From the 15th to the 18th of March, the ENAF project team hosted an online workshop with four key stakeholders (two tutors and two advocates) from Senghor University in Egypt, which is FAO’s main partner for the ENAF online course. This training session was the first step toward the launch on the 27th of March of the piloting of the ENAF online course with Senghor University.

The workshop tried out ways of training prospective course tutors and ENAF advocates. The four participants were first introduced to the project, its development, its approach and its aims. Discussions on what is and what is not nutrition education were held in order to establish common ground and promote understanding of this often misunderstood term.

In addition to presenting ENAF's philosophy, the workshop also tested the feasibility of multiple-day training sessions using no-cost technologies. Skype’s screen-sharing tool was used to demonstrate the main components and functions of the Moodle online learning platform. In particular, participants were shown how to navigate within the platform, how to assess students’ work, and how to use interactive tools to create some of the characteristics of a traditional classroom.

Time was also spent discussing the course, its precepts, its structure and its flow. This allowed the ENAF team to collect the participants’ views on these elements, and on their students’ ability to follow the course successfully. The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic, the key stakeholders being confident in the students’ capacities and interest.

The piloting has started, and the Senghor University and ENAF teams have welcomed 14 Master graduates from seven different countries of Francophone Africa and Europe.

Stay tuned for more details on the piloting of the course!