Can I push you a little more on that? You are doing these interviews based on scripts that Sirin and I came up with. Do you think there is something out of sync in how we phrase or frame the questions — something that misses some aspect of lived reality, or something we could improve?
I do not know. I am sorry.
That is okay. Are you okay?
Yes. I am just very affected by the fact that every time I talk to these people in the interviews, I have to realise that I am basically living in a dictatorship.
So I do not know how we could better cover this lived experience. I feel like I am asking them about participation and looking for examples, and they sometimes sound technical, or they describe movements or programmes they did. But we are not really talking directly about the fact that they struggle so much.
That makes total sense, and I think that is a really important insight. I really appreciate you sharing that. Are you okay if I ask you a couple more questions?
Yes.
Have there been any moments in the project where having your researcher hat on has felt useful for your work as a practitioner?
I mean, I am trying to do these research projects partly in order to gain a better understanding of how things work in society. And I also feel that there are actually patterns. There are very similar stories across these interviews.
I remember after one recent interview thinking that I really hope another interview gets published on the platform soon, because the person I interviewed was talking about the same thing someone else from another organisation had talked about. And I thought that this could inspire people, when they read each other’s interviews, because they can see these patterns too — or just feel better about their own work, because they can see that others are doing similar things and facing similar struggles.
For example, how hard it is to find enough resources for a project, and yet you still do it, and in the end there is some kind of success story. I feel that the material we are collecting is a very valuable resource.
That makes sense. So I guess this next question is related to what you were saying about the part of the experience we are not fully capturing. I do not know if you can answer it on the spot, and if not you can always think about it and come back to me later. But in our project, do you have any recommendations for how we might better connect our research to the everyday realities of civic life, participation, and organising?
Especially given that it is one thing in Brussels, and another in Tunisia or Hungary. We have been talking a lot about Tunisia because of the practical challenges there, but obviously what you are speaking to is just as important. We can do interviews in Hungary, but, as you said, the emotional and political sensitivity is very different from what you might find in a Western European country where people do not feel they are living in a dictatorship.
The answer I would give is one that often comes up in NGO projects or meetings: NGOs are always looking for support, and knowledge is also a resource.
So I think that when we were designing the workshop for Debrecen, that was very helpful, because there was a group of people there who, and I really only realised it once I was there, received time, a platform, and even material resources, in the sense that we rented a room and had sandwiches there.
They were given a comfortable space for themselves to engage with one another and talk about topics that mattered to them. Then the data we collected is also given back to them, so they can actually do something with the issues they talked about.
We were also discussing in one part of the workshop what each group was already working on, what others were working on, and how they might connect those things. I think that was very valuable for them. The host NGO also said that they were interested in exactly that: how to facilitate more connection among advocacy groups, and how to support them in working together.
So I think giving this kind of space and support to groups is very valuable.
And I remember that one of the people I interviewed said, before we even started the recording, that they had received team coaching from another organisation for free, and they found it extremely useful in building community and reflecting on their own ways of working. So I see that as a place where research and practitioner needs can really meet.
Okay. Well, thank you. That takes us through the questions. I may have some follow-ups, if that is okay — this gave me a lot of interesting insights, so I might follow up with you next week, either before or after the meeting.
But thank you for your time, especially on a Saturday.