Hesse, Ced

It is only over the 1990s that local government bodies have started to apply participatory methodologies with any consistency. This is surprising given their mandate to meet the needs and interests of local people. This overview discusses the many issues surrounding participation and local government.

The tips for trainers section describes a variant of a well-known introductions exercise used as an 'ice-breaker' to introduce participants to each other in workshop settings. The game pairs participants by different language group (e.g. English-French) and once, paired up, gets them to interview their partner as best they can and then present him or her back to the rest of the workshop.