The workshop consisted of cultural leaders, religious leaders, social and political leaders, local government duty-bearers, teachers, youth leaders, and organized women group leaders who are policymakers or change influencers in the communities.
This activity was done in two districts (Kalaki and Katakwi) in the Teso sub-region of Eastern Uganda.
In this update, the two groups got the same training content in both sub-counties.
Day 1, First and second venues. ( a total of 50 participants from the two venues)
Orientation of participants, sharing with participants the basic concepts of NVC (Including the theory and founder of NVC and its applicability).
We handled the introduction to NVC basic(4 steps and reflecting it to personal experiences practically and in groups.) - the 4 corners exercise. We used food types that people prefer and churches or religions that people choose. We used this to connect it to the need behind the choices. We did mirroring and centering to connect with ourselves and used it to identify what we observed, felt, needs met or unmet, and requests.
The participants were introduced to the four steps of NVC (Observation, Feelings, Needs, Request). Real-life experiences were shared during practice exercises by the participants. This enhanced their understanding of the four steps. Feedback and harvesting from participants for the day

Day 2, First and second venue.
Check in with the participants on what is alive in them. a remembering was shared "The sense of a goose"
Picking lessons from the story of the sense of a goose, Participants reflected on how the reflection resonated with them.
Leadership based on domination Vs one based on Needs as a topic
Theory and explanation of the leadership styles.
Participants reacted with examples from their personal experiences on leadership.
Exercise on communication patterns. drawing lessons from family and workplaces, especially when someone connects two or more parties with information.
The broken chain exercise was used. Two lines were formed and the last person on the line would read some text on a piece of paper and whisper to the next person in front of them till the first in the front and see how hard it is to listen and report if we are not careful to listen or to seek for clarity of what we hear. The broken chain exercise was used to demonstrate the challenges of listening and reporting accurately without clarity from the source of the information. also, we use the traditional ways of communication that we are accustomed to. We used the "son, mom, and dad" sharing a request. we realized that it's hard to get information from the son to the dad as this goes through a lot of transformation changing the information to fit the needs of the one being sent based on the relationship the mum and dad have.

We shared NVC assumptions, explored through an exercise where men and women write down and analyze assumptions about each other, uncovering the underlying needs behind these assumptions and fostering a new understanding between genders. Overall, the session emphasizes the significance of understanding and meeting the needs of others in effective leadership using NVC skills. Feedback and harvesting from participants for the day

Day 3, First and second venue.
Check in what is alive in the participants.
Reflection from the participants on what they learned the previous day.
Session on Empathy and empathetic listening. 
A description of what empathy is was shared. also, the difference between empathy and sympathy was shared
They were requested to pair up into two. The first person narrated a story for two minutes as the second listened attentively. 
Participants were invited to take a moment and connect with a moment when they felt they did something that they felt bad about their decision as leaders, and write down a summary of the moment or act in their books, connect with the feelings, needs met and unmet by the action or decision they took then, the needs that were not met after remembering about it now, empathized and acknowledged what they needed at this point and requested to write down as a gift to themselves what they would love to do differently if this happened to then again.
Theory and explanation of the protective use of force. Participants gave examples relating to this topic
Four ways of listening to a difficult message. (jackal and Giraffe). picking working examples from participant’s experiences.
Feedback and harvesting from participants for the 3 days 
Appreciation to the trainers and participants appreciating one another.
a circle was formed with two lines. the inner circle they closed their eyes and the ones in the outer circle would whisper an appreciation to each person in the inner circle and all the participants experienced the rain of appreciation. 
The event ended with emotions high as most of the participants had developed a bond and connection that was hard to separate on the last day. 
I left the training happy and came back with lots of learning experiences.