First MBBC workshop held in March 2011The Movement Building Boot Camp for LGBTIQ activists was held during 2011 and brought together a pool of diverse, young, creative and inspirational activists from Anglophone (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania) and Francophone (Rwanda, Burundi and DRC) countries in East Africa.
The MBBC provides existing and emerging activist leadership with conceptual and practical skills to advance the sexual rights agenda in East Africa as part of a broader agenda for human rights and progressive social transformation.
The Curriculum and Training
The MBBC curriculum and reader are based on progressive African politics that is pro-feminist, and draw on knowledge produced by Africans as well people from other global regions with an emphasis on sharing experiences from the Global South. The training covers and is divided into the three interrelated streams: a combination of conceptual knowledge, practical tools and personal and collective empowerment “head, hands and heart”
- Foundations (‘head’) – conceptual sessions exploring key ideas, theories and debates.
- Tools (‘hands’) – hands-on training sessions aimed at building practical skills for activism.
- Wellbeing (‘heart’)-integrated into the agenda itself through wellbeing rituals including breathing, yoga etc.
The training is designed in four parts:
- Initial face-to-face training covering introductory level concepts and issues.
- Interim follow-up activities
- Second face-to-face training with more ‘advanced’ content and possibility of participant-led facilitation and finally
- Follow-up of training cohort.
The trainings were conducted in both English and French and were facilitated by African experts and guest resource people from other global South regions.
The MBBC Online Platform
The MBBC online platform is one the outcomes from this exciting initiative. Dubbed as the 'Weapons of Mass Construction', the platform supports self-organised learning and training for activists doing progressive work around sexuality, gender, justice and rights. It features training guides and knowledge resources to support creative thinking, strategising and discussions among activists working for social transformation inclusive of issues of sexuality and gender identity.