. Participants from diverse backgrounds who have undergone this training

have reported at as `a life changing experience'. Personal, family and community

changes as a result of Stepping Stones have been documented in many countries

including India.

About Stepping Stones:

• Stepping Stones is a unique training methodology which can be applied with all

sections of population irrespective of gender, sexuality, language, culture or

education. The training aims to equip the participants with skills in the areas

of communication relationship, gender, sexuality, reproductive health and HIV

and AIDS.

• The training provides an opportunity to look into the very core and essence of

individual behaviour, social/community attitudes and their impact on

relationships and lives of people. It also provides a platform to voice opinion

and share experiences to arrive at multiple solutions borne out of varying

perspectives for the issue at hand.

• Stepping Stones uses a participatory approach which believes in fission-fusion

methodology, where women & men discuss sensitive issues separately in peer

groups and then learn from each other through fusion. This has been proved to be

very effective both in building perspective as well as encouraging sustainable

behavior change.

• The TOT will give the participants an opportunity to learn about HIV and AIDS

and related issues through special sessions by technical resource persons.

Stepping Stones is a module developed by Strategies for Hope Trust, a UK based

organization, Written by Dr. Alice Welbourne with support and input from

ActionAid International. Today it is being applied in about 90 countries.

The SSTOT for 2010 will focus on reaching out to the increasingly vulnerable

youth, adolescents and children with life skills through this much loved

participatory process. We invite people working with these groups to

particularly take advantage of this opportunity.

Mr. , ActionAid, Email williamwvi@... Tel:

+919880206318 / +91-9035881491 / +91-80-43650656, +91-80-43650650,

Mrs. Meghna Girish, ActionAid, Email meghna@...

Thank you and warm regards,

P.

Coordinator Steppings Stones TOT 2010

E-MAIL: <williamwvi@...>