Maureen's Workshop on Empowering Women: The untold truths we wish we knew

Volunteer Educator Story, Municipality of Ypsonas, Limassol, Cyprus – 20.09.2024

Interview with Maureen Murori Panagiotou – Volunteer Educator from Cyprus

 

Hi Maureen, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m Maureen Murori Panagiotou, a Kenyan-born journalist with a bachelor’s in Journalism and a master’s in English Language Teaching.
In 2017, I moved to Cyprus for further studies.
Over the years, I have found strength in the stories of people who have overcome different challenges. As a journalist and inspired by the power of storytelling, in June 2024, I published “Our Untold Truths“, a book sharing the experiences of over 30 women from 14 countries, across three continents.
I’m passionate about storytelling and its power to inspire and connect people.

Can you share with us your workshop idea and describe a bit the process of building your idea of workshop? What motivated you to talk on this topic?

The idea for the workshop stemmed from my own personal journey, as well as the powerful stories shared in my book, “Our Untold Truths“.

I wanted to create a space where women could reflect on their own unique experiences, engage in honest conversations about resilience and identity, and, ultimately, experience a sense of collective healing.
I was guided by the key themes such as overcoming personal struggles, cultural adaptation, and the ultimate strength found in shared stories that emerged from the book.
The idea was to allow participants to not only listen but also share their unique experiences and perspectives about life. Thus, activities such reflection exercises, group discussion and storytelling were necessary to incorporate in the delivery of the workshop. This structure allowed each woman to contribute, while also learning from others in a safe and supportive environment.

What was your motivation to offer this workshop?

As an immigrant myself, I know the struggles that most women and men face especially when living away from their home countries. These experiences often go unspoken.
Living abroad makes it even more isolating. One can’t fully live within his childhood culture nor within the newly found culture. We are stuck in between.
Through the workshop, however, women (for now) come together to share their untold truths which creates connection, builds empathy and empowers us all to move forward with resilience and hope.
In short, the workshop is aimed at giving voices to the struggles and triumphs women experience, and to foster a community where we can all grow through shared experiences.

What does it mean to hold a workshop in front of other people? What have you learned and what would you recommend to those who want to undertake the organization of a workshop?

To hold a successful workshop, one has to take up the role of being a leader and facilitator. In addition to sharing knowledge, one has to create an engaging environment where participants feel empowered to share, learn and grow. It’s not just about teaching, but also listening, and adjusting accordingly.

 

Lessons:

  1. Prepare in advance. Know what activity to do when and also anticipate the needs of the participants and how to resolve them during the workshop.
  2. Interactive activities such as discussions, reflective activities, and storytelling are essential to having a more impactful workshop.
  3. Be flexible to adapt when need be! Not everything goes as planned!
  4. Breathe and breathe again to remain calm even when anxiety strikes 🤗

Recommendations:

  1. Know your audience. Have  participants’ needs, backgrounds, and experiences in mind. This makes the workshop relevant and engaging for them.
  2. Be flexible to adapt accordingly. Be ready to change directions whenever necessary to ensure the workshop remains relevant.
  3. Evaluate and improve. Ask for feedback so as to improve in the future.

What kind of interest and participation did you find in those who followed your course?

Being my first ever solo workshop from planning to execution – and of course with guidance by the team at evelp- it was encouraging to see how the idea was positively embraced right from the planning to the day of the workshop.
I was humbled by the fact that participants were ready and willing to be vulnerable to share stories, some of which were only shared at the workshop for the first time.
In conclusion, I found that storytelling when well used can be a tool for healing and self-discovery. The whole experience gave me motivation to pursue the workshop idea at a higher level in the near future.
Generally, the workshop sparked meaningful discussions and drew out high levels of engagement. It was clear that participants were not only interested in the topics but were ready to be vulnerable, share, and learn from each other.

Would you like the course to continue? How would you like to structure it?

Yes. I would like the course to continue and especially create spaces for workshop trainees to deliver more workshops. This will help us, trainees, become even better at it , and who knows, we could make a career out of it as well!

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