IMMERSE co-creation approach: workshops with children from 13 to 16 years old

Procedure

Participants to build a structure using index cards, masking tape, and wooden sticks.

This structure must be able to support “unaided” a brick (facilitator will provide details). The heights of the structure must be at least 25 centimetres (10 Inches). The brick must be placed at the top of the structure.

This structure must be built at the lowest possible costs and the material can only be bought from the facilitator.

No other material can be used.

You have 20 minutes to build your structure. No “rewards” will be given if a team completes the structure in less time.

No team will be able to test their structure with the brick until all teams have finished. The team building a structure that meets the specifications at the lowest cost wins.

Challenges may arise if some participants do not agree upon a certain point. This will require everyone to discuss and negotiate a solution together.

Debrief

Ask the team about what they learned about:

• Team collaboration
• Decision making
• Conflict
• What might they do differently the next time?

Procedure

Without discussing the name or objectives of  the exercise, ask all the participants to pair up. Have the pairs face each other with both their left or right feet forward and touching toe to toe, and the opposite hands clasped as in a hand shake. Tell the group that there is a line between each pair of touching feet and that when the facilitator says, ‘Go’, everyone’s goal is to get their partner across that line into your own space.

Watch for any pairs that do something different. The facilitator can stop the pulling at any time by saying, ‘Stop’, usually just a few seconds will do. Do not let it get so out of hand that someone might get hurt. Ask the group what happened. Generally, the bigger or faster person won. This doesn’t take much discussion.

If any pairs came up with a solution other than trying to pull each other across, have them describe and demonstrate for the group what they did. If not, take a random participant and get in the starting stance. Now, say to this participant, ‘Let’s trade places’, and with hands still clasped slowly rotate until the facilitator and participant have switched locations.

1. Move on to the next exercise and let the lesson sink in on its own.
2. Make some brief points in lecture fashion:
   – Nonviolence is about creative solutions without losers
   – With nonviolent solutions even the bigger ‘winner’ wins without wasting as much energy, resources, etc.
   – Do not limit yourself by following rules that do not exist
   – If you are less powerful, your only option is to be smarter
3. Open up a discussion on violent vs. nonviolent problem solving.

Procedure

Begin with a brief outline of consensus. It is based upon trust and respect-it is important to allow ‘emergent’ ideas and solutions; the aim is not to own your own ideas too strongly to find principles that best reflect where the group is at.

• Ask everyone to write his or her own five core ‘principles of nonviolence’ that seem important to them. (5min)
• Ask the group to form pairs. Ask each pair to devise a common five principles that you are both happy with. (10min)
• Instruct each pair to find another to form a foursome. Again, between all discuss and decide upon a five core principles that you are happy with. (15min)
• Form two equal groups to develop six core principles of nonviolence. Encourage creative merging of ideas. If consensus becomes difficult then allow for greater number of principles to be included. (20min)
• Then as a whole group develop a list of 8 core principles of nonviolence. Write these on a wall or chart.  If  consensus becomes  difficult  you  can again, allow for greater number of principles to be included. (10-20min)
• Evaluate and debrief the process. (15min)

Different groups will arrive at different principles. It is sometime worth showing a chart of list of principles as developed by Martin Luther King or others as an example of what other activists have seen as important.

Procedure

The group members line up in one side of the room. One participant goes into the room, searches for a position and performs one simple movement that repeats itself. To that movement the person makes a suitable sound. Likewise, a second person joins the first one and performs a simple movement and articulates an appropriate sound.

The movements and sounds of both participants should intertwine. Little by little all the other group members join, so that everything results into a complex construct of movements and sounds.

Variation: When the machine is finished, the speed of movements and sound can be raised, until a maximum is reached. Afterwards the machine slows down, until it stands still.

Advice: During the game it’s helpful to imagine an assembly line, a press, etc. You could build the machine multiple times and pay attention that the single parts of the machine mesh better and better.