Italy·14 - 18 December 2026
Slow Facilitation - Analogue and Digital Visual Tools for Participatory Processes
A structured mobility course on making participation visible: analogue and digital graphic facilitation applied to regeneration processes.
APPLY
Overview
Slow Facilitation is a structured learning mobility course for professionals who run participatory processes and find that participation produces documents nobody reads. It teaches graphic facilitation and graphic recording as instruments of accountability: making a process visible while it happens, by hand, in front of the people it belongs to. Participants build a working visual vocabulary from zero, record live discussions in real time, design their own facilitation canvases and test them in a real consultation with local stakeholders. They develop transferable competence: structuring spoken content under pressure, managing unequal speaking power through what is on the wall, and producing a visual synthesis a community can read, contest and validate. The methodology is non-formal and experiential, consistent with Erasmus+ quality standards: participants bring one real participatory process of their own, planned, ongoing or failed, and leave with it redesigned, with a template kit they own. No drawing ability is required. Delivered by Inesto SRL SB, Erasmus+ accredited in Adult Education (KA1), with illustrator Agata Sobiepan-Comer.
Highlights
Unlearning "I Can't Draw"
A visual alphabet of five shapes, built from zero. No artistic background required, and the first day exists to prove it.
Listening With a Pen
Compressing three minutes of speech into seven words and one image, live, without losing what was actually said.
Canvases That Do Work
Designing hand-drawn templates calibrated to a specific participatory objective, not decorative ones.
Field Day With Real Stakeholders
A live consultation session in a regeneration area, facilitated by participants in rotation, with live graphic recording.
The Ethics of the Drawn Line
Who gets drawn, who gets left out, and how a visual synthesis can quietly falsify a process.
Hosts
Paola Balduzzi
Agata Sobiepan-Comer (Sobiepanna) — illustrator and artist, MA in Cultural Studies, University of Gdańsk. She works in watercolour and symbolic illustration across book publishing, board games, card decks, brand identity and educational materials. Her painting United formed part of the UN Women campaign on gender equality, and she illustrated a therapeutic book for children.
"Painting is a way of telling stories. It carries emotion." — Agata Sobiepan-Comer
Schedule
Previous
Next
Course Objectives
Build and apply a personal visual vocabulary sufficient to represent any discussion without artistic training.
Record a live discussion graphically, structuring spoken content into a legible hierarchy in real time.
Design hand-drawn canvases calibrated to a specific participatory objective.
Facilitate a session using visual anchoring, managing dissent and unequal speaking power.
Produce a visual synthesis that a community can read, contest and validate.
Evaluate when analogue methods outperform digital ones, and justify that choice to an administration or a client.
Apply an ethics of visual representation to participatory documentation.
Engage in structured intercultural peer exchange across European contexts.
Produce a redesigned participatory process and a template kit for their sending organisation.
Programme
Day 1 · Unlearning "I can't draw" — the visual alphabet, built from five shapes.
Day 2 · Listening with a pen — live graphic recording of real discussions.
Day 3 · Designing canvases for participation part 1— templates calibrated to an objective.
Day 4 · Designing canvases for participation part 2— templates calibrated to an objective
Day 5 · Synthesis, digital hand-off and the ethics of representation — plus the redesign of each participant's own process.
Methodology
Non-formal education and experiential learning, consistent with Erasmus+ quality standards. Participants work on one real participatory process of their own rather than on exercises, with structured reflection and peer feedback at the end of each day. The field day puts the method in front of real stakeholders, which is where the difference between a drawing and an accountable record becomes visible.
What's Included
What's Included
5 days of structured learning (25 hours, 5 hours per day)
all course materials and a digital resource pack
certificate of attendance and completion
Europass Mobility document (on request)
materials & design-brief template
What's Not Included
accommodation
meals
travel
travel insurance
personal expenses
Tickets
Professional Place
Open enrolment. Available to individuals and organisations. Immediate booking.
FROM$1,103.71/pp
Erasmus+ KA1 Grant-Funded Place
Reserved for staff of Erasmus+ accredited organisations. Fee set by the European Commission’s course fees unit cost (€80 per participant per day) and covered in full by a KA1 staff mobility grant. Your organisation’s OID is required at checkout. Bookings without a valid OID will be cancelled and refunded.
FROM$464.72/pp
Gallery
Trip Tips
For Erasmus+ Coordinators
Inesto SRL SB is an Erasmus+ accredited receiving organisation in Adult Education (KA1 – Learning Mobility of Individuals). This course qualifies as a structured course activity under KA1 staff mobility. We issue all documentation required for Individual Reports: Letter of Confirmation, certificate of attendance and completion, and Europass Mobility document upon request. Pro-forma invoices are available upon request for grant applications to your National Agency.
For HR & Training Managers
This course addresses a documented organisational need: Organisations face growing pressure to demonstrate genuine impact rather than impact-labelling. This course produces staff able to select verifiable partners, structure inclusive supply chains and verify community outcomes , a measurable, transferable capability.
Reviews
FAQs
Who is this course for?
Adult educators, trainers, youth workers and community practitioners along with Architects, urban planners, public-space operators and adult educators who work on built environments — open and enclosed spaces.
Can my organisation use an Erasmus+ grant to fund participation?
Yes. This course is delivered by an Erasmus+ accredited organisation in Adult Education (KA1), making it eligible for staff mobility grants. Participants from accredited sending organisations can apply for funding through their National Agency to cover course fees, travel, and subsistence. We are happy to provide a pro-forma invoice and Letter of Confirmation for your application.
(OID E10365283)
How many participants does the course take?
Each cohort is limited to a maximum of 16 participants. This ensures adequate facilitation quality, meaningful peer exchange, and compliance with the experiential and non-formal education methodology used throughout the programme.
What is included in the course fee?
The fee covers the full 5-day programme (minimum 25 hours of guided content), all course materials and a digital resource pack, guided meditation audio recordings, a guided nature activity in Ibiza's landscapes, cultural and social programme, coffee, tea and herbal infusions during breaks, and an official certificate of completion.
Accommodation, flights, and meals are not included.
What language is the course delivered in?
The course is delivered in English, but if required, can be delivered in Spanish or Italian. All written materials and documentation are provided in English. Participants are expected to have a working level of English sufficient for group learning and reflection.
Do I need any technical or coding background?
No. The course is designed for professionals with no technical background.
What documentation is issued for Erasmus+ reporting?
Inesto SRL SB issues an official certificate of attendance and completion upon successful participation in the full programme. A Europass Mobility document can be provided upon request. Both documents are accepted for Erasmus+ Individual Reports and organisational quality reporting to National Agencies.
Can we book the course for a group or team?
Yes. We can organise a dedicated edition for a minimum of 12 participants from a single organisation or consortium, including customised dates and programme adaptations.
Contact us at info@inesto.it to discuss.
What is the cancellation policy?
Bookings are confirmed via our EaSOL listing; a deposit secures your place and is non-refundable. For the remaining balance: cancellations made more than 6 months before the course start date are refunded in full (less the deposit); between 6 and 3 months before, 50% of the balance is refunded; less than 3 months before, the fee is non-refundable. At any time before the start date you may instead transfer your place to a colleague or to a later edition of the same course, subject to availability, at no extra cost. Erasmus+ participants awaiting a National Agency grant decision are encouraged to contact us to discuss provisional arrangements.
Why are there two prices?
Inesto is an Erasmus+ accredited training provider (OID E10365283). Staff of accredited organisations across Europe can attend using a KA1 staff mobility grant, which covers the course fee at a rate set by the European Commission. The Professional Place is the standard rate for everyone else