Having started with one specific question (how to monitor and evaluate the utility of CIARIS for the different actors involved in the fight against social exclusion at local level), the subsequent discussion in the group ended by addressing other topics.

Here are the five resulting recommendations:

This is a summary of the themes that I heard from the four different tables about their work in CIARIS and what people had in common.

The importance of:

• adapting CIARIS resources and tools to the local context;
• CIARIS as a means of professional development
• informal discussions between different members of CIARIS
• facilitation skills - "we are all facilitators"
• the conceptual foundation of CIARIS that still needs to be put more into practice
• building on and developing existing networks in the different countries
• continuity and "old" members of CIARIS and new ideas and ownership of the resources and tools
• tension and the importance of this for learning.
  

Questions

First I list my own questions posted in the forum here last week and another which was raised that seemed to be related and after that I’ll give the five recommendations which came out of our group at the get together on Sunday afternoon in the Altis Hotel, Lisbon.

1) What are the next steps for the people who have already completed our various Combat of Social Exclusion courses and also those in Mozambique who completed the Online Facilitator Training?

2) What ongoing relationship will they have with CIARIS?