In maintaining, the SOP’s of the Covid-19, the training workshop for Culture and Conflict’s, field research started successfully. The two days’ workshop led by Laajverd and Middlesex University, for the Culture and Conflict project under the Transformation and Empowerment stream of the GCRF Gender, Justice and Security was a great learning experience. It brought together researchers and textile designers from different organizations such as, Laajverd ,Paiman and SPARC from Pakistan, YAKJAH from Kashmir, AWCC and WPP from Afghanistan and to be trained in how to conduct field research. This workshop was very important and mandatory for those who had seldom conducted field research . The Middlesex University Team represented by Dr. Zahra Hussain in person and Dr. Neelum Raina via zoom along with Ms. Fatima Hussain from Laajverd, welcomed the participants and opened the training by introducing the context of the project and objectives behind the training. Due to the pandemic, partners from India and Afghanistan were not physically able to join the workshop. However, they were present throughout the training via zoom. A friendly,motivational environment was created to help everyone understand better so they could put forth their ideas and queries. We were given our packs of the FGD booklet which was going to help us organize focus group discussions in the field. The field booklet was incredible as it was useful, brilliantly put together by academics and was very in-depth and thorough as it covered really everything we needed to know, the questions were so well thought of that we are going to ask in our field from our craft person or our local participant of the FGD groups, all leading to a larger understanding of their craft, their way of living and their culture. On the first day of the training A focus group activity was organized which allowed everyone to pitch in their understandings and the past interactions they had, had with the local field craft person, this helped as people narrated their experiences and the problems they had faced which the lead academics and researchers gave solutions for. As many of the volunteers were new to the project it was important to help them gain a better understanding of the workflow which was achieved by a focus group discussion role-play exercise. In this, all members were divided into groups and each of them took time to talk to each other abouthow to run a focus group discussion.
The more experienced members mentored the new participants as well. This lively activity accompanied with a delicious lunch and the final remarks which brought end to the first day of the training.The second and final day was based on the ethics, risk and management of field research which introduced the participants to the ethical conduct of the researcher, gaining consent, managing and securing data of the research participants responsibly. Since a major part of this research involves visual documentation of crafts Photography guidelines were introduced and explained. The technical side of the project was discussed like how the data from the field has to be sorted and submitted through secured channels. We were especially excited when we heard field research will be followed by a field reflection session. This entire process was so well designed that by the end of the workshop all members were ready and prepared to be field researchers and bring back interesting findings. All in all, especially in this pandemic, this training was a healthy exercise and experience
Written by: Batool Ali and Aala Fatima (Laajverd Participants in the workshop)
