Younus Khan, a participant in recent Active Citizens training in Pakistan, blogs about a course which confounded all his expectations.

It was a warm sunny day in Islamabad, but evenings in Murree can get brisk in November. Murree is a popular tourist hill-station about an hour’s drive from Islamabad; as a child I frequently made trips up there with my family, but it has been many years since I last visited.

I was not in Murree for a trip down memory lane, but rather to attend a training of facilitators for the Active Citizens Programme.

Participants who successfully complete the course go on to spread Active Citizens training throughout the communities of Pakistan, forming partnership with local volunteers.

Being fairly new to the Active Citizens Programme I had only a vague idea of what to expect from the training. I envisioned long lectures in a strict classroom, shut off from our idyllic surroundings. But I was in for a surprise; one of many as it turned out.

Walking into the room where the training was being held, I tried to blend in; not easy when you’re not only the new guy, but the new guy that was late.

All the participants – roughly 35 in all – sat in one big circle. In the centre of the circle stood two trainers; one gentleman from the UK and the other from Pakistan. The room was well lit and the many windows provided a good view of the hilltops outside. A chair was brought in for me; people shifted, feet shuffled, a few glances – some annoyed, some sympathetic – were shot my way, and then I was in the circle.

In the next few minutes all my visions of classroom-type teaching were banished. What I found instead was a place unlike any classroom I had been in.

Socializing and collaboration went hand-in-hand with the material being taught. Most lessons took the shape of group activities where ideas were exchanged, solutions discussed, and decisions were reached on the basis of mutual understanding.

There were six trainers who led different discussion modules over the course of five days. What I found interesting was how each trainer’s personality came through in their teaching. I can safely say that I learned something from every one of them.

The participants attending the training came from all corners of Pakistan. Some came from cities, others from small towns and villages. For some the trip was a short one, for others the journey was longer. A few came from places with exotic names that I have always wanted to visit, but have not had a chance to.

By the end of the training some of us left as friends. Perhaps it is time to plan a trip to some of the places on my wish-list, after all I know people there now.