Rethinking Low-Impact Workshops
Resources are scarce. We should not engage in activities just for pictures or to look cool.
We still waste a lot of money on activities that have less impact on development. Activities such as workshops, consultations, or public forums organized by governments or non-profit organizations (NGOs) should be minimized in the digital era. They do not effectively lead to action; rather, they help capitalists who run hotels generate money.
In some circumstances, people attend government or NGO workshops due to requirements, while their work is not really linked to the workshop discussions. They can benefit from sharing knowledge and information, but often they do not. Some workshops discuss the same issues by framing them under different or fancy topics, while they do not discuss practical solutions.
With advanced digital and social media platforms, if the goal of the workshop is just awareness-raising or the dissemination of findings to general stakeholders and the public, we do not need to organize such workshops. Instead, we can produce a video clip, a short article, or a press note and share it with stakeholders. We can then save money for things that benefit society much more.
The full-day meeting package at a hotel, like Hyatt, costs around $35–40 per person for lunch and two coffee breaks. This amount is about 13 times the daily income of people living in poverty. If we use that money for development programs that help these people, it would be much better.
Resources are scarce. We should not engage in activities just for pictures or to look cool. We need to adopt a more strategic and results-oriented approach to achieve meaningful impact.