IASS 2010: “I never learnt that much in such a short amount of time”

On Sunday morning, the fifth International Award Summer School (IASS) has ended. The final days of preparation for IASS 2010 had been riddled with bad news, as country after country, participants had to cancel their attendance: some would not get their visa in time, some were prevented for other reasons. In the end, only five participants from Afghanistan, Finland, Germany and Luxembourg could make it. During the courses and workshops, they were accompanied by the five German trainers, who made the best of the situation and used IASS 2010 to refresh their training skills during the Award Leaders Course, develop and get to know the brand new Management Course, and update various course materials.

The small course groups allowed for very intensive sessions with the participants exchanging their problems and experience as Award leaders on par with each other. This was especially true for the redesigned Award Management Course, which included the task of identifying weaknesses in several aspects of the own Award management.

IASS 2010 also was an opportunity to make new contacts. Barbara Oehl, already member of the German Award’s editorial staff, finally joined the German Training Panel, most of whose members she got to know during the seminar week. Claire Naujoks and Simon Gladwinn on their part, from St. George’s International School in Cologne, agreed to cooperate with the German Award Authority in case their expertise, especially in the Expedition section, should be needed, and Finnish Award Leader Anu Rastas now plans to conduct Gold Expeditions in the German Wild Country Area Southern Black Forest. Last but not least, even though Shafiq Rassa was the only Afghan participant to get his visa in time, he promised to try and bring seven more members of his Kabul Award team with him for next year’s IASS.

In that sense, IASS 2010 was also the first preparation stage for IASS 2011. Next year’s Summer School will be much larger and, with a second seminar week, longer. However, IASS 2010 was successful, and worth the time and effort put into it, all on its own. After the final, international evening on Friday, several participants and trainers signed the visitor’s book with words to the effect of “I never learnt that much in such a short amount of time”.