Building a learning culture enhances accountability among CSOs and CBOs, making initiatives more effective and ensuring a sustainable impact. Recognizing this importance, on June 13, 2024, the e!quality consortium members convened for the workshop “E!quality 2.0: Cultivating a Learning Culture among CSOs and CBOs.” Organized by IID, the event aimed to review past and current activities under e!quality, an initiative focused on improving educational outcomes, while setting strategies, identifying risks, and developing mitigation plans. This event was supported by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) under the Education Out Loud (EOL) program.
Held at Hotel Bengal Blueberry in Dhaka, the workshop brought together representatives from #NextGenEdu, Multipurpose Socio-Economic Development Association (MSEDA), and Udayan Swabolombee Sangstha (USS). The workshop featured interactive learning activities, experience sharing, and exploration of future paths toward e!quality 2.0.
Participants revisited the e!quality 1.0 initiative, discussing goals, achievements, challenges, and lessons learned. They reflected on successes, identified areas for improvement, and addressed barriers, providing insights for conceptualizing e!quality 2.0. A group work session further examined what went well and what could be improved.
Subsequent discussions explored the goals and rationale behind e!quality 2.0, fostering a mutual understanding of the initiative’s outcomes and better assessing its impact. Timelines and strategies for a unified approach to future challenges were also discussed.
As part of the Learning Collaborative on Adaptive Management, the workshop emphasized sustainable knowledge-sharing practices among education partners, reinforcing commitments for future collaboration. Drawing from the experience of e!quality 1.0, the consortium members conducted a SWOT analysis to refine their strategy for e!quality 2.0. Central themes included enhancing impact and coordination, improving reporting mechanisms through IID’s 5R (Recognize, Record, Relay, Reciprocate, Reuse) approach, and promoting gender equality and social inclusion (GESI). Additionally, members shared their learning on financial reporting and effective ways for image and video documentation to support advocacy efforts.
The event wrapped up with a session focusing on drafting an action plan for implementing strategies and ensuring stronger coordination in upcoming activities. Participants departed with renewed motivation and a strengthened commitment to collaboration and shared learning. This ensures the partnerships formed will thrive, contributing to the overarching goals of the e!quality initiative, fostering a more inclusive and effective approach to achieving equality, and cultivating a learning culture among CSOs and CBOs.
