|
The future of coordination? |
|
|
|
|
Written by Secretariat International
|
|
Thursday, 17 January 2008 |
|
Page 2 of 3
Some reflections on the role and tasks of (international) coordination
Review, plan and strengthen the action! Coordination needs to ...
-
... discover the actions and deepen the reflection together with the “actors”, but we have difficulty to discover all the elements of the actions.
-
... facilitate the action: to find ways to make the action possible.
-
... add value to an action, and take it further. A limitation in our coordination is an inability to see a way forward in the action process.
-
... assess each action being taken according to the specific interest of the ycw – for example: on the level of empowerment of young workers and young women workers, and the changes and developments in the key actors who participated in the action. The purpose of this is to see HOW we are strengthening an action.
Facilitate the interaction and exchange between the actions
-
Coordination needs to facilitate dialogue and dynamic interaction between actions of our movement.
-
Coordination needs to link the actions of national movements and stimulate direct exchange of experiences between national movements.
-
The financing of movement also needs to be coordinated, which is a constant challenge.
-
We need more “coordination of action.” In our vision the leaders who are fully engaged and part of the action come together to share their experience, analyse and further develop the action. We see that often our structure is “top heavy” and busy with administration and creating work for itself and we have difficulty to gather these leaders to coordinate their actions.
Improving our communication, making use of new technological means
-
We are using the internet chat constantly for personal communication, this needs to be used also for our discussion about the action and for the development of the work.
-
We see a need to develop our external communication in order to be visible and to strengthen the impact of our actions.
-
We need to adjust our organisational structures according to developments in the society – such as technology in communication – in order to improve our functioning.
Promote independence and the principle of solidarity
There are two key motivations for the coordination:
-
one of promotion of independence/self-capacity (so we ask the question “where in our actions is it that the leaders are able to act by themselves?”); and
-
the principle of solidarity: to see where is the need for intervention to support through linkage with other actions and other support.
Sometimes we are trying as coordinators to “solve all problems of the movement” rather than basing ourselves in the action of the movement itself. It reflects a lack of trust in the leaders to take up responsibility for themselves. The leaders in the action are the key actors, experts on their own reality. Coordinators are there to help them to realise this through the process we have learnt as militants.
We have to realise that we as coordinators are actors too, our action is to contribute and to stimulate the assessment of the action, reflecting on the value of this, and planning the continuity of the action.
Coordination of action and leadership!
-
Coordination needs also persons. We need Coordinators who are part of the action, who are in direct contact with the action, and who are leaders of the action. The action is the central purpose of their work. Often there are visit plans of coordinators that start with follow-up of a base group, national team, and the coordination of the movement (its structure) in order to help it to “strengthen”, but in this process we are not meeting the action and its leaders.
-
In ycw leadership is not an award, right, or title; it is a privilege!
-
We see a need to elect “international leaders” and need to reflect with them on what this means – in any case the aim is to strengthen the action and to progress in our “coordination of action”.
|
No Comments.
