Thirty-one trainers complete My.Coop training of trainers programme on managing agricultural cooperatives in Jordan
A virtual ceremony was held marking the end of the online training course for participants in Jordan.
Amman, Jordan (ILO News) The ILO held a virtual ceremony for thirty–one women and men in Jordan following their completion of a three-month online Training of Trainers (ToT) programme on My.Coop - a training package on the management of agricultural cooperatives.
Participants included members of the Jordanian Cooperative Corporation (JCC), local cooperatives working in the agriculture sector, the Jordan Agricultural Engineers Association, Community-based Organizations (CBOs), international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as members of the ILO team from the Amman office.
The training was organised by the ILO in Jordan, in collaboration with the Cooperatives Unit of ILO (COOP) and the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC ILO) as part of the on-going efforts by the ILO to strengthen the role of cooperatives in supporting vulnerable Jordanians, Syrian refugees and migrant workers employed in the country’s agricultural sector.
This training was part of broader initiatives funded by the Government of the Netherlands, under the Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS), which seeks to improve protection, employment and education prospects for refugees, internally displaced persons and the local host communities.
“One of the main objectives of PROSPECTS in Jordan is to promote decent and productive work in the agricultural sector as a whole,” said Shaza Jondi, ILO’s Chief Technical Adviser for PROSPECTS in the Arab States region. “Cooperatives play an important role in these aspects (…) We are therefore relying on you to transfer the knowledge that you have gained through this training programme to reach cooperatives and help promote and advance the sector,” Jondi told participants during the event.
My.COOP is a training programme on the management of agricultural cooperatives, designed to enable existing and potential managers of agricultural cooperatives to identify and address management challenges that are specific to cooperatives in market-oriented agricultural development. In 2019, the training package that was already available in Arabic was adapted to the Jordanian context to reflect the needs of agricultural cooperatives in host communities working with forcibly displaced populations.
The TOT programme focused on facilitation and training methods needed to enable trainers to design and deliver their own trainings using the My.COOP training modules in the future.
“You will be transmitting this knowledge not only in your own institutions, but also with cooperative managers and partners across Jordan. The knowledge that you will impart will have not only individual-level impact but institutional and eventually system-level implications for improving the ecosystem of agricultural cooperatives in Jordan,” said Simel Esim, head of the ILO’s Cooperatives Unit.
Hussein Noimat, head of Abana'a Wadi Basta agricultural cooperative, welcomed the training. “The programme highlighted new concepts in relation to the management of cooperative work and solutions to the challenges which we face as agricultural cooperatives, and allowed us to exchange knowledge and experiences.”
The training package was initially planned as a face-to-face course, yet due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was made available as an on-line training tool.
“The fact that the training was on-line was a good thing as I am a working mother,” said Ala’a al Mashaqbeh, livelihoods assistant working for the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED). “I already had experience in this field but I have gained a deeper level of knowledge and understanding."
José Manuel Medina Checa, activity manager for the International Training Center in Turin thanked the trainers for their active engagement and commitment despite challenges faced in light of the pandemic. “We all share the cooperative values (…) and we look forward to seeing you in action as trainers in the country.”
Under PROSPECTS, the ILO is working closely with agricultural cooperatives in Jordan, supporting various initiatives to build their capacities and enhance their role in the sector. In 2019, similar trainings were held by the ILO using Think.Coop and Start.Coop, tools for those interested in establishing or joining a cooperative. It is also supporting the development of a national strategy for the cooperative movement in efforts to promote cooperatives in different economic sectors, in close collaboration with the Jordanian Cooperative Corporation.
Participants included members of the Jordanian Cooperative Corporation (JCC), local cooperatives working in the agriculture sector, the Jordan Agricultural Engineers Association, Community-based Organizations (CBOs), international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as members of the ILO team from the Amman office.
The training was organised by the ILO in Jordan, in collaboration with the Cooperatives Unit of ILO (COOP) and the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC ILO) as part of the on-going efforts by the ILO to strengthen the role of cooperatives in supporting vulnerable Jordanians, Syrian refugees and migrant workers employed in the country’s agricultural sector.
This training was part of broader initiatives funded by the Government of the Netherlands, under the Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS), which seeks to improve protection, employment and education prospects for refugees, internally displaced persons and the local host communities.
“One of the main objectives of PROSPECTS in Jordan is to promote decent and productive work in the agricultural sector as a whole,” said Shaza Jondi, ILO’s Chief Technical Adviser for PROSPECTS in the Arab States region. “Cooperatives play an important role in these aspects (…) We are therefore relying on you to transfer the knowledge that you have gained through this training programme to reach cooperatives and help promote and advance the sector,” Jondi told participants during the event.
My.COOP is a training programme on the management of agricultural cooperatives, designed to enable existing and potential managers of agricultural cooperatives to identify and address management challenges that are specific to cooperatives in market-oriented agricultural development. In 2019, the training package that was already available in Arabic was adapted to the Jordanian context to reflect the needs of agricultural cooperatives in host communities working with forcibly displaced populations.
The TOT programme focused on facilitation and training methods needed to enable trainers to design and deliver their own trainings using the My.COOP training modules in the future.
“You will be transmitting this knowledge not only in your own institutions, but also with cooperative managers and partners across Jordan. The knowledge that you will impart will have not only individual-level impact but institutional and eventually system-level implications for improving the ecosystem of agricultural cooperatives in Jordan,” said Simel Esim, head of the ILO’s Cooperatives Unit.
Hussein Noimat, head of Abana'a Wadi Basta agricultural cooperative, welcomed the training. “The programme highlighted new concepts in relation to the management of cooperative work and solutions to the challenges which we face as agricultural cooperatives, and allowed us to exchange knowledge and experiences.”
The training package was initially planned as a face-to-face course, yet due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was made available as an on-line training tool.
“The fact that the training was on-line was a good thing as I am a working mother,” said Ala’a al Mashaqbeh, livelihoods assistant working for the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED). “I already had experience in this field but I have gained a deeper level of knowledge and understanding."
José Manuel Medina Checa, activity manager for the International Training Center in Turin thanked the trainers for their active engagement and commitment despite challenges faced in light of the pandemic. “We all share the cooperative values (…) and we look forward to seeing you in action as trainers in the country.”
Under PROSPECTS, the ILO is working closely with agricultural cooperatives in Jordan, supporting various initiatives to build their capacities and enhance their role in the sector. In 2019, similar trainings were held by the ILO using Think.Coop and Start.Coop, tools for those interested in establishing or joining a cooperative. It is also supporting the development of a national strategy for the cooperative movement in efforts to promote cooperatives in different economic sectors, in close collaboration with the Jordanian Cooperative Corporation.