Touchstones Workshop, DR

For two days this past weekend a group of approximately 20 Dominican educators, literacy instructors and community workers gathered to discuss and learn a participatory education method known as “Touchstones” in English. In Touchstones discussions, groups sit in a circle, read, and then discuss a pre-selected text. Through individual, small and large group work, participants reflect on, question and discuss a variety of readings and art.

For years Beyond Borders has been a part of creating materials and introducing this method to different groups and individuals throughout Haiti. Thanks to the already existing Spanish language materials from the US based Touchstones Discussion Project, we were able to organize a weekend long formation to now begin introducing the method in the DR.

The training participants represented a variety of community based organizations and traveled from different parts of the Dominican Republic to be together. As leaders in their communities and organizations, they left the training with the needed experience to begin sharing and experimenting with the method in their home areas. Even just a few days after the training, the excitement has begun as we begin to hear of concrete plans for forming local discussion groups that will meet weekly for a period of six months. Our hope is that in building increased capacity for listening, reflection, comprehension, reasoning and teamwork in the communities and organizations represented this past weekend, positive and long lasting change will come to the individual and collective lives affected.

*for more information about Touchstones Discussion Project, visit: www.touchstones.org