In preparation for the launch of the Community Investment Support Grants activities, the Djohong Council, in partnership with the Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (PROLOG), organized the capacity-building workshop for community leaders from November 25 to 26, 2024, in the deliberation room of the Djohong City Hall.
Everything began with the implementation of the commitments made during the planning of the communal workshop schedules and the village and neighborhood assemblies, which were outlined during the training workshop for municipal executives held from November 12 to 13 in Ngaoundéré. To this end, immediately upon returning to their posts, letters were issued and addressed to all community leaders in the Djohong Municipality, inviting them to participate in the workshop to be held from November 25 to 26, 2024, in the deliberation room of the Djohong City Hall.
Thus, on Monday, November 25, we registered 57 participants for the workshop, who responded to the invitation from all the villages of the Djohong Municipality and the neighborhoods of the eponymous town.
The workshop therefore began with the singing of the national anthem. The welcome address by the Madam Secretary General of the Municipality, representing the Mayor, concluded the workshop launch phase, which was dedicated to presenting the participants, designating the reporting team, and the time-keeper.
After the coffee break, participants were invited to return to the room for the first presentation on the agenda, namely the presentation of PROLOG, including its objectives, target group, and operating procedures. Following this first presentation, which set the scene for the workshop, we immediately followed up with the next two presentations: the presentation of the generalities on Village and Neighborhood Committees (CV/CQ) and the institutional framework, and the creation procedures, organization, and functioning of the CV/CQ, respectively. Heated discussions took place after these three presentations before the time-keeper signaled the end of discussions to make way for the lunch break.
In the afternoon, two more presentations were projected. The first concerned the general overview of climate change in Cameroon. The second focused on the tools for assessing climate risks. After the ensuing discussions, we formed seven work groups to introduce the phase of climate risk self-assessment. Each group will work on one tool during the second day. It was 4:40 p.m. when we concluded the first day of the workshop.
The second day began with the presentation of the report from the first day. The report, which was deemed unfaithful to the day’s proceedings, was rejected by the participants. The recommendation was to revise the report to accurately reflect the day. That is, it must retrace all the key points of the first day, emphasizing all the recommendations formulated for each presentation.
After the coffee break, we returned to the first presentation of the day to further emphasize the different climate risk assessment tools. Before releasing the participants for the group work sessions, discussions and exchanges took place to assess the participants’ comprehension capacity for the current group work, and for the tasks that will be assigned to them later during the implementation phase of the project when it becomes operational.
The group work phase proceeded calmly and serenely. From time to time, the municipal executives were called upon to clarify certain misunderstandings.
The phase of work restitution and the ensuing discussions confirmed the level of comprehension and acquisition of the tasks to be performed.
The final presentation, which consisted of presenting the identification form for climate-resilient infrastructure, was not projected due to a minor technical flaw with the equipment which could only display PowerPoint documents. We therefore read it out to the close attention of the participants.
Before the family photo, which sealed the end of the workshop, the schedule for the village and neighborhood assemblies was jointly drafted.