Inspiring GRÓ visit to the Danida Fellowship Centre
GRÓ paid a visit to the Danida Fellowship Centre in Denmark in the last days of September to exchange experiences, learn more about DFC‘s works and to share insights from GRÓ‘s own activities.
The Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC) is an institution funded by Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. DFC manages training and research support for partners in the Global South, helping to strengthen skills and foster sustainable development through education and collaboration.
Both GRÓ and the DFC share a strong commitment to advancing sustainable development through education. They both offer training opportunities for professionals from developing countries in Denmark and Iceland respectively, with the aim of strengthening skills, fostering innovation, and promoting social and economic progress in participants’ home communities.
Ms. Ulla Næsby Tawiah, Director of the Danida Fellowship Centre, welcomed Ms. Nína Björk Jónsdóttir, Director General of GRÓ, and Dr. Thomas Brorsen Smidt, Programme Manager at the GRÓ Gender Equality Studies and Training Programme (GRÓ GEST) to the DFC offices in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, and gave them a tour of the DFC Hostel. Several meetings were held with DFC staff, both at the offices in Frederiksberg and Holbæk, covering various topics such as capacity development and learning design, network cultivation and social learning, research management, monitoring and evaluation, results-based management, and logistical services for fellows. GRÓ also had the opportunity to share insights into its own operations and approaches with DFC staff.
The exchange reaffirmed the two centres’ shared commitment to learning as a transformative, relational, and socially embedded process. While operating within different institutional frameworks, both organisations emphasise participatory pedagogy, trust-based networks, and the long-term cultivation of learning communities. DFC and GRÓ agreed that it would be valuable to explore avenues for continued collaboration and to hold further meetings to exchange practices across topics of mutual interest.
Dr. Thomas Brorsen Smidt, Programme Manager at GRÓ GEST, speaking to DFC staff about the operations of GRÓ GEST.