Active8-Planet Virtual Kick-off Meeting – What a Blast!
“Everything went so smoothly and effectively, however, I was really missing our joint social dinner. My dinner was very lonely…” (an observation from one of the Active8-Planet partners after the Kick-off meeting)
In this first blog I will not speak about the structure of our Active8-Planet Kick-off meeting (although you can see it in the Agenda at the end of this post), nor will I discuss how brilliantly we presented the work packages to each other and how everything is crystal clear now after the most efficient kick-off meeting one could have. As an anthropologist I will rather share certain thoughts about the backstage of our meeting (borrowing the theatre terminology from Erving Goffman) and why I think the rituality behind it is so important.
The majority of European projects share certain similar protocols and habits, and consortium project meetings are for sure one of the crucial parts of every EU project. In the formal part, the partners present the work that has been carried out so far, analyse the current status and, based on the achieved results, plan the forthcoming activities. The pre-prepared agenda (as in the bottom of this post) includes presentations of work packages, project management, financial and administrative part and workshops in which partners jointly work on certain thematic areas or specific challenges. And we delivered all these also in the Active8-Planet Kick-off. However, …
… besides these more obvious and utilitarian characteristics, we should also dedicate attention to uncover and understand the importance of more hidden, yet very important elements of rituality in project meetings. In a broad sense, we describe rituals as social processes that give concrete expressions to more abstract (religious and metaphysical) notions. As (semi)public events they thematize the relationship between the real, earthly, concrete world on one hand and the spiritual and abstract realms on the other. And meetings as rituals are a sort of manifestations of the project’s worship of itself, its ideology, project ideas and objectives – which project partners have to embrace and relate to on a regular basis.
A key aim of the meeting rituality is to enhance the integration of partners within a project team. Since the individuals working on a project are (physically or, in current Covid-19 situation, virtually) brought together in the same place – i.e., away from their regular job tasks and away from their social and family life (except for meeting hosts) – they are all able to fully commit themselves to the project, investing their time and energy, internalizing project’s essence and rethinking their particular role.
All the “backstage activities” – such as informal activities, project dinner, coffee breaks, sitting in the hotel lobbies together with the spontaneous discussions outside formal structures – could be considered as a key towards understanding the social dynamics in European projects. In contrast to what happens “on the stage” as shaped and defined by the formal meeting agenda, people feel and act differently in “backstage situations”. Frequently in informal spontaneous discussions other considerations and perspectives emerge. People reveal different, additional or modified opinions. Even certain statements, claims and judgments, as expressed during the formal part of the meeting, could be approached from a different angle and reshaped. In the backstage individuals can feel more relaxed or confident in contrary to plenary settings where they are forced to manage with impressions. As compared to the real actors in a theatre, project partners in their “backstage dressing-rooms” can truly be themselves; they can make jokes, display their true emotions and feel free of the strict requirements of their roles on stage. And this becomes even more evident after two or three glasses of wine or beer. Understanding the meaning of informal socializing and corresponding rituality in the backstage is of main importance for successful project management.
Needless to say, the backstage and rituality is highly minimized in the current times of pandemics. And it was stated many times at the Active8-Planet Kick-off that we all miss a personal touch, shaking hands and looking people in the eyes, establishing the informal contacts and building friendship. You tell things to someone that is more of a personal nature. We miss having a drink in a bar nearby after the project dinner, sharing among ourselves stories that could not be discussed at project meeting. In informal settings, trust is established within a project team; you really get to know other people. And these interpersonal relations are crucial – also for the overall project success!
So, looking forward to meeting all project partners – the so called “Planeteers” – in person very soon!
Active8-Planet Kick-off Meeting AGENDA – Day 1
Friday, 22 January 2021 (11:00 – 15:30)
| TIME | SLOT | PRESENTER |
| 10:50 – 11:00 | Arrival | |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Kicking off the Kick-off | IRI UL (10 min) |
| 11:15 – 11:30 | WP2: Roadmap and Methodology
General Overview with Work Plan |
Halmstad (15 min)
|
| 11:30 – 12:30 | WP2 results
Overview and group discussion R2.1: Conceptual Framework (IRI UL) – M3 R2.2: Active8-Matrix (Hasselt) – M5 R2.3: Methodology (VUA) – M5 R2.4: Resource Book (Halmstad) – M5 |
IRI UL (moderator) &
Task Leaders (60 min) |
| 12:30 – 13:00 | WP3: Activation and Collaboration Arena
General Overview, Work Plan & Discussion |
ICNM (20 min)
Discussion (10 min) |
| 13:00 – 13:45 | Lunch & Coffee Break | |
| 13:45 – 14:30 | WP4: Implementation of Learning Cycles
General Overview, Work Plan & Discussion |
VUA (30 min)
Discussion (15 min) |
| 14:30 – 15:15 | WP5: Evaluation studies
General Overview, Work Plan & Discussion |
Hasselt (30 min)
Discussion (15 min) |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Summing up and closure
|
IRI UL (15 min)
|
Active8-Planet Kick-off Meeting AGENDA – Day 2
Friday, 29 January 2021 (11:00 – 15:30)
| TIME | SLOT | PRESENTER |
| 10:50 – 11:00 | Arrival | |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Kicking off the 2nd day of Kick-off | IRI UL (30 min) |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | WP6: Dissemination & Sustainability
General Overview with Work Plan |
IRI UL (30 min)
Discussion (30 min) |
| 12:30 – 13:00 | WP7: Quality Assurance
General Overview with Work Plan |
HIA (15 min)
Discussion (15 min) |
| 13:00 – 13:30 | Lunch & Coffee Break | |
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Discussion on WP1: Project Management & Financial
(Following the Video: Project Management & Financial) |
IRI UL (30 min) |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Open Space (AOB)
Questions, initiatives and recommendations that popped-up during the Kick-off meeting |
All partners (60 min) |
