In mid September, we held our annual volunteers’ training, aiming primarily at creating the team that will see this year’s festival through. The curatorial team and the volunteers spent two days dedicated to knowledge sharing, team-building and creating a space where we could exchange views, experiences and thoughts regarding what brought us all together: the love of cinema and the pursuit of social justice.
The first day of the training included mostly bonding games and non-formal learning activities that aimed to enhance the team spirit and familiarise the group with the analytical framework of intersectionality. The team looked critically at their own privileges and oppressions and shared life experiences that were defined by identities they carry and the context within which they live.
On the second day, we watched, together, films from the previous editions of the festival. We discussed practical examples and counterexamples of film selection and curation in the context of a film festival.
Our volunteers make up a team full of excitement and love for cinema. The trainers gave the necessary space and time so that the individuals themselves could express views and questions openly. This supported the process of the training, as well as of the bonding amongst the team members.
An indicative comment that we received during the evaluation process of the training from one of our volunteers, summarises all that we wanted our participants to feel while in our space: “I believe that a big part of the experience was attentively listening to others.
