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Douglas (2020) [Film]. Gadsby, H. Irwin Entertainment.

Nanette (2017) [Film]. Gadsby, H. Guesswork Television.

The podcast Philosophizethis’ has an episode focusing on Foucault and his definition of power. Super American but also super easy to listen to and a good summary of the concept: https://philosophizethis.org/foucault-power/

Even though intersectionality was coined as a concept by Kimberlé Crenshaw, intersectional ideas have existed long before. During the TC we mentioned the poem of

Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Women.

There are many good interviews with Silvia Federici (feminist scholar) on youtube

Manufacturing Consent (1992) [Film]. Wintonick, P., and Achbar, M.

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supplementary readings and suggestions from participants.

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supplementary readings and suggestions from participants.

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Bennett, J. (2017) Feminist Fight Club. Harper Wave.

Danewid, I. (2017) White Innocence in the Black Mediterranean: hospitality and the erasure of history, Third World Quarterly, 38 (7), pp. 1674-1689.

DiAngelo, R. (2018) White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Boston: Beacon Press.

Eddo-Lodge, R. (2017) Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Hooks, B. (2015). Feminism is for everybody passionate politics. ([2. ed.]). Routledge. ISBN: 978-1-317-58837-5

Hill Collins, P., and Bilge, S. (2016) Intersectionality. London: Polity Press.

Melo, P. (2010) The Body Snatcher. London: Bitter Lemon Press.

Nayak, S., and Robbins, R. (2019) Intersectionality in social work : activism and practice in context. Routledge: Abingdon.

Popovic, S. and Miller, M. (2015) Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World. New York: Random House.

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content bibliography from course in International Solidarity  for Peace. 

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content bibliography from course in International Solidarity  for Peace. 

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Boal, A. (1985) Theatre of the Oppressed. Theatre Communications Group: New York.

Butler, J. (2015) Notes toward a performative theory of assembly. Cambridge,

Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Burke, B., and Harrison, P. (2003) Anti-Oppressive Practice, in: Barrett, S., Komaromy, C.,

Robb, M., and Rogers, A. (eds.) Communication, Relationships and Care. London: Routledge, pp. 131-138.

Chomsky, N., Mitchell, P. R., and Schoeffel, J. (2002). Understanding power: the indispensable Chomsky. New York: New Press.

Dragonowl, L. (2016) Against Identity Politics, Anarchy: A Journal of Desired Armed, 76, pp. 29-51.

Eriksson Baaz, M. (2005) The paternalism of partnership: A postcolonial reading of identity in development aid. London and New York: Zed Books.

Escobar, A. (2011) Encountering development. Princeton University Press.

Foucault, M. (1976) The History of Sexuality. Volume 1. The Will to Knowledge. New York: Pantheon books.

Foucault, M. (1982) The Subject and Power, Critical Inquiry, 8 (4), pp. 777-795.

Freire, P., & Ramos, M. B. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, Continuum.

Galtung, J. (1964) An Editorial, Journal of Peace Research, 1(1), pp. 1-4.

Intersex Society of North America: https://isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex/

Kolankiewicz, M. (2019) Anti-Muslim Racism on Trial: Muslims, the Swedish Judiciary and the Possibility of Justice. Routledge: London.

Kruks, S.(2012) Simone de Beauvoir and the Politics of Ambiguity, Oxford University Press.

Lugones, M. (2010) Toward a Decolonial Feminism. Hypatia, 25 (4), pp. 742–759.

Lugones, M. (2007) Heterosexualism in the Colonial/modern Gender system, Hypatia, 22 (1), pp. 186-209.

McEwan, C. (2009) Postcolonialism and Development. London and New York: Routledge.

Spade, D. (2015) Normal life administrative violence, critical trans politics, and the limits of law. Revised and expanded edition. Durham: Duke University Press.

Wilson, A., and Beresford, P. (2000) 'Anti-oppressive practice': emancipation or appropriation?, The British Journal of Social Work, 30 (5), pp. 553–573.

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WHY?
Strikes are a powerful tool to make change. They are a clear refusal to a demand from people of influence. They give power and a voice to groups that may have otherwise been underestimated or looked down upon. They allow these groups, such as students and workers, to show their worth in their absence. When a group strikes, it causes inconvenience, which can be used as a tool for negotiations.

HOW?
For a strike to be effective, the group that wants to participate should organise themselves in order to act in a united way. Examples of such organised groups include workers unions and student groups. Next, the group needs to be very definite in what they are demanding, so as to present a clear message and have a greater likelihood of achieving the desired change or action. Youth specifically can organise (non-violent) strikes to generate change in their educational institutions, places of work, etc, by organising their peers with common demands and creating a clear message and plan.

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WHY?
Protests and demonstrations are used to fight against the oppressor and/or system in a way that is united and (usually) non-violent, and projects a clear message or goal. They have the potential to raise awareness of the issue at hand, get people involved, and to make change. Small actions, such as these, can lead to big changes. Protests and demonstrations are an effective method of resistance due to their large, loud, and public nature, they cannot easily be ignored.

HOW?

In order to execute a successful and compelling protest, those protesting must be united and organised with a clear message and/or goal. In order to achieve high attendance numbers and increase the chance of impact, it is advisable to spread the word by using tools such as flyers, emails, and social media. In order to get youth involved and assure they use this tool in a safe and effective way, we should teach them how to organise themselves, how to protest and demonstrate safely and how to use tools such as posters to get their messages across.

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WHY?
A Flashmob is an act from a group of people that are suddenly gathered in a public space for a short period of time in order to perform an action. It is a surprising and unusual spectacle for some people, as the crowd shows up out of nowhere and then disappears without any trace, with all the action happening in just 5- 10 minutes. It starts with one person dancing or doing another movement that may not otherwise be normal to see in a public space, and the surrounding people start to join one by one until almost everyone is participating. The message that is being passed can be political and aiming to a specific goal.

HOW?
The gathering of the people is mostly organised online, by emails and social media explaining the instructions of the act, but if the act is more complicated people may need to meet in person one or more times before the performance takes place. It is crucial to spread the message quickly in order for more people to participate and early enough to ensure sufficient time for preparation.

Flashmobs have the potential to express ideas and spark change in a positive and fun way.

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WHAT IS IT?
Theatre of the Oppressed (TO), is a set of tools for transformation which helps bring to light systemic exploitation and oppression. TO was developed in Brazil during the late 1950s, by Augusto Boal. Boal wanted to lead the Brazilian theatre away from its bourgeois and European roots - to make it popular and political.

WHY? Boal saw the method as a philosophical commitment on restoring arts to the people, taking away the professional monopoly on it and handing the means of production to the people, the “non-actors”.

This commitment allows spectators to become actors (spect-actors), which are not only artistic terms but political ones as well. By becoming actors, subjects and transformers of dramatic action, people can also become political actors in everyday life. TO encourages participants to investigate and explore issues of oppression by using other forms of communication than they are used to, such as non-verbal communication. There are many languages other than those written and spoken. By learning a new language, a person finds new ways of knowing reality and of passing that knowledge on. TO provides tools with which participants can express themselves and discover new ways out of situations of powerlessness. Boal has said that even though theatre in itself may not be revolutionary, it is a rehearsal for the revolution.

In TO we work from the particular to the general. Augusto Boal reminds us that when using TO as a tool we are not therapists, but theatre artists. He explains the approach in the following way: “someone recounts their personal experience, where they have felt oppressed. This is their particular case. Instead of investigating the singularities of this particular case, we try, using the participation of others, to go from the particular to the general, by which we mean the universality of particular cases within the same category”.

HOW? Two of the most common forms of TO is Image Theatre and Forum Theatre.

Image Theatre includes a range of different techniques and exercises. These typically begin with participants using their bodies to represent concepts or words to create “images”. The images are then built on and sometimes connected to each other and can be dynamised with motion. The purpose of these images are not necessarily to understand their meaning, but to feel the images. Part of this exercise is also to understand image as a language. TO, and particular image theatre, is based on “the multiple mirror of the gaze of others” - this means people looking at the same image and expressing what the image evokes for them.

Forum Theatre consists of a scene that shows a situation of oppression. The situation is typically one that the protagonist (who came up with the idea for the scene) does not know how to address. The spect-actors are invited to join the scene and replace the protagonist to then act out possible strategies, ideas and solutions. Read more about Forum Threatre in the section on empowerment exercises!

It is important to bear in mind the target group’s age and background and the social issues they may or may not recognise so that we can adjust the exercises to their needs and understanding.

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WHY?
Because it is a powerful tool to sensibilise youth in a very accessible way about a wide variety of topics. Documentaries give access to relevant information about global economic and sociopolitical problems that the audience might not be exposed to. Therefore, they show different perspectives about how power structures and resistance interact in a specific situation. It is a useful tool in order to raise awareness, to foster critical thinking and to develop curiosity. It is also a way to expose people to many complex topics in an easy accessible way for everyone.

The information it offers can be easily contrasted and it is usually backed by many experts on the matter. It can potentially be helpful in raising funds on the matter that is being analysed. It can integrate local communities and spread the discussion on the public opinion. It can promote social change through peaceful means by a combination of arts and activism.

HOW?
Screening them and tailor a discussion around the topic with the participants in, for instance, a Training Course. In order to have the desired impact, it is very important to know the specific audience and target group in advance. The message is also essential to have in mind since the beginning, although it can lead to different interpretations taking into account that it is an artistic creation. It is also relevant to bring up the similarities and differences that people have on the topic and engage every participant in the discussion without pushing personal boundaries and letting each person choose the level of intimacy they are willing to share. It is essential to create a safe space and respect for one another. The aim is to spread as much information as possible without degrading its quality. It combines many artistic disciplines that ensure that the message is easy to share, because it has an element of fun and enjoyment.

Main advantages: Increases empathy, activates emotions, generates new perspectives, it can encourage action and political implication, promotes a common ground between different points of view.

TARGET GROUPS:
The content needs to be adapted depending on the age group, but documentaries in general have a really broad audience. Animated documentaries may be used for a younger audience in order to start sensibilising them about global issues. However, the context, the message and the methodology need to be modified depending on each target group.

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signs and colors as a method of resistance.

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signs and colors as a method of resistance.

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Symbols and signs are being used as resistance tool aiming at a visual recognition. Symbols can be employed to signify a political objective. Using different shapes, colors and text according to the issue determines the dynamic, the emotion and the efficiency of the message.

WHY?
There is much research on how colour relates to psychology. Colours have psychological power that affects us without us necessarily realising it. They affect the feelings of people and their behavior. It is a mass communication that is recognisable and is easy to remember/difficult to forget.

Linking colours to subjects lead us to massive campaigns and support. Colours are easy to find, accessible for all and they can be targeted by everyone for everyone (kids, young people, elderly).

Sometimes it can be difficult for somebody to actively show support. Signs can be used at these times to communicate silently.

HOW?
Colours should be connected to the resistance message. They could be linked with a shape, a form or a text. Signs can be used in different ways such as painting, clothes, social media, coloring water or the sky.

For example:

In the occupation of Palestine the water melon is a symbol of resistance, with its colors mirroring the Palestinian flag. It has become a public expression of cultural pride in artworks representing the struggle against Israeli apartheid.

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WHY?
It mobilises strength against the system and has a big impact. For example: boycotting, if its used by many people, shows that if we are united we can challenge the structure, have concrete results, challenge the status quo, promote legal consequences. It can contribute to transformative power of protests and is a good way to oppose destructive normalised rules.

HOW?
Boycotting, strikes, freezing scenes, flash moves, example (el violador eres tu, Chile). When organising boycotts for example: research on the main sectors of the economy you want to dismantle and set a goal. These companies do not take social justice into account, so we try to not contribute to their profit. Spread the message on the internet and within communities. You can use methods such as petitions, signatures and subvertising. Hopefully this will have an impact on the companies image - which is becoming more and more important.

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WHY?
It can be a good platform of underground subjects and a very strong method of resistance. It does not just have to be a sport, for instance the clothes can reflect a message.

Examples can be found in freedom movements for Palestine and Western Sahara. It invites experience, doing something fun and at the same time a good promotion of social change. It shows a lot of determination, motivates, provides an inner fight against your body and it also a fight against the system. It takes training, a way of realising the necessities of organising, patience, individual and a collective experience and unity.  It attracts a lot of people that come to watch and support, it can be moulded to the different preferences of people.  It can also be a good source of profiting and sponsoring a good cause.

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arts: dabke dance as a method of resistance. 

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arts: dabke dance as a method of resistance. 

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WHY?
It is a good way of creating community and solidarity, of reflecting on identity and using your body as a tool to create meaningful bonds and to make harsh realities more bearable. Dabke in particular is a very strong means to raise awareness and give visibility to the Palestinian story and culture. It is a way of connecting with its roots in a political way, so resisting the occupation by carrying forward tradition in a peaceful manner. The songs themselves carry very strong political messages, it connects us spiritually without the need of a common language but embracing the common values and moves, in the circle you create while dancing you are both responsible for yourself and of the rest of the group. It is also very fun, so there is less risk of getting tired of using the tool.

HOW TO USE IT POLITICALLY?
In Demonstrations, protests, online, in workshops (in all types of communities and groups who want to show solidarity).

WHAT DO YOU NEED?
A free space fit to the size of the group, possibly on a wooden floor and also a high volume speaker.

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arts: 8 positions - a vocabulary movement.

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arts: 8 positions - a vocabulary movement.

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WHY?
The 8 positions originate from the work of Paloma Madrid and Ninoska Benavides. We can use dance as a political tool, it can also have healing powers. We can channel experiences of oppression through our bodies. This movement was inspired by the protests in Chile in 2019 but it also can be applied to any other community or protests, art exhibitions and everyday dance classes or workshops. These movements or positions in particular have been studied to underline and present a tool for healing after the protest itself and they also incorporate some symbolic gestures against the police forces. They can be used to raise awareness and to reflect on inner difficulties giving us the chance to meditate and care about the rebirth of both the earth and ourselves. A great means of showing solidarity.

HOW?
The 8 positions-movements can be learned online or in a workshop. They are easy to practice and to remember and can be performed with all the group repeatedly as a cycle. Each position should be explained to the participants before putting them in practice or during the performance. The order of the movements does not necessarily have to follow the numbers of the positions.

HOW TO USE IT AS A TOOL: During protests, strikes, art exhibitions.

CONTACTS: info@palomamadrid.com

MORE INFO CAN BE FOUND HERE.

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putting written messages in the streets.

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putting written messages in the streets.

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WHY?
It can be a way of reclaiming the streets for the people as opposed to the state, it is a very good way of getting a potential audience involved (so both people who are already interested in the content and people who are not interested but are struck by curiosity while reading the texts).

It has the potential of large exposure, it is accessible, a good way of raising awareness round a specific issue - educating while denouncing. It can be entertaining and democratic tool (it is of course an individual choice to share it or not).

Example -> LOESJE POSTERS:

HOW?
Get in contact with your chosen Loesje community

DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS
Social Media can be a very effective way to provide visualisation and raise awareness about current and important matters.

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Understanding the importance of power is the main key when it comes to understanding the significant impact of structures concerning youth work and education. Power relations occur in all levels of our society, but the direct impact can be stronger at the level of informal processes in everyday life rather than the formal structures of the state. In everyday life we exist in different contexts with informal structures. Those contexts can be the family, school/work, organisations, social groups and even representation in culture or gender.

The everyday experiences of those informal structures, ruled by rather social norms than, or in addition to, legal frameworks, have a huge impact on opportunities to participate in society. That is why informal structures, ruled by norms created and approved on a social level, are deeply involved in the field of power.

Power and norms

Power relations are not necessarily evil or destructive, we are not always aware of the power relations we are involved in - especially when we are privileged by them. Nonetheless, these are still relations that we participate in.

Many of these power structures can seem invisible since have a way of naturalising and stabilising themselves through establishing norms which come to appear as natural. There are situations and contexts when force or threats of force can be used to achieve a structure and compliance to these norms or rules, like in school or work, when there are explicit threats of force. But on the other side, force is an expensive tool because it makes the exercise of power  visible. Therefore we also need to pay close attention to measures which construct compliance while hiding the power relationship from view.

Norms decide what is right and wrong regarding behaviours, what we are expected to say, how we are expected to act and look like. Norms are not always bad, but become destructive when they are used in order to strengthen power and power relations and are a way of creating different circumstances at work or in school based on for instance gender, race or sexuality. The division of people, through norms, as normal and abnormal results in:

an “us” and “them” way of thinking about things: where the Us or We are thought of with desirable characteristics that are seen as normal or natural and the Them is thought of with characteristics that are negative, abnormal or unnatural.

This division also means that following the norm is rewarded while not being part of a norm or breaking it means that you risk punishment.

In order to counter this, we can question these norms and a part of this is by making them visible - this is what anti-oppressive theory does.

When we work with anti-oppressive theory, it does not mean that we are working against for instance masculinity or heterosexuality - but about working against their dominant position - working against the power structures that norms are involved in.

Anti-oppressive theory is therefore also about questioning why groups are being positioned as superior to other groups - to visibilise and question the purpose that the norm fulfills.

For this purpose we, instead of focusing on the victims of the norm, use this tool to shine a light on the origins of the norm - where the norm comes from.

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This toolbox has been created by youth workers within the project International Solidarity for Peace. But what is solidarity and how is it different from international aid and development work?

Since international aid and development work are directly rooted in colonialism, they often result in the reproduction of the injustices that they aim to counter. In comparison to aid, international solidarity stems from the vision of, and the belief in, a different society. In other words, the difference is that we are not doing it with the purpose of helping somebody who is suffering, we do it because we believe that the mechanism behind the oppression is wrong. This toolbox is created with the purpose of gathering different methods for social change and equip youth workers with multiple tools for social change.

International Solidarity focuses on underlying factors of oppression and is therefore based on community ownership of the change. For positive social change to be possible, we need to have a detailed idea of the setting we are in and what is happening as well as how this is connected to what is happening in the world.

There are many different ways of being a good ally. “Allyship” is a concept within social justice activism to describe efforts and actions done by a group defined as privileged within a certain intersection of oppression, in solidarity and as a duty to that cause. It works both in society at large, and within in particular social contexts, such as universities or workplaces. It is essentially about using your privileged position as a resistance to different forms of oppression.

Allyship is not something which can be self-defined, but must be recognised by the people we seek to ally ourselves with. It is also a way to recognise that our different positions in society limit, but also allow us to act in different ways in regards to oppressive structures. However, most importantly, it allows us to act as a united movement for a common cause.

So, why is it so important to act in a movement? Activists and movement sympathisers are aware of participating in realities which are much vaster and more complex than those of which they have direct experience. It is in reference to this wider community that one draws motivation and encouragement to action, even when there is a strong sense of isolation and the field of concrete opportunities seems very limited. This is particularly important in our globalised world where the many struggles and push-backs led by marginalised groups around the world are invisibilised or framed as isolated cases by the hands of the often corporately owned media.

Facing many global challenges such as for example climate change, it is important to remember that all people neither experience said problems the same way, nor have contributed equally to their occurrence. In fact, when it comes to climate change, the people who have contributed least to climate change are the ones suffering most from it. Additionally, the struggle for climate justice is not new. On the contrary, social movements often led by indigenous groups around the world, have been at the forefront of the fight for climate justice and against environmental exploitation by the hands of transnational corporations for many years. In working for climate justice, we must stand in solidarity with these social movements and base our work according to their vision of social change.

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Objectives: Relax at the end of a long day.

Type of methods: Relaxation, massage

Number of participants (maximum / minimum: any number

Duration: 15 minutes

Target group: youth workers, students

Group requirements: Participants should know each other a bit and be okay with getting massaged

Material Needed: A spacious room.
Difficulties for the facilitator: It is important to make sure that everyone feels comfortable both participating and opting out of the exercise if they wish.
Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate: Start by turning off the lights and making sure that the room is quiet. Divide the group in mini massage groups of no more than 4 people each. One participant lays down on their back and the other 2-3 people start massaging the different parts of the body, the head, the arms, the legs, by raising and moving these parts of the body slowly. After few minutes the participant changes and the group proceeds to do the same thing with all the members of the each smaller group.

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Objectives:

To build a good group dynamic.

To introduce a topic.

Keywords / Topic: Group, rhythms, tensions release
Type of methods: Game from Theatre of the Oppressed.
Number of participants (maximum / minimum: Min. 3 - no max.
Duration: 5-10 min
Target group: Any
Group requirements: No requirement. Can be a regular game (for example after each day) to build sense of belonging and rituals within a group.
Material Needed: Just some space.
Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
The Joker or one of the participants choose a word; it can be any word or it can be a specific topic that the joker wants to work on after (for example family, bureaucracy, authoritarianism, sexism, racism, etc).

A participant goes into the middle and imagines that they are a moving part in a complex machine. They start doing a movement with their body, a mechanical, rhythmic movement, and vocalising a sound (not a word) to go with it. Everyone else watches and listens. Another person goes up and adds another part (their own body) to this mechanical apparatus, with one part of their body touching one part of the body of the 1st person. The person also adds another movement and another sound. A third person, watching the first two, goes in and does the same (with one part of their body touching one part of the body of one of the persons in the machine), so that eventually all the participants are integrated into this one machine, which is synchronised.

When everyone is part of the machine, the Joker asks the machine to slow down its rhythm – everyone must slow down at the same time, without any leader, since the
machine is one entity. Then the Joker asks to accelerate the rhythm until the machine explodes at a signal from the Joker. After it explodes, the machine disintegrates in slow motion and everyone falls down, still in slow motion. It ends when the last person does not move anymore. It is not easy to be at the same rhythm all together, it is almost possible.
Therefore, for everything to work well, each participant really has to try and listen to everything they hear.

Resources : Augusto Boal's "Games for Actors and non-actors"

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Objectives: Relax after a long day, calm down

Type of methods: Massage, Relaxation

Number of participants (maximum / minimum: any even number

Duration: 10 min

Target group: youth, youth workers, students

Group requirements: Participants should know each other a bit and be okay with getting massaged
Material needed: None
Difficulties for the facilitators: It is important to make sure that everyone feels comfortable both participating and opting out of the exercise if they wish.
Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate: Participants go together in pairs of two. One massages the other by following a Baguette recipe (kneading the dough, scraping the flour away, rolling the baguette into long pieces). Then they exchange the positions.
Alternative versions: You can also bake pizza (put tomato sauce on, add cheese, bake the pizza, cut it in pieces, ...) or any other dish on the back of your partner.

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Objectives:

To create a sense of belonging to the group.

To reinforce trust within a group.

To use and develop the sense of touch.

Keywords / Topic: Group/Community, resistance, belonging
Type of methods: Game from Theatre of the Oppressed
Number of participants (maximum / minimum): Min. 6 - No maximum but it takes more time.
Duration: Depends on the group size. From 15 to 30 minutes, even more for a big group.
Target group: Adults.
Group requirements:  There should already be some trust between the participants. It is a good game for the last part of a training or a course, before participants are going to leave.
Material Needed: A big space, without any obstacle or danger.
Difficulties for the facilitator: Be vigilant and make sure that the participants do accidentally injure themselves.
Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
Everyone stands in a circle (or in two or more lines if the group is very large), with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. With their eyes closed, they use their hands to investigate the back of the head, the neck and the shoulders of the person in front. This is the glass cobra in one piece.

Then, on an instruction from the Joker, the cobra is broken into pieces and each person sets off around the room, still with their eyes closed. In the legend of the Chilean araucanos, this ‘glass cobra’ shattered into a thousand pieces when their nation was invaded by the Spaniards; but one day the pieces will find each other again, and these small fragments, harmless on their own, will become dangerous the moment they are reunited, because then they will turn into the glass cobra and will expel the invaders.

In the game it is the participants, who, after a few minutes of blind locomotion around the space, on a signal from the Joker must find their way back to the person who was in front of them before the cobra broke up. They must reconstitute the cobra(s). And as in the legend, this may take time. . . .

Questions for the debrief:

How did you feel when you were alone/isolated?

How did you feel when you found the person in front of you?

Was it easy to find the right person?

How did you recognise them?

Resources:  From Augusto Boal's "Games for Actors and non-actors"

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Objectives: Team Bonding/ Increase Energy Levels without being competitive/ Having Fun

Number of participants: 4+

Duration: 5 - 15 minutes

Target group: Any

Group requirements: Nothing in particular, it is an energiser as much as a team bonding exercise
Material Needed: access to music & speaker
Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:

Everyone stands up and form a circle, the facilitator puts music on (something energetic and preferably well known by the participants) and one person starts dancing. Everybody should do the same dancing movements as this person and after 2-3 movements the first person ‘pass’ their turn to another person and we repeat.

Be creative with your dance moves! Everybody should have been in charge of the dance at least once by the end of the song. If not, you can play one (or more) song so everyone will be able to be in that position. It is a very easy game and particularly suited for increasing energy levels, ice-breaking and having fun!

Alternative version: If you wish yo make the exercise competitive you can alter the structure so that one person leaves the space, comes back and has to guess who the dance leader is. The person can has 3 guesses or unlimited ones

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Objectives: team building/ energizer

Keywords / Topic: energiser, game

Number of participants (maximum / minimum: any number

Duration: 15 min

Target group: Any age/ group

Group requirements: No particular requirements

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate: The group start in a circle looking at each other. After, the group proceeds to look at the ground and on the count of three everyone should the head and look at a specific person. If 2 people look at each other eyes, they are eliminated, otherwise, they keep going with the game. This goes on until there are only 2 people left.

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Objectives: Building Team cooperation and good communication amongst peers

Keywords / Topic: team building, leadership, group and self organisation, communication, inclusion

Type of methods: Game
Number of participants (maximum / minimum): 10-30

Duration: Approximately 30 minutes for the activity and 30 minutes for the debriefing

Target group: Everyone, but is not accessible for people with  severe physical disabilities.

Group requirements: This exercise could be used both with a brand new group and with a group where people know each other well. For instance to work on organisation and cooperation obstacles or leadership.
Material Needed: an open space without furniture or an outside space, several sheets of paper, strings ropes or anything to symbolise starting and arrival line.
Difficulties for the facilitator: Adaptation to the group in order for them to experiment obstacles for cooperation and efficiency but the activity should finish by a group achievement.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:

1. Set up the place: make visible the starting and arrival line (more or less 5-6m between them)

2. Set up the activity and give instructions:
The participants are in a fairyland. The objective is that every person of the group cross the chocolate river (that you created between the starting and arrival line) without anyone falling or touching the river ! (Because the chocolate is really hot). The only way that the participants can cross is by using marshmallows (sheets of papers). The tooth fairy (a facilitator) give the teams 4 marshmallows each.
There are crocodiles living in the chocolate river (1 or two facilitators), this means that someone's hand or foot must be holding down each marshmallow that is on the river. Otherwise the crocodiles will come and eat the marshmallow. Sliding the marshmallows is not allowed since they will soak chocolate and sink). And the teams cannot cut them in little pieces either. If anyone touches the river, or falls in, the whole team must start over the beginning

3. Let the group start (you can make a first part of the activity in silence). Be quite clear and reactive about the limits (walking in the rivers, holding down the marshmallows).

4. After a while, if the participants have lost some marshmallows and are facing difficulties  to get to the other side of the river - the tooth fairy can propose that they can make some sacrifices (an arm or the sight or a leg) in exchange of a new marshmallow.

5. The activity ends when all the participants have crossed the river.

Questions for the debrief:

1. What happened? Description of the activity => facts

2. What did you feel during the differents steps of the activity?

3. Was is easy/hard to cross the river? Why?

4. Did everyone feel involved? How?

5. What do you think this activity is about? How could you related it to this training / your work / society / … (choose the one that fit better with the topic you want to talk about).

Things you should know / Basic informations :
If some people sacrificed one of their legs, pay attention so that they do not hurt themselves while crossing the river.

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Objectives: Team Building, Adaptability, Fun, Creativity, Problem Solving

Number of participants: 6-30. The bigger the group the more teams will need to be created (the example below is based on 10 people split in 2 teams)

Duration: 30 minutes

Target group: Anyone of age 10+, for younger kids we increase the time they have at their disposal to shape their "scene"

Material Needed: Anything around can be used to "shape the scene" however indoors is the best due to the endless household items that can be used
Difficulties for the facilitator: No particular skills required but the ability of encouraging and asking questions while the scene is being shaped are super useful!

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate: 2 teams, let them those their own name and write them on the board! The facilitator asks for a shape (for example a triangle), a scene (for example eating in an Indian restaurant) etc. to be created by the teams! We start easy (from a shape) and progressively go to more complicated scenes.

The teams have to come up quickly with a solution of how they will represent it/ make it happen! Depending on the age we put a timer; for adults in teams of 4-5, 30 second-1 minute is usually fine. Everybody should have a role on the shape/ scene, no one should be left aside (you make this clear from the beginning) and they have to use their imagination as much as possible! The quicker team that has represented the scene better takes 1 point. This is the competitive version where the participants can have a say or vote for the best team, including their own and should explain why (for example, the team made it clearer/ funnier/ more creative etc).

The non-competitive version is without points or winners but the conversation can still sparkle anyway about the final scenes.

Important: Encourage them while on process so they can be more active for example ‘I cant see that the restaurant is Indian’ or ‘Who is cooking the food’ etc. since they have super limited time. They can use everything from the place you are! Repeat at least 5 times (the best representations happen after a while...), which team is the winner (if so), which had good/ mediocre communication/ any leadership?

Alternative Versions:

Competitive or not competitive depending on your goals

The version of guessing  (one team is "shaping" and the rest of the group is trying to guess what this team represents)

Do the Shaping process without any oral communication within the teams (depending on the age and the time they have at their disposal)

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Objectives: Trust, dependence, get to know each other

Keywords / Topic: Perspectives

Type of methods: Theatre/dance

Number of participants (maximum / minimum): Minimum 2 persons

Duration: 10 minutes or as long as you like

Target group: From the age of 10

Group requirements: Make sure there is no injuries in the group. Works even if the group do not know each other very well.

Difficulties for the facilitators: Make sure the participants feel okay and are nice to each other.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate: Every one pair up 2 and 2. One person in the pair starts to close their eyes, the other person places their hand on the back of the other person, just below the neck and between the shoulder blades. Now this person has to lead the blind person around the room. The facilitator can make an example and show the others how you can do it; try to move forward and back, turn around, try to going down and up and so on. The person with closed eyes just needs to follow the leader.

After a while, switch places, you can choose how long time you want this to take.

If you want to, change pairs so you are with a new person, and start over again.

Questions for the debrief:

How was it to be lead/to lead? Did you feel safe?

If you changed pairs, was it different to be lead by different persons?

Did the person with closed eyes follow you easily?

What was hard?

Why is it important to trust each other?

Things you should know / Basic information:

If you do this exercise in a group where there are any conflicts, make sure the participants are nice to each other. Remind them this is about trust and that this exercise is to make sure the person with closed eyes can trust the leader.

Alternative versions: You can do this exercise several times as a warm up before sessions. See if things change? Do the participants trust each other better after doing the exercise for a long time?

You can challenge the group and tell the leaders to make the person with closed eyes do more advanced movements. Can you make them lay down on the floor and get back up again? Can you walk really fast, try to run?

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Objectives: Team Bonding/ Increase Energy Levels without being competitive/ Having Fun / Time management

Number of participants (maximum / minimum: any

Duration: 18 minutes for the exercise, 20 minutes for introduction and debrief.

Target group: Any group except really young kids

Material needed: 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 meter tape, 1 meter string, 1 marshmallow / per team
Difficulties for the facilitator: easy to facilitate

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate: in 18 minutes build the tallest free standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 meter of tape, 1 meter of string and one marshmallow. The marshmallow must be on the top.

Alternative versions : if you don’t have string and marshmallow you can just use tape the create the highest tower.

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Objectives: Group dynamics/ Reflection of one's role in a group

Keywords / Topic: Status, respect, roles, classes

Type of methods: Theatre

Number of participants (maximum / minimum): 10-40

Duration: 10-20 minutes

Target group: Any group from about 12 years of age.

Group requirements: Some knowledge of each other, not the first thing you do with a group. It might be good to have some experience with non-formal learning methods.

Material Needed: Deck of cards, or papers/post-its with numbers written on them.

Difficulties for the facilitator: To make the participants keep to the rules (no talking) and to try to make them “act” their number instead of “showing” what number they are.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:

Part 1

First give everyone one number each that only they can see. It is a secret to everyone else. Then just give the instructions to “walk around the room and act your number, you are not allowed to speak”. Also tell them that “a high number is good and a low number is bad”.

After a while, stop them and ask them: Was it easy or hard? What methods did you use?

The participants are allowed to show what numbers they had, and discuss their tactics. Keep it in the group so everyone can hear what is said. Now collect the numbers from everyone again.

Part 2

Everyone gets a new number, but are not allowed to see what number they are given. “Put the card/paper on your forehead.” Now everyone will see the others numbers, but not their own. Now give the instructions “walk around the room and react to the others numbers, without telling the others what number they are, and still without speaking”. Still, a high number is good and a low number is bad.

After a while, ask them to form a line and place themselves where they think their number belongs on the line - high number to low number. When everyone is done, they can see if they were right.

The goal of this exercise is to find out that your part in a group is not something you take. It is something you are given. Respect and status is given to you by the people around you. This means that you are important to everyone else.

Questions for the debrief: Was it easier/harder in part 1 or part 2? How did you know what number you were in part 2? What reactions did you get? Was it easier to react to others than try to be your own number? Why do you think so?

Things you should know / Basic information: The instructions in part 1 are vague. There might be misunderstandings and confusion. But this is also part of the exercise. It is supposed to be hard. Because then what you do in part 2 makes more sense.

Alternative versions:

You can skip part 1 and only do part 2 if you want to. Part 2 is easier to understand so this can be a good option.

Play part 2 several times. Then you can ask if there was a difference with the reactions to you depending on what number you had.

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Objectives: Group dynamics / focus / patience / silent communication

Keywords / Topic: Exercise to get focused and calm down

Type of methods: Group dynamics

Number of participants (maximum / minimum): 8-30

Duration: Approx. 10 minutes

Target group: Any group from about 10 years of age.

Group requirements: No special requirements. Works even if the group do not know each other very well.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:

The aim of this exercise is to reach number 20. Preferably everyone sits down, keeping their eyes closed. Then one person starts with saying “one”. Then someone else has to say “two”. You continue this way until you reach 20. But! If anyone says a number at the same time, you all have to start over again from “one”.

The group is not allowed to talk or communicate by touching or by looking at each other. The only communication allowed is to sense the others and the dynamics of the group. Silent communication.

The facilitator explains the rules and then the group can go on by themselves. The facilitator might need to make decisions when the group needs to start over with the counting.

The goal is for the participants to feel the dynamics of the specific group, to get focused and calm down. Finding a way to communicate silently. Letting people take/give place in groups. Good as a starting exercise to get focused.

Questions for the debrief:

Was this hard or easy? What was hard/easy? Did you have tactics in the beginning that you had to change? What worked and what did not work? Did you find anything new in this exercise?

Things you should know / Basic informations:

In groups of youth/children there might be a problem that someone wants to “destroy” for the others. Perhaps you can take this person aside and ask why?

Alternative versions: Choose another number to count to. Make it easier; lower number, make it harder; higher number. You can also try adding the rule that it is allowed to say more than one number in a row.

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Objectives: Release some emotions before goodbyes during a long training for example. This exercise creates a safe space to release and share emotions.

Keywords / Topic: Love, relations, community

Number of participants (maximum / minimum): 8 - 30

Duration: 15 / 20 mins

Target group: Youth workers, young adults

Group requirements: The group of participants should have a strong group dynamic, a group that allows vulnerability, a group that shared intense experiences or moments.
Material Needed: A speaker for music.
Difficulties for the facilitator: This moment can be intense and emotional. The facilitators need to ensure a safe space for these feelings.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
First the facilitator explain and show how to hug.
How to hug: When 2 persons are facing to hug, they should open their arms with the left arm up and the right arm down. This way, when embracing, the hearts of the 2 persons will face and touch. We close our eyes and take 3 deep breaths. Then, we hold hands, look at each other and say thank you.

What to say before the group start hugging: participants can leave the space whenever they feel like it. There are no obligations of staying until the end.

When everybody is ready: put some music on the speaker (piano, emotional ...), everybody walk in the space and when you feel ready you can hug someone. We can do that for 10/15minutes depending on the size of the group.

Resources:

Music's proposition:
Bloodfow - Edit / Grandbrothers
Nantes - Beirut

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Objectives: To understand other perspectives, to try to understand how the character feels/ thinks/ behaves according to the selected personality trait/ oppression

Number of participants: at least 4 but not more than 10

Duration: depending on how many "attitudes" you want to act on. Usually 30 - 60 minutes

Group requirements: It is not an exercise for the first day of a training, but the group does not need to know each other for a long time.
Material Needed: post-it, pens/pencils
Difficulties for the facilitator: Some experience in guiding, acting and asking specific questions is needed. Social awareness is important as we can not know in advance what the participants will write on their papers.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
The participants should write a characteristic which is negatively perceived on a post-it (for example selfish, liar, negative, miserable, fanatic, sexist, aggressive etc). After, the group forms a circle so everyone can have eye-contact with each other and the facilitator tells them to close their eyes and imagine a person possessing the  negative characteristic in question, to imagine how they would live/ react/ behave on a day-to-day basis. Then everyone opens their eyes and they have to stick the post-its on their forehead and to BE that person (with the specific trait) for the entire exercise. After, the facilitator starts a scenario/ a question/ introduces a specific theme or describe an every day activity or a general discussion and the participants react accordingly.

Questions for the debrief:

Is being on an other person’s shoes difficult?

Is there anything that a person like that could add in a team/ project?

Do they bring anything to the table?

Are all of the negative characteristics one-sided?

Did you recognise attitudes of this person in yourself?

Do we feel safe enough to share ideas/ feelings when there are bad attitudes?

What can do as a team to make everyone feel safe/ welcome/ comfortable/ acceptable?

These questions can all take place during the exercise as well.

Alternative versions:

Have the traits written by you and get them to select one by chance so you can have more control over the topic and the conversation. These depends on the ultimate goals of the exercise.

If you want to play a second round tell them (after writing the new negative characteristics on their papers) to swap their post-its with another person’s.

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Objectives: An interactive game that relies on research and public speech skills, aims to help youth to extend their awareness of the world's challenges and problems and the main figures who fought for justice on the global level.

Keywords / Topic: global justice, activists, presentation skills

Type of methods: presenting

Number of participants: minimum 4

Duration: 1.5 h
Material Needed: printed cards with the topics below

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:

Before the game starts, each participant gets one of the cards below, then they have 5 minutes to find an activist who fought for the topic written on their cards. After this, the facilitator tells a story about a boat that was destroyed in the sea and on that boat, there were the most important activities of the world, one life jacket is available. Each participant should convince the others to give the ring to their character by doing a 30-second speech. At the end of the game the participants will vote for one person to get the lifebuoy ring.

Session agenda:

Time               Activity

10 mins   -    Giving the cards and choose the characters

10 mins   -    Introducing the boat story and producing the
30 second speech

15 mins   -    Listening to the speeches

5 mins     -   Voting

15 mins   -    Discussion

5 mins    -    Self-reflection

The topics of the card:

1. Environment

2. Anti-Racism

3. Anti -Islamophobia

4. LGBTS Right

5. Human Rights

6. Anti-Colonialism

7. Animal Rights

8. Education

9. Feminism

10. Climate Change

11. Sea life

12. Disability Rights

13. Freedom Of Speech

14. Democracy And Elections

15. Elderly Rights

16. Poverty And Inequality

17. Free Health Access

18. Anti-genocide deniers

19. Anti-Nuclear Power

20. Food Security

21. Worker Rights

22. Fair Trade

23. Social Justice Activities

24. Migrant Rights ‎

25. Independence Activists‎

26. Internet privacy and security

27. Childrens' Rights

28. Anti-war activism

29. Consumer Rights

Questions for the debrief:

Why you chose the winner?

What do you think were the tools that helped the winner get the life jacket?

Why you chose this activist and did you know about them before?

Alternative versions: Changing the theme and the cards of the exercise according to the participants' needs. Applying different context.

# data[].attributes.headline
visual concept making for theater initiatives. 

# data[].attributes.subject
visual concept making for theater initiatives. 

# data[].attributes.body
Objectives:

Collective process of creation towards defining power structures and question the established norms. To get a better view of the whole class perspectives. Expressing and merging different opinions. Enhancing the freedom of expression through art.

Keywords / Topic: Power structures, acts of oppression.

Type of methods: writing, drawing, acting

Number of participants: from 4 to 30

Duration: 1:30/2:00

Target group: No restrictions

Group requirements: Certain knowledge depending on the topic that the facilitator choses.
Material Needed: papers, color pencils
Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate: This exercise contains three assignments divided in three stages.

The first assignment is drawing a picture based on a theme or phrase that the facilitator has already chosen according to the group and the purposes of the course. After the theme is set the participants are asked to think and reflect on what that subject means to them, how do they interpret it, how do they feel about it. Each participant receives a piece of paper that must be divided in half. The facilitator puts the colors on the table so the participants can share them. The participants are advised that the drawings that they make are to be shared with the group. The participants are asked to illustrate their thoughts on the given subject through drawing. The time given for the first assignment is around 10-15 minutes.

In the second stage everyone is asked to pass their drawing to the person to their right. Now that the participants have the drawing of someone else in the group, they are asked to write a short story based on the drawing they have in front of them. Their writings could be based on personal experience or completely made up. It can be a few sentences that come to mind with no narrative at all. Again, the time given for the assignment is 10-15 minutes.

For the third stage the participants are divided into small groups of 4, 5 or 6 depending on how many people are doing the exercise. Each group receives 4 to 6 pictures and stories according to the number of participants. The papers that the group receives not the ones that they created. For this assignment the time given is 10-15 minutes again and each group has to choose one picture and one story that go well together conceptually and think together how to perform and exaggerate a single act(ion) that is essential to the concept and repeat it to the point of climax. They can also be presented with the option of making a live picture using their bodies. Each group presents their performance for the others.

Questions for the debrief:

How did the participants find the exercise. Easy/hard? Why?

What did they felt when doing the exercise.

What new did they learn about themselves and the topic.

Things you should know / Basic informations:

Some basic acting knowledge required for the facilitator.

Alternative versions:

The exercise can include only the first two stages.

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Objectives: Team Bonding/ Recognise your privileges/ Having Fun

Number of participants: 6+

Duration: 15’-20´

Target group: Young adults and adults.

Group requirements: It is important that participants have a critical perspective about power structures.
Material Needed: Post-It
Difficulties for the facilitators: To understand the reactions of the participants and to facilitate a reflection after the game with proper questions.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:

We need one character for each participant. The character is written in a Post-It and the person has to stick it in his/her forehead without looking at it. The characters reflect real persons and roles that they have in society:

Ex:

Business man

Refugee

A male farmer

Household worker

Homeless old woman

British "Expat"

Football player

A good looking young woman

A blind person

A person in a wheelchair

The game consists in reacting to each others characters in the same way as society does it. Participants have 10 minutes to move in the room and react to the rest. Later, they will have to place themselves in order from the person who felt the best to the worst. They also have to explain the different reactions they experiences and to guess the character.

The main goal is to recognise our privileges and the different treatments that each person receives from the rest of society depending on their specific condition. The facilitator will make questions and try to raise awareness about these invisible injustices that occur everyday. Participants will walk in another's shoes for a while, so it is helpful in order to work about empathy and to criticise oppressive norms and social constructions.

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Objectives:  The invention of space and the spatial structures of power.

Keywords / Topic:  Space, territory, Spatial
structures of power

Type of methods: Observation / Participant Observation

Number of participants (maximum / minimum: 3- 30

Duration: 30 min -60 min

Target group: Youth Worker, Young adults

Group requirements: The participants should trust each others, they should be aware about the topic of Power structure, and the participants should be able to freely express their feelings.
Material Needed:  A table, six chairs and a bottle
Difficulties for the facilitators: In a bigger the group, it is more probable that decision-making would be difficult and complex. In a smaller group, this kind of decision-making can split the group completely.
Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
- Participants are asked to come up one at a time and arrange the objects to make one chair become the most powerful object  in relation to the other chairs, the table and the bottle.
-  Any of the objects can be moved or placed on top of each other, or on their sides, or whatever.
-  None of the objects can be removed altogether from the space.
-  The group will run through a great number of variations in the arrangement.
-  When a suitable arrangement has been arrived at, an arrangement in which, by group consensus, one chair is clearly the most powerful object, a participant is asked to enter the space and take up the most powerful position
- Without moving anything. Once someone is in place, the other members of the group can enter the space in succession and try to place themselves in an even more powerful position, and take away the power the first person established.

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Objectives:
- To initiate a reflection on power, power within relationships and oppression.
- To warm-up and de-mechanise one's body.
- To warm-up for actors before forum theatre (work on the oppressor and the oppressed).

Keywords / Topic: power, relationship

Type of methods: Game from Theatre of the Oppressed

Number of participants (maximum / minimum: Min 2, no maximum limit.

Duration: 10min (+ 10min debrief)

Target group: No specific target group but can be interesting for youth and social workers to reflect on their roles.

Group requirements: There should already be some trust between the participants and neither conflicts nor hidden tensions.

Make sure participants don't have any injury or condition which might be exacerbated by taking part in the game.

Material Needed: A big space

Difficulties for the facilitators: Requires to be comfortable with theatre and dance exercises and how to debrief them.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate: "One actor holds her hand palm forward, fingers upright, anything between 20 and 40 centimeters away from the face of another, who is then acting as if hypnotised and must keep their face constantly at the same distance from the hand of the hypnotiser: hairline level with her fingertips, chin more or less level with the base of her palm.

The hypnotiser starts a series of movements with their hand, up and down, right and left, backwards and forwards, their hand vertical in relation to the ground, then horizontal, then diagonal, etc. The partner must contort their body in every way possible to maintain the same distance between face and hand, so that face and hand remain parallel. If necessary, the hypnotic hand can be swapped; for instance, to force the hypnotised to go between the legs of the hypnotiser.

The hand must never do movements too rapid to be followed, nor must it ever come to a complete halt. The hypnotiser must force their partner into all sorts of ridiculous, grotesque, uncomfortable positions. Their partner will thus put in motion a series of muscle structures which are never, or only rarely, activated. They will use certain ‘forgotten’ muscles in their body. After a few minutes, the two actors change, the follower and the leader. After some more time, both can extend a hypnotising right hand, becoming leaders and followers at one and the same time."

Questions for the debrief:
How did you feel? Which strategies did you try to resist when oppressed (for the alternative version)?

Things you should know / Basic informations: You should know what you want to focus on during the debrief (general introduction to power structures or the context of your target group to make them reflect on power relations that concern them).

Alternative versions:

Alternative n°1:
"Hypnotism with two hands. Same exercise, but this time the actor is guiding two fellow actors, one with each hand, and can do any movement they likes. The leader must not stop moving either of their hands – the exercise is for their benefit as well.

They can cross their hands over each other and force one actor to pass underneath the other. The two actors being led cannot touch; each body must find its own equilibrium without leaning on the other. The leader must not do any movements which are too violent; they are an ally, not an enemy, even though they must still try to unbalance their partners. The roles are swapped, so that all three actors have the experience of being the ‘leader’. After a few minutes, all three become leaders and followers, extending their right hand to the person on their right and following the hand of the person on their left."

Alternative n°2:
"Hypnotism with the hands and feet. Like the preceding versions, but with four actors, one for each of the leader’s hands and feet. The person leading can do any
kind of movement, even dancing, crossing their arms, rolling on the ground, jumping, etc. "

Alternative n°3 :
"Hypnotism with any part of the body. In this variation, an actor goes into the middle of a circle and begins to move with their whole body, but always in one direction only and staying on the same spot. The rest of the group form a circle around them. A first volunteer comes forward and lets themselves be hypnotised by a part of the central actor’s body; they must then follow all the movements of that part of the body – ear, nose, back, bottom, foot, whatever it is. Then a second actor comes forward and does the same, choosing any part of either of the two bodies in the middle. A third actor joins, with a choice of three bodies, until all the actors have let themselves be hypnotised by a part of one of the others’ bodies. At that point, the first actor can execute one or more full turns with his body – slowly, as these movements will be greatly exaggerated by the others because of their distance from the centre of the circle. Then, if the space is sufficiently large, you can ask everybody to move further away from the part of the body which has hypnotised them. Or to get closer to it."

Alternative n°4:
3 steps.
1st step: One person gently hynotises another one.
2nd step: The hypnotiser gets bad, is an oppressor.
3rd step: The hypnotiser is an oppressor but the oppressed tries to resist.

Resources: Copied from Augusto Boal's "Games for Actors and non-actors"

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Objectives: Discover the languages in your direct environment, raise awareness for language diversity

Keywords / Topic: Language awareness, plurilingualism

Type of methods: walk through the city/quarter

Number of participants (maximum / minimum: 5 - 30

Duration: 3h - 6h

Target group: youth (12-99), youth worker, teacher, students

Group requirements: the group should know each other and the facilitator should know the group, parents should be okay with the field trip
Material Needed: a camera (handy camera quality is enough), notebook and pen, map of the area
Difficulties for the facilitators: participants will work in small groups and travel around alone in the city so they should be responsible enough to take care for each other and find the way back to a collective meeting point.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
The participants have at least one hour to walk through the streets of their quarter of the city (choose quarters of the city that are full of life, maybe have a train station, shops, restaurants, etc.).
Assignment - Find out which languages there are in your areas. Take pictures of written forms of the languages, for instance on street signs, restaurants, old buildings.  If you hear people speak other languages, you can also ask them politely to write something in this language for you or if you can record them while speaking. Take notes on the map where you found which language example.

Afterwards meet together and create collectively with the other groups a (interactive) map with all the information you gathered. Reflect what you learned about your area.

Questions for the debrief: Why was this language present? Did you expect that many different languages here?

Alternative versions: You can make the groups create a quiz about their research for the other groups. The questions can be about the pictures taken on the walk, guessing the languages or reflecting about why languages are present.

Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQma4798m_8 (short explanation of linguistic landscapes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxc1PMeT2Rs&t=6s (long introduction linguistic landscapes + the LoCALL Project)

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Objectives: Rethinking language representation in your youth group (formal or non-formal), gain an overview over the languages represented in your group, appreciate the language diversity and use it as a potential

Keywords / Topic: plurilingualism, language diversity, language hierarchies

Type of methods: Visualising the language skills and subjective theories about languages by drawing (and writing).

Number of participants (maximum / minimum: 5 - 30

Duration: at least 20min (creating the language biographies) + 15min reflection (can lead to further exercises like creating a artificial classroom language "classopanto")

Target group: children (min. age 5), youth, youth workers, students

Group requirements: Useful in a group, that doesn't know or already knows each other well. Depending on the age of the participants, the exercise can start discussions on several levels to create language awareness/language and identity or the political importance of languages.
Material Needed: Gingerbread person sheet for every participant, colorful pencils, white papers
Difficulties for the facilitators: facilitators should know about the power structure of languages, their function in society and their political dimension.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
1. Phase - Work assignment for the participants
Take your time and think about what languages play a role in your life?

Then try to visualise your personal language biography. You can use the following questions as inspiration:

-In which body part do you feel the language?

-How can you draw a language? Which symbol would you choose?

-In which areas of your life do you use or get in contact with the language?

-When, where and how did you learn it?

-Remember: You don‘t have to be perfectly fluent in a language to add it to your biography!

The result can be a drawing, a collage, a diagram, a timeline or you fill out the gingerbread man.

2. Phase - Reflection/Presentation
-Present the result to the others (Why did you use that color? Why did you choose this form?)

-Gallery walk/decorate the room with the biographies

-As a facilitator, take the biographies home to get to know your group better

-Reflect the exercise (What was difficult/easy? How did it feel to present your biography? etc.)

Alternative versions: Give the participants more freedom to choose the form of their biography (diagram, timeline, Collage...)

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Objectives: Creativity, Problem-solving, Group organising, Team bonding, Participation, Decision-making

Number of participants: teams of 3-6 people each

Duration: 30 - 70 minutes.

Target group: Teenagers+

Material Needed: Colours, pastels, markers, pencils, scissors, the first printed page of cartoon/ fictional character
Difficulties for the facilitators: observation in multiple groups at the same time can be difficult sometimes, trying to make them to "swap" roles can be challenging too.
Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
Each team will take an A4 page with a famous cartoon
on it (Mickey Mouse, Shrek etc.). Provide them with the above-mentioned materials and ask them to find their own comfortable space.

The goal of this activity is to enlarge the cartoon by making it 5 times bigger and then colour it! The teams have to come up with solution on how to achieve this precisely. If they are stuck you can help them suggesting that they can split the cartoon in 3/6 pieces and cut the paper accordingly - then each member will have to enlarge only a part of the cartoon and at the end to combine them all together and colour them collectively.

This is a great opportunity to observe your entire team:

Who needs extra assistance?

Who takes up leadership positions?

Who looks uninterested and unmotivated?

Who is better at following instructions?

Who is the perfectionist?

Who works better in a team?

Try to encourage each one to ‘swap’ roles (eg. the person who does not take up much space to become more confident suggesting solutions, the unmotivated to motivate others etc.) throughout the game or at the end of the process.

Questions for the debrief:

How did you feel during the activity?

Did others listen to your suggestions? Did you listen to other people's suggestions?

Did others take you into account when coming to solutions and colours decisions? Did you take the others into account?

Did you manage to alter/ swap your attitude during the game?

How was the group organised at first? What happened next?

Is everyone happy with the result?

Alternative versions: the cartoons/ characters could be selected as part of a biggest theme (for example Elsa from frozen if the topic is gender norms) and could lead to further discussions according to that or be part part of a bigger game/ exercise /activity

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Objectives:
To assemble ideas and suggestions from a group and arrange them in a priority list.

Keywords / Topic: decision-making

Type of methods: Facilitation method

Number of participants (maximum / minimum: Min. 4 - no max

Duration: Depends on the group size. Around 45 min - 1 h for 25 participants.

Target group: Any

Group requirements : No requirement.

Material Needed: Papers and pens

Difficulties for the facilitators: Requires to put time pressure on the participants and to be clear in the instructions. Good practice is to explain the method step by step as the group is doing the exercise.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
First, we must decide on a very clear definition of the theme/issue (problematisation) to which we are coming forward with ideas. When this is done, we divide the group into pairs.

The method has 5 steps:

Step 1: Own thinking

Sit down and individually think about the theme/issue for 5 minutes.

Step 1: Pair

The pair talk about their thoughts for 10 minutes and come up with concrete suggestions to the theme/issue. They write each suggestion on one piece of A4 paper.

Step 3: Explain

Each pair present their suggestions to the whole group. If a suggestion has already made by another pair it does not have to be mentioned again. The goal of this is to explain and not question. It is however allowed to ask questions in order to understand the suggestions better.

Step 4: Rank

As a pair, vote on ideas/suggestions you believe are most important. Vote by drawing a dot on the paper with the idea/suggestion or by assigning a system of points (eg. from 1 to 5, 5 being the most important to you). Amount of votes/pair can vary but usually 3-5 votes are enough.

Step 5: Arrange

On the wall, sort the ideas/suggestions according to the number of votes. The aim is to get an idea of the priority list of the group regarding the issue/theme.

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Objectives: To develop creativity, self-esteem, recognising and expressing one's emotions (dealing with emotional changes), empathy and communication skills.

Keywords / Topic: creativity, expression, emotions

Type of methods: Artistic/Creative/Writing

Number of participants (maximum / minimum): No min - no max

Duration: 15 - 20 min (can also be 5 min when used as an intro)

Target group: Any, but this method is interesting for people dealing with strong thoughts and emotions without being able / having the opportunity to express them (eg. people dealing with a lot of guilt and shame).

Group requirements: No.

Material Needed: 1 pen + 1 sheet of paper/person and a quiet and safe environment to do it

Difficulties for the facilitators: It is important to follow the steps and not to leave the participants alone without an explanation. An alternative title for the exercise could be "expression exercise" because "writing exercise" can make people afraid.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
1. Start with a personal check-in. How are you today? Choose 3 words to describe your mood and write them.
2. What made you feel this way?
Use three words (ex. Friends, Family, Food, Pain, Sleep etc)
3. Start a sentence. ... makes me feel ... because ...
4. Free flow writing for 5 min. You can start with this sentence or not (the sentence is here to help people how to start if they don't have inspiration).

Rules of free flow writing:
- Put away your phone
- Choose what language, write in your mother tongue if you feel more comfortable.
- For your eyes only, no one will read it after
- No stopping to think
- No editing
- No judging and censoring
- Keep the pen moving

Questions for the debrief:
- How was it for you? How writing made you feel?
- There can be hurtful and difficult feelings and it is good to acknowledge these feelings instead of putting them away. Write your difficult feelings and try to look for the roots of these feelings. The same for happy feelings: it's important to know what makes you happy.

Alternative versions:
You can practice journaling: everyday, at the same time of the day, you write for 15 - 20 min your strong thoughts and feelings, during 4 days.

Resources: Expressive writing as a therapy has been developed by James W. Pennebaker in the late 80's.

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Objectives:
"To know and to transform": "to enhance our ability to know and recognise a given situation, and to help us to rehearse actions which can lead to the breaking of the oppression shown in that situation".

Keywords / Topic: oppression, structural discrimination, role plays, raising awareness of power structures

Type of method: Theatre of the Oppressed

Duration: Depends on the numbers of sketchs, at least 15 min/sketch (few min play + at least 10 min for the forum)

Target group: Any

Group requirements: You have to know your group well in order to propose sketchs that concern their contexts.

Material Needed: A stage + actors (usually 2 - 4 : oppressor, oppressed and potential allies) + 1 or 2 Jokers + an audience.

Difficulties for the facilitators: Requires some practice and knowledge of theatre of the oppressed.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
1. To start off with, the show is performed as if it were a conventional play. A certain image of the world is presented.

2. The spect-actors are asked if they agree with the solutions advanced by the protagonist; they will probably say no. The audience is then told that the play
is going to be done a second time, exactly as it was done the first time. The actors will try to bring the piece to the same end as before, and the spect-actors are to try to change it, showing that new solutions are possible and valid.
In other words, the actors stand for a particular vision of the world and consequently will try to maintain that world as it is and ensure that things go exactly the same way . . . at least until a spect-actor intervenes and changes the vision of the world as it is into a world as it could be. It is vital to generate
a degree of tension among the spect-actors – if no one changes the world it will stay as it is, if no one changes the play it will come to the same end as before.

3. The audience is informed that, in this re-running of the play, the first step is to take the protagonist’s place whenever they are making a mistake, in order to try to bring about a better solution. All the audience has to do is shout ‘Stop!’; the actors must immediately stop where they are, without changing position. With the minimum delay, the spect-actor must say where they want the scene taken from, indicating the relevant phrase, moment or movement (whichever is easiest). The actors then start the scene again from the prescribed point, with the spect-actor who has intervened as protagonist.

4. The actor who has been replaced does not immediately retire from the game; they stay on the sidelines to help to stimulate the intervening spect-actors, if they need it.

5. From the moment at which the spect-actor replaces the protagonist and begins to put forward a new solution, all the other actors transform themselves into agents of oppression, or, if they already were agents of oppression, they intensify their oppression, to show the spect-actor how difficult it is to change reality. The game is spect-actors – trying to find a new solution, trying to change the world – against actors – trying to hold them back, to force them to accept the world as it is. But of course the aim of the forum is not to win, but to learn and to train. The spect-actors, by acting out their ideas, train for ‘real life’ action; and actors and audience alike, by playing, learn the possible consequences of their actions. They learn the arsenal of the oppressors and the possible tactics and strategies of the oppressed.

6. If the spect-actor gives in, they drop out of the game, the actor takes up the role again and the piece rapidly heads back towards the already known ending. Another spect-actor can then approach the stage, shout ‘Stop!’ and say where they want the play taken from, and the play will start again from that point. A new solution will be tried out.

7. At some point the spect-actor may eventually manage to break the oppression imposed by the actors. The actors must give in – one after another or all together. From this moment on, the spect-actors are invited to replace anyone
they like, to show new forms of oppression which perhaps the actors are unaware of. This then becomes the game of spect-actor/protagonist against spect-actor/oppressor. Thus the oppression is subjected to the scrutiny of the spect-actors, who discuss (through their actions) ways of fighting it. All the actors, from off stage, carry on their work as coaches and supporters, each actor continuing to help and urge on his or her spect-actor.

8. One of the actors, or someone else, must also exercise the auxiliary function of Joker, the wild card, leader of the game. It is up to them to explain the rules of the game, to correct errors made and to encourage both parties not to stop playing. Indeed, the effect of the forum is all the more powerful if it is made entirely clear to the audience that if they don’t change the world, no one will change it for them and everything will inevitably turn out exactly the same – which is the last thing we would want to happen.

9. The knowledge which results from this investigation will, naturally, be the best that that particular human social group can attain at that particular moment in time. The Joker is not the president of a conference, they are not the custodian of the truth; the Joker’s job is simply to try to ensure that
those who know a little more get the chance to explain it, and that those who dare a little, dare a little more and show what they are capable of.

10. When the ‘forum’ over, it is proposed that a ‘model of action for the future’ be constructed, this model is first to be played out by the spect-actors."

Things you should know / Basic informations:
- It is highly recommended to participate in a training of Forum Theatre and/or at least watch forum theatre plays before facilitating one.
- The Joker should have knowledge about the issues raised in the sketch, from a structural point of view as well as the different realities regarding this topic.
- The actors should have done "ideological warm-ups" in order to politicise the sketch and unveil the power structures at stake during the forum.

Resources: Augusto Boal's books: "Games for Actors and non-actors" and "Theatre of the Oppressed"

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Objectives: This exercise will boost the participants self esteem, self awareness and empathy.

Keywords / Topic: Positive psychology, mental health

Number of participants: 5 to 15

Duration: 1 to 2 hours

Target group: Everyone

Group requirements:  It is better to use it with a group that already know each others but it does not have to be people who know each others well.
Material Needed: The card of the strength of character (can be found on the website below), paper and pen.
Difficulties for the facilitators: The facilitators need to be comfortable with the strength of character concepts. The facilitators need training / documentation to be familiar with the strengths of character.

Steps of the exercise and how to facilitate:
1. Present positive psychology and the concepts of the strengths of character

2. Get familiar with the different strengths of characters. It can be done in different ways:
- Mimes
- Guessing: the participants can describe the strengths with their words. This will allow the facilitators to discover what interpretation they have on the strengths and clarify if needed.

3. Identify the strengths in you and in the others. This work has to be done individually first. According to the number of participants and the time we have we can ask: 2 strengths for yourself and 2 for your left or right neighbor. Or they can be by pairs. It is important to be sure that everyone will be given a strength.

The participants need to think of why they picked these strengths with an example. If some participants are struggling in finding their main strengths, here are some questions to help them:

What is the thing you have done you are the most proud of ?

When you will celebrate your 80's birthday, what would you like your friends to say about you ?

4. One after the others, participants will share the strengths they picked and explain why with examples.

Questions for the debrief:

How are you feeling?

How was it to find strengths for you? And for the others?

Which did you find the most difficult? And why?

How did you found your strengths? and for the others?

It what way can it be useful to identify your strengths of character? And to identify it in the others?

How can you use the strengths of characters or your daily life?

Subject that can be discussed:
- The values of the strengths. Some may be seen as more valuable than others. Which? Why?
- Are the strengths gendered?

Vigilance:
- The point of this concept is not to work on all of our strengths but our main ones.

Things you should know / Basic informations:
What are the strengths of character ?
"In the early 2000s, something groundbreaking occurred in the social sciences: Scientists discovered a common language of 24 character strengths that make up what’s best about our personality. Everyone possesses all 24 character strengths in different degrees, so each person has a truly unique character strengths profile. Each character strength falls under one of these six broad virtue categories, which are universal across cultures and nations. See the full character strengths list here and learn more about each one." VIA Institute on characters

Resources:
https://www.viacharacter.org/ : the official website of the strengths concept

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You are unique in the world and united in your strengths with all of humanity. Discover your Character Strengths Profile and begin living each day as the very best version of yourself.

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This short survey takes only 12 minutes - and 90% of survey takers look forward to applying their results.

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Research shows that using your character strengths can boost your well-being. Get started with one of VIA's easy-to-use reports or on-demand courses. VIA's reports and courses are all designed to make it easy for you to bring your strengths to life and feel more energized and confident.

Why Strengths Matter More Than Ever

Across the globe, people are struggling to enjoy their lives due to an array of mental health challenges while the desire to feel good is rated as a priority for many. Globally, 79% of respondents rated wellness as a priority while 42% of those said it was a top priority in their lives. (McKinsey)

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VIA Character Strengths are the only scientifically validated strengths assessment that helps people flourish across every aspect of their lives-and at each stage of life. People rely on their character strengths at age 22, 42, 62, and 82 to achieve goals, remain resilient, deepen relationships, and feel like their true selves.

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VIA Character Strengths Survey & Character Reports | VIA Institute

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Do you know your character strengths? Once you do, you'll be empowered to face life's challenges, work toward goals and feel more fulfilled, personally and professionally. Take the free personality assessment test from the VIA Institute on Character so you can discover your strengths today.

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According to the Oxford Dictionary Intersectionality is defined as “the interconnected nature of social categorisations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage”.

The concept of intersectionality originated from the US in the 80’s, as a response to the second wave of feminism in the 60’s and 70’s. This feminist agenda was formulated on behalf of all women when unfortunately it only reflected the lives of white upper middle class women. Black women and feminists questioned this and criticised the idea of this universal feminist agenda.

Intersectionality can be used as an important analytical tool to understand how structures behind a person's social and political conditions overlap and produce modes of discrimination and privilege in different ways. In this regard, it is crucial to acknowledge that people have their own  experiences of discrimination and oppression, due to an individual’s consideration related to that aspects such as gender, race, age, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, and other components operate as one to shape the experiences of others. It is important to pay attention to how these structures of power and oppression work together to shape each other. For example, sexist structures look different when combined with classist/racist structures.

Why is Intersectionality important?

1. People and the struggles that they are subjected to cannot be determined based on only one single "category", such as gender, race, and socio-economic status. Each person has a multi-dimensional and complex reality.

2. Social problems cannot be predetermined for any "category", without a process of discovery and investigation of what structures contribute to the problems.

3. It is important to understand the linkage between the relationships and power dynamics among for instance geographic settings, moreover, accepting the fact that those relations and dynamics might change over time.

4. A person can be privileged and oppressed at the same time depending on the context in general. That reflects the need for "multi-level analyses" which link the persons' experiences to the system to clarify the power relations in a particular setting.

A few example how to implement intersectionality with ..

Feminism

Intersectional feminism differs from other types of feminism as it takes into account various forms of inequality that work together and exacerbate each other. These affect people differently and give room for people differently - looking at needs, how the discriminations occur and how to resist them. In this case, looking at for example women, it is crucial to understand that not all women are a unitary group, and therefore a feminist approach has to be context sensitive and highlight the different discriminations and opportunities of women - who are of different races, sexualities, ages, living in different locations, with distinct class and social circumstances. If we do not take these differences into account, we will also be blind to certain peoples discrimination, needs and resistance. For long, and still in many ways, feminism has been ‘white feminism’ where white women looked at their own equality and rights without analysing how they were and are also part of perpetuating systems of oppression.

Rather than understanding identities as fixed, this approach understands identities as social constructs, constructed and subject to reproduction and change, as they are also related to broader power structures, politics, norms and practices. Consequently, stereotypical essentialisations could be avoided, even if there is a risk of reinforcing these by a constant focus on discriminations of the marginalised, especially if these groups are not part of the discussions and highlighted.

LGBTQIA+ / BINARITY

Intersectionality can be a useful tool to understand the multitude of identities and experiences of LGBTQIA+ persons, as this group to a large extent has been excluded, while dominated as mentioned by a white and cis, heteronormative focus. With this approach it is possible to provide a space for the experiences to both be highlighted and to form new narratives of issues, needs and resistance. Looking at the latest years discussions on trans-people, this has been a very important concept to ‘forge’ the understanding of how the rights of trans-people have to be part of any feminist group or work. Some feminists have focused very much on a binary and fixed approach, looking at women and men - where transwomen are not considered as women - often missing all other social characteristics but the ‘gender’ (although biological sex) aspect.

It is crucial to create spaces for everybody through for example inclusive language and avoiding binary language, exercises with roles related to man+woman etc. And actively working towards creating visibility and space.

Age discrimination

As youth is also a group whose perspectives are usually not taken into consideration, intersectionality is a valuable tool to create spaces, community and solidarity among youth and other groups. Also beyond certain structures and conditions that can limit the opportunities and choices, young people are affected by legal circumstances (like other groups in society). As youth workers it is can be important to understand how many things lead to discrimination for different young people, and to have an aim of strengthening their agency and voice. This could be by providing spaces for projects, for study circles, for different kinds of methods and tools where experiences, problems and possible ‘ways of resistance’ are formed and discussed. Crucially, an understanding of different forms of oppression and discrimination - understandings of broader structures must be discussed in relations to these to have a common understanding of what are the underlying problems.

Class division

This is an important factor to understand how different people have certain opportunities or lack of opportunities, how some people are more affected by discrimination, like racism and many other as these reinforce each other. By working towards youth or other groups, it is crucial to take into consideration the possibilities of people to participate due to this aspect or context. Some experiences and information are very bound to certain economic classes, such as accessibility to different kinds of recreational activities. This is grounded in a broader economic system which should also be lifted, as it is central to unjust power structures and power relations with the aim of working to change the distribution of power and resources, connected to space and who is heard.