What forty-eight hours reveal that an interview never does
For two cohorts, the selection funnel I had designed ended with two days on site. I have since removed that stage, for reasons I will explain. What it made visible is worth describing.
Notes
The notes cover how project holders are selected, how support programs are designed, and what deploying in Africa and the Maghreb asks of an organisation that arrives.
Reading an entrepreneur
What I mean by responsiveness
I used the French word répondant to justify a committee decision, and I was asked what exactly it meant. The question was fair. Here is my definition.
Designing a program
What ten editions of Ultra Mirage taught me about designing a program
This year, Ultra Mirage El Djerid ran its tenth edition. The first one drew about sixty runners, there to take on a hundred kilometers of desert around Tozeur. I’ve volunteered at every single one.
Selection is where the program is decided
I am often asked to design a support journey. The conversation almost always starts with modules, mentors and the calendar. I suggest starting somewhere else.
Why I do not do awareness work
I taught for one semester, and came out of it with a clear conclusion about what I know how to do and what I do not. That conclusion became a working rule.
Arriving in Africa and the Maghreb
What an organisation discovers too late when it arrives without a relay
International organisations opening a program in Africa or the Maghreb often have considerable means and a method proven elsewhere. What they lack rarely has to do with either.