Facilitating Change: Tools, Stories, and Strategies from the Network
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 | 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM ET | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM GMT
How do you design and hold spaces that don’t just surface ideas, but move people toward collective action? After years of facilitating across sectors and contexts, what lessons truly hold up?
This 90-minute virtual session brings together experienced facilitators from across the Governance Explorers Network for a candid, practice-driven exchange. Drawing on work spanning research, multistakeholder engagement and community-centered governance initiatives, our speakers will share concrete tools, hard-earned lessons, and stories from the field.
Rather than a formal training, this is a guided conversation designed to surface what works: how to read the room, navigate power dynamics, foster inclusive participation, and support groups to move from dialogue to decision-making.
Expect practical insights, honest reflection, and space to consider how you can strengthen your own facilitation practice.
Meet the Speakers
Asmaa Bahadi
Insights Analyst
Asmaa Bahadi has 9 years of experience in communications, media, and social listening, with strong expertise in facilitation and stakeholder engagement. She previously served as a Mediator for Democracy and Human Rights Board Member and completed training in social impact and facilitation through World Merit. Her facilitation experience spans trainings and workshops for diverse audiences, both in-person and virtual.
Thando Mhlanga
Senior Program Coordinator, International Budget Partnership South Africa — Asivikelane Campaign
Thando Mhlanga led the co-development of community-centered infrastructure solutions and Tshwane’s Sustainable Waste Management Strategy—one of South Africa’s first community-designed waste systems adopted by a metropolitan municipality. She specializes in translating grassroots evidence into public-sector projects and leads multi-city initiatives across Tshwane, eThekwini, and Cape Town. Her facilitation experience focuses on strengthening collaboration between communities and government to influence public policy and budgets.
Cláudia Araujo
Postdoctoral Researcher, ERC Rights to Unite Project — University College Dublin (Ireland)
Cláudia Araujo facilitates trainings and workshops on gender equality, inclusive research practices, and civic mobilization. She has specific experience leading focus groups and creating spaces for dialogue and collective knowledge-building. Her work focuses on democratic resilience and responses to authoritarian backsliding across academic, policy, and civil society contexts.