Local Boards' Meeting 2020: Talking Motivation

The Local Boards’ Meeting addressed a very important topic for a non-profit organization: the volunteers’ motivation. During a three days training event, organized physically in the heart of the Carpathian Mountains, the section delegates, members of the local boards, learnt how to coordinate their section’s activity in order to maintain the motivation and engagement of their human resources. Moreover, they learnt about their position and how to prepare their activity in the context of the covid-19 pandemic, before the start of the academic year.

The preparation process started with the appointment of the Training Coordinator and electing the Organising Committee. The needs assessment was conducted through a survey on the Events Registration System. Once the participants registered and filled in the needs assessment form, the Training Coordinator prepared a proposal for the agenda of the event that was discussed with the National Board. The training event was focused on teaching the participants how to support their volunteers’ motivation, especially during the time of a pandemic. Moreover, they were equipped with relevant knowledge and skills for each position. The main trainers of the event were the National Board members, a decision that helped the knowledge transfer between the two structures, in a harmonized manner. Each member had the possibility to choose one co-facilitator to help with the workshops. Therefore, the most experienced people of our network joined forces in order to educate the new generation of Local Board members. In total, the event had 9 facilitators, out of which, 5 are members of the Eduk8 Community. The event had strict procedures aimed to prevent the infection with Covid-19. Moreover, the social program was adapted to the context and involved two activities during the evenings: ESNers Got Talent and ESN Talks. To support the learning process of the participants, they were divided into Buddy Families that at the end of each day gathered for reflection sessions.

The target group of the event was represented by the Local Board members from the sections of ESN Romania. Under normal circumstances we would have opened the registrations for the Local Coordinators as well, but the restrictions applied by the Romanian authorities limited the number of participants to maximum 50 for outdoor events at that time. Organizing the event physically, in conditions of safety represented a great challenge for ESN Romania that was successfully overcome with strict measures, that allowed the participants to be save and feel save, as well as to enjoy the experience fully. Therefore, we allowed the participation of maximum 3 delegates for each section. Within the event, sessions related to volunteers’ motivation were organized, together with position specific ones. They aimed to help the Local Board members understand the importance of motivation and how to keep the volunteers engaged, as well as learning how to approach their new role in order to contribute to their section’s development.