<div dir="ltr"><div style="text-align:center"><img src="cid:ii_isftheil0_156d588a28e9d2ec" width="212" height="70"></div><br><div style="text-align:center"><br></div><div style="text-align:center"><b><font face="times new roman, serif" size="4">Online Professional Development Course: Working With Communities</font></b></div><div><font face="times new roman, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font face="times new roman, serif" size="4">Enrolment closes 30 September 2016</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font face="times new roman, serif"><br></font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font face="times new roman, serif"><br></font></div><div style="text-align:left">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">Bridging Peoples is pleased
to announce that the ten-week, online course <i>Working With Communities,</i> designed to help development
professionals improve their work and impact in developing communities, is now open for enrolment.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">This professional development
eCourse draws on credible, peer-reviewed research from a range of sources,
including community development, international development, and other
literature. However, it is specifically designed for practical use: going
beyond theory to teach development professionals practical techniques and
strategies that they can apply in their everyday work with developing communities—at
every stage of the project cycle. By the end of the course, participants will
have everything they need to create their own community engagement strategy,
tailored to their specific work and community context. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">The <i>Working With Communities</i> eCourse is not specific to Timor-Leste.
Because it focuses mainly in teaching <b>processes
of engagement</b>, with participants using the techniques and strategies they
learn to fill in details of their own unique program and community context, it
is relevant to anyone working directly with developing communities who wish to
improve their community engagement skills. The last round included students
from Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Syria, Timor-Leste and the United Kingdom
(among others). </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">As a final note, participants
don’t need to take time off work to do this program: as it is an online course,
study hours are flexible, and can be managed on top of work responsibilities.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:11pt">Full course details are
available at </span><a href="http://www.workingwithcommunities.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt">www.workingwithcommunities.com</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt"><wbr>, where you can also get a sneak peek of the course
with a free training video on community engagement/stakeholder mapping.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">If you have any questions
about the course, please contact:</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">Deborah Cummins</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">Founder & Director</font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">Bridging Peoples, Dili, Timor-Leste</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="times new roman, serif"><a href="mailto:deb@bridgingpeoples.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11pt">deb@bridgingpeoples.com</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt"></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"><br></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">Some comments from previous students:</font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="times new roman, serif"><i><span style="font-size:11pt">“</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt">The course has an excellent practical focus that can be applied by
anyone working directly with communities, including development and
humanitarian projects and programs, and the public services.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt"> Youssef Almustafa, M&E
Specialist, Syria</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(58,62,68)"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="times new roman, serif"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(58,62,68)">“</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt">The lessons were clear, the sequencing of lessons built up a
gradual deeper understanding of the content, and I especially
liked the ethical foundation of the course content—particularly the emphasis on
working with local people.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt"> Heather Redmond, Chairperson Friends of
Lacluta, Australia</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="times new roman, serif"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt">“I
really appreciated the personal assistance provided by Deborah and the
interesting Q&A sessions with the other participants from all over the
world!”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt"> Ilaria Rosetti, Cultural Heritage
Professional, Netherlands</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif">“The
course is wonderfully rich in content, detailing the complexity of working with
communities and providing practical approaches to work with this reality.”</font></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11pt"><font face="times new roman, serif"> Heidi Zajac, Director Cooking Circles, Australia</font></span></p>
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