Jostein Haugen and Signe Stensland, on behalf of The Norwegian Development Partners (NODEPA) sought ways to initiate ICDP in Tunisia, and received guidance about it from ICDP in 2022.
They discussed their ICDP vision with Sana Guebsi, the president of “Bright Women Association of Today” (BWAT) who after several meetings and discussion, became acquainted with the ICDP concepts and saw the need to introduce ICDP knowledge and to work on its practical implementation in Tunisia. It was agreed to embark on close cooperation between NODEPA and BWAT to establish ICDP in Tunisia. The first step was to appoint a project manager and select a steering professional group.
This was followed by organizing an ICDP introductory workshop, which took place in February 2023. It was an opportunity to present the aims and content of the ICDP programme and at the same time to get to know a group of possible future facilitators. Trainee facilitators were selected from diverse backgrounds like kindergartens, schools, centers for autism, orphanages, and associations working directly with families. Two ICDP trainers conducted the workshop, Sissel Ånestad and Hilde Tørnes from Norway. ICDP was welcomed and the process of training is currently underway.
Trainee facilitators were selected from diverse backgrounds like kindergartens, schools, centres for autism, orphanages, and associations working directly with families. ICDP was welcomed and the process of training continued during 2023. The trainers conducted the first Facilitator level workshop and kept in regular contact with the participants in Tunisia.
The training continued in 2024 and the second and third training sessions were conducted by trainers Sissel Aanestad and Helen Christie. All participants conducted parent or caregiver groups and participated in two supervision sessions in their regions. The 21 participant facilitators delivered the ICDP programme to 81 caregivers and parents. Their ICDP work is estimated to have affected between 600 and 800 people. The new coordinator for ICDP in Tunisia is Marte Kjelsvik.
The response from the trained facilitators and beneficiaries was very good. It was reported that there is a great need for this type of training and the tools given to the parents and caregivers in Tunisia. It appears that the training has been more effective for the facilitators that conducted parent groups, rather than those who conducted caregiver groups. Some of the facilitators reported challenges on adjusting the ICDP material to the caregivers in professional settings due to the presentation of the content being more directed to a parent-child relationship. Most of the facilitators of parent groups reported stories from parents who experience a better relationship and better communication with their child.
A father in one of the parenting groups said that it was “impossible” for him (because of the culture) to praise his child and tell the child that he loves him. After a few group meetings, he wanted to try it as he was hearing the other parents share their good experiences, and he found it very positive.
“We are hoping to be able to start the process of training some facilitators to become trainers in Tunisia so that the project stops being dependent on bringing in people from outside of Tunisia to form new facilitators.” – Sissel Anestad.