For the Andreas Hermes Akademie, autumn and winter are customarily times when up to 20 training courses and events run simultaneously on one day. Some AHA trainers travel to Schleswig-Holstein or South Tyrol, others as far as to Africa or India. They come together on site for two or more days with people – mostly from the agricultural sector – who want to take on responsibility for themselves, their farming businesses or organisations and bring about change. They ask themselves questions, seek out new perspectives and the tools to address them. This immediate and personal interaction greatly enriches all concerned. It touches us personally and gives us courage and energy. Autumn and winter 2020/21 were different. Personal encounters were rare. Instead, participants and trainers became (involuntarily) accustomed to online gatherings. This partly became routine and, in the interim, we were able to forget the screens, data cables and even the great physical distances between us. The other person, one’s own questions and the exchange were once more the focus. As the AHA, we have tried many things and learned how such interaction becomes fruitful and makes an impact. “Making what is possible possible!” was and remains our motto.
We measure the volume of training activities in trainer days, i.e. the number of days that trainers are deployed for the AHA. In 2020, there was a total of 1,215 trainer days, instead of 1,557 in the previous year. In short, there was still a lot going on. We have been able to make a lot of things possible. You will find numerous reports about this in the newsletter, on the website and on our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn). We even launched our first Pod. Financially, diversification of activities and adjustments to project funding have helped us to close 2020 with a positive result.
Consequently, we are also optimistic about the year in progress 2021. The signs are different. In the first quarter, many business training courses and the TOP Course could not take place and have been postponed to late summer or autumn. At the same time, companies and federations especially have been using online alternatives – not only for meetings, but increasingly too for workshops and training courses; the issues could wait no longer. And for just a few weeks now we have been able to hold more and more face-to-face events once again. Now things are getting hectic and that’s a good thing! ; -)
We wish you and ourselves much joy and fulfilment over the coming months. Enjoy meeting more people in person again, hearing about their experiences, questions and perspectives, and launching new initiatives together. On behalf of the entire AHA team, we would like to thank you for having placed your trust in us and look forward to our close cooperation.
