February 12 in the Ostend Public Library: 22 participants, including 2 foreign participants (Iwona and the librarian from Dunkirk).
Different stakeholders joined:
the professionals (including colleagues from the other 13 large libraries in Flanders)
the librarian and library coworkers
the changemaker, Hilde De Brandt
the volunteers discussing the practical applications in the dementia project
We described the dementia project in picture,text, and video. Our different speakers contributed sessions on the project, the methodology behind it which was quite complex, the experience of the participants (both caretakers and people with dementia). The actual experience of the participants proved to be a strong and moving testimony. Finally, our librarian reflected on how to incorporate this experience and the methodology in the daily working and policy of the library to be an continually learning, open and inclusive library.
This activity was primarily aimed to learn from colleagues and participants. There is a 2nd meeting on the same topics planned 26/11/2020 aimed at informing policy makers and other departments.
Tips:
Use different media and approaches. Music was a powerful force in the dementia project. Our changemaker did a warm-up activity and asked the participants in the dementia project to incorporate music. This link was also noticed in the IO2 activity in Stockholm: music creates strong links and stories.
Digital storytelling is important. Technology offers the possibility to incorporate distant, ill or absent people that do not have or no longer have the possibility to testify in person about their experience.
Reflect on how to incorporate the methodologies, experiences and learned skills in the daily work and activity of your organisation. Learned skills and insights can be applied to other projects and other target groups.
Trust and encourage your employees: often skills are learned more easily than employees themselves thought. Different platforms and ways of communicating can prove to be a digital barrier, but often these skills can be learned by doing and experiencing.