20 places available.

This workshop, delivered via Zoom by theatre, drama and creative learning company Mortal Fools, explores effective digital facilitation. If you’re currently facilitating meetings, discussions, presentations, events, panels, workshops or participatory sessions on digital platforms then this session is for you!

2020 has seen the rapid shift to all things digital with many having to pivot activities, events, meetings and engagements online. The speed of this shift has meant that facilitators and organisers have often been focused on making it all happen – the NEED to move the activity online, as opposed to thinking about what digital sessions “could” look like and to maximise the audience or participant experience.

This workshop is a safe space to learn how to do just that and is designed for people already engaging in digital facilitation, who want to take the next steps to improve or build on their digital facilitation skills. The session explores how to integrate effective people management, with compelling communication whilst utilising digital platform functionality for best effect. You will leave with an understanding of how to put your audience or participants’ needs at the heart of your digital engagement; supporting you to facilitate a positive, productive, collaborative, engaging, well-managed, high quality experience for all involved.

This is a skills-based workshop run by experienced theatre practitioners and communication professionals – we will not get into huge detail around platform functionality or technical. All participants will have access post session to high quality workshop notes and will be invited to join a closed FB group run by Mortal Fools to ask any questions.

About the facilitators

Mortal Fools are a multi award-winning theatre, drama and creative learning company co-creating theatre and creative projects with young people across the North. Their purpose is to support people of all ages to form better inter-personal connections – strengthening people, groups and businesses.

CONNECT is their training and professional development programme for organisations, teams, and individuals. It uses a unique combination of practice from the creative sector and practice, theory and research from the social sciences to lead participants through a practical training process which builds on personal strengths, increases knowledge and develops new skills.

You can find out more about Mortal Fools by following their social media @mortalfoolsuk, their YouTube channel and their website.

Engage Spring Training Programme

Engage is delighted to announce a programme of workshops and short courses which will run throughout February and March to provide training and skills development for those working in the gallery and visual arts education sector across the UK.

The programme will support colleagues in the sector to develop their understanding and skills in relation to issues which have become more urgent because of recent challenges, particularly since the pandemic, including mental health and wellbeing, the climate emergency, and supporting creative practitioners. Additionally a range of sessions will support colleagues to work in the online environment through the development of skills in digital facilitation, facilitating play online, and digital drawing, amongst other topics.

Engage has received generous support through the Cultural Recovery Fund administered by Arts Council England and Paul Hamlyn Foundation for core costs and sector support. As a result, we are able to offer funded places on our workshops and courses to those in England, supported through the Cultural Recovery Fund. We are able to offer free places to those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Sessions are suitable for colleagues who are employees, freelance, currently furloughed and unemployed. Engage members can take advantage of priority booking. Remaining places will be opened to bookings for others working in the sector.