SHEP Certificate in Social Awareness & Community Empowerment

This course offers you ongoing personal development towards becoming more involved in community. In a supportive, friendly, non-judgmental learning environment, you can grow in awareness of how we relate and co-operate in groups. It’s a place to explore how we are shaped by the society we grow up in and how we, in turn, shape society through our lives and actions.

Due to the public health situation, SHEP has adapted all of its programmes for this coming Autumn, so as to offer them either (1) fully online; (2) fully in-person or a (3) blended in-person and online. While the Project’s heart remains primarily with offering face-to-face experiences for participants in groups, those options alone may not be feasible this autumn without disruption. For some people, participating on an ‘in-person’ course, may not be possible due to health vulnerabilities for themselves or others. We have adapted the program to respond to what we consider will be feasible for people, shortened it, reduced the fee, and are providing additional subsidies for reduced fee places.

The adapted course this Autumn 2020 involves a total of 45 hours and there will be a maximum of four groups profiled as below:

Each option is similar in that:

• The course fee this autumn is €350
• SHEP is offering additional subsidised support, with an expanded number of reduced fee places of €150, available for those who are eligible
• There is no booking deposit
• It is facilitated by 2 SHEP trainers
• It Is 45 hours in length, involving 18 sessions of 2.5 hours (indicative – 14 weekly sessions and 4 weekend sessions of 2.5 hours)
• It will have a max of 12 participants
• It will commence in early October and run to mid January 2021
• It will finish in time for the intake and commencement processes for the Continuing Personal Development or the Facilitation Skills courses mentioned above in 2021

The options differ in the following way:

• Option[1] 1 – In this option the course will run as a fully ‘in-person’ group in either an Ardfoyle or a Farranferris training room. As with all activities this coming Autumn, there is the possibility of further disruption (e.g. re-emergence of Covid-19). Were the public health situation in Autumn to necessitate it, it may be necessary to transfer any of the SHEP ‘in-person’ groups to on-line. Hopefully this won’t arise, but SHEP trainers are preparing for this as a possibility
• Option 2 – Fully online – in this option the 12 participants will meet and complete the course fully online – towards group building, the facilitators will engage in a short 20min online one-to-one intake meeting with each participant, prior to the commencement of the course
• Option 3 – Some ‘in-person’ group work and mostly online – under this option, towards building more easily the trust and momentum of the group, the participants and facilitators would meet for a very limited number of sessions at commencement and at the end of the course, working online for the remainder of the course in between (probably 4 sessions in-person and 14 online)

[1][1] The in-person option assumes that a 1 metre social distancing is allowed in October. If so the training rooms in Ardfoyle or Farranferris can accommodate 12 participants and 2 facilitators safely. SHEP will have in place cleaning protocols for safe training venues. In Ardfoyle only one course will run at any time.

• roles and behaviours
• development education
• dealing with conflict constructively
• styles, skills and strengths in leadership
• intercultural relationships
• why society is the way it is now
• understanding the ‘systems’ we live with (economical, political etc.)
• power
• social justice
• caring for the earth
• what the important issues are in our community and what we can do

Personal, supportive, non-academic… through listening, reflecting and sharing, participants find meaning and gain knowledge from their own experience and the group becomes a learning community. This helps people to learn new skills, new attitudes or even entirely new ways of thinking. There are no exams!

No special prior qualifications are needed, just an interest in community, a willingness to use critical thinking and to interact with others. People on the course come from all sorts of backgrounds, meet as equals, learn from each other, become empowered and begin to dissolve social and cultural barriers.

This course along with the SHEP Certificate in Personal Development, together comprise SHEP’s Foundation level of training. Graduates of the foundation level can go on to do further training with the Social and Health Education Project, including training courses in Group Facilitation, and other SHEP’s practitioner trainings.