In February 2024, Reagan Muyinda, who works as Partnerships and Fundraising Coordinator at YouLead Africa and as a Learning Consultant for ActionAid Uganda, travelled to MS TCDC in Arusha, Tanzania, to take part in the Danida Fellows Network annual convening.
Read about the networking convening here
The convening was led by social learning theorists Beverly and Etienne Wenger-Trayner, who are known internationally for their work on communities of practice.
When Reagan returned home to Uganda, he immediately began to put his new insights into action. He shared his experiences with colleagues at ActionAid Uganda and began experimenting with the facilitation formats and techniques he had been introduced to in Arusha.
It did not take long for him to realise he was onto something. The new way of approaching learning created opportunities for open, inclusive and participatory conversations.
As Beverly and Etienne Wenger-Trayner describe it, this approach moves from “the transmission of certainty from someone who knows to others who don’t” to a process where people engage their uncertainty together to uncover something new.
For Reagan, the change has been transformative. By using the Wenger-Trayners’ theories and techniques he is now creating spaces where everyone’s experience counts.
What began as one person’s search to become a better leader is evolving into a ripple effect of change, demonstrating that the most powerful form of leadership is not about control – it is about enabling others to discover their own power to lead.
Read the Newsletter Learning and Leading Together.
