The Movement for Community-led Development

Colonial thinking and power dynamics are deeply entrenched in how we think about learning and skill building. Trainings and capacity strengthening sessions are often seen as a one-way transfer of knowledge where an expert, typically an outsider, builds/ develops/ strengthens the capacities of participants. This completely dismisses the power, potential, and promise that every participant in a training brings to it and reinforces existing hierarchies. It is also a waste of dynamic intellectual and relational resources.

The (Un)Learning Labs are a collaborative space designed for us to interrogate our existing ways of thinking, doing, and learning. Here we learn from each other and with each other. Our biggest resources are the colleagues who share the real or virtual space with us. (Un)Learning labs are designed to recognize the capacities, experience, and knowledge that each of us brings into a collaborative space and to optimize these for a journey of collective learning and (un)learning. We do not have all the answers on what the (un)learning will entail or how best to (un)learn. But together we hope to learn how to unlearn even. We believe (un)learning is the first step in learning in international development and humanitarian spaces. It can be applied to strengthen our capacities in a range of technical areas, from community-led monitoring and evaluation to strategic planning and facilitation. This is what we do here, together. Join Us! Write to gunjan.veda@mcldorg.wpenginepowered.com and nellymecklenburg@effectivestates.org.