WP2.3

Aim This activity aims at increasing social skills among participants by providing them with opportunities to practice social interactions in a safe and supportive environment. Trainee profile Any. People with special needs can participate as long as they are able to express themselves. Learning Objectives To improve communication skills through active listening and effective speaking. To develop interpersonal skills such as empathy, respect, and cooperation. To build confidence in social situations. n° participants Between 8-10 people Duration 45 minutes Materials Flipchart paper and markers Index cards or pieces of paper Pens or pencils Preparation Prepare a list of scenarios that require social interaction, such as asking someone out on a date or starting a conversation with a stranger. Write each scenario on an index card or piece of paper. Divide participants into pairs. Implementation Explain to participants that they will be practicing social interactions with their partner. Ask each pair to choose a scenario card and to read it to each other. Give participants 5-10 minutes to practice interaction with their partner. Ask participants to switch partners and choose a different scenario card. Repeat steps 2-4 for as many rounds as desired. Ask participants to share their experiences and discuss what they learned about social interactions. Debriefing After the activity, facilitate a group discussion about the following questions: What did you learn from the activity? What was challenging about the activity? How can you apply what you learned to your everyday life? Tips and hints Encourage participants to step outside of their comfort zone during the activity. Emphasize the importance of active listening and effective communication. Provide positive feedback and support throughout the activity. Safety measures Ensure that all participants feel safe and supported throughout the activity. If any participant expresses discomfort, provide options for them to step out of the activity. Added value This activity provides participants with a safe and supportive environment to practice social interactions and improve their social skills. It can help build confidence and reduce social anxiety. Variances The scenarios used can be adapted to the specific needs and interests of the participants. Suggested readings Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators” by Maurice J. Elias, et al.  

Aim The aim of this activity is to increase self-esteem by providing participants with an opportunity to share interesting facts about themselves while also challenging them to discern which of the presented facts is false. Trainee profile Any. People with special needs can participate as long as they are able to express themselves. Learning Objectives To encourage participants to share information about themselves that they might not normally disclose. To foster a sense of connection and trust among group members. To help participants build confidence and self-esteem by sharing their unique qualities and abilities. n° participants Between 8-10 people Duration 45 minutes Preparation Explain the rules of the game to the participants. Have each participant prepare two true statements about themselves and one false statement. Implementation Ask the participants to take turns sharing their three statements. After each person has shared their statements, the other participants must try to guess which statement is false. Once everyone has had a chance to share their statements, the group can discuss their observations and reactions. Debriefing Ask participants to reflect on what they learned about themselves and others during the activity. Encourage participants to share any insights or new perspectives they gained from the activity. Facilitate a group discussion to process any common themes or trends that emerged during the activity. Tips and hints Encourage participants to be creative with their statements and to try to make them difficult to guess. Remind participants that the purpose of the game is to have fun and build connections, not to deceive or embarrass others. Consider offering a small prize to the participant with the most difficult-to-guess statement. Safety measures This activity can help participants build self-esteem and develop a greater appreciation for their own unique qualities and abilities. Additionally, it can foster a sense of connection and trust among group members. Added value One variation of this activity is to have participants guess the true statement instead of the false one. This variation can encourage participants to pay closer attention to the details of each statement and to listen more closely to each other. Variances “The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem: The Definitive Work on Self-Esteem by the Leading Pioneer in the Field” by Nathaniel Branden.  

Aim The aim of this activity is to promote active listening and mindfulness among young people. By practicing mindfulness listening, participants can develop their ability to be present in the moment, improve their communication skills, and deepen their relationships with others. Trainee profile Any. People with special needs can participate as long as they are able to express themselves. Learning Objectives To develop active listening skills. To practice mindfulness and being present in the moment. To deepen relationships with others through effective communication. n° participants Between 8-10 people Duration 45 minutes Preparation Choose a quiet and comfortable space where the group can sit in a circle. Prepare any necessary instructions or guidelines for the activity. Implementation Explain the concept of mindfulness while listening to the group. Ask one participant to share a personal emotional story or experience with the group while the others listen silently. After the participant has finished sharing, the others should take a moment to reflect on what they heard and how it made them feel. The next participant should then share, and the process repeats. After everyone has had a chance to share debrief with the group and discuss what they learned from the experience. Debriefing During the debriefing, encourage the group to reflect on their experiences and discuss what they learned from practicing mindfulness listening. Ask questions such as: What did you learn about active listening during the activity? How did it feel to share your personal story with the group? How did it feel to listen mindfully to others? Tips and hints Encourage participants to speak from the heart and share personal experiences. Emphasize the importance of active listening and being present in the moment. Provide a safe and non-judgmental space for participants to share. Safety measures This activity provides an opportunity for young people to practice active listening and mindfulness in a supportive and non-judgmental environment. By learning to listen mindfully, they can improve their communication skills and deepen their relationships with others. Added value Depending on the group’s preferences, the activity can be customized by using different prompts or themes for sharing.  

Aim The aim of this activity is to help participants increase their self-esteem by practicing positive self-talk. Trainee profile Any. People with special needs can participate as long as they are able to express themselves. Learning Objectives To identify negative self-talk patterns and replace them with positive self-talk To understand the impact of positive self-talk on self-esteem and confidence To develop a toolkit for practicing positive self-talk in daily life n° participants Ideally 8-10 people Duration 45 minutes Materials Flipchart and markers Small pieces of paper or index cards Pens or pencils Preparation Prepare the flipchart with the following headings: Negative Self-Talk vs. Positive Self-Talk. Write a few examples of negative self-talk under the Negative Self-Talk column. You may ask your participants to help you out identifying those examples. Create small pieces of paper or index cards with positive affirmations or statements. Prepare a space where participants can sit or stand in a circle. Implementation Introduce the concept of positive self-talk and why it is important for building self-esteem and confidence. Explain that negative self-talk can be damaging to our self-esteem and that we can replace it with positive self-talk. Give participants a few minutes to reflect on negative self-talk patterns that they may have noticed in themselves and write them down on the flipchart. Introduce the positive affirmation cards and explain that each participant will receive a card and read it aloud to the group. Ask them to stand in a circle and pass the affirmation cards around until everyone has received a card. Invite them to read their affirmation out loud to the group and share how it makes them feel. Discuss the impact of positive self-talk on self-esteem and confidence. Encourage them to use positive self-talk in their daily lives and develop a toolkit of positive affirmations or statements that they can use. Debriefing Facilitate a reflection session on how to use positive self-talk in our daily life, what are the difficulties in choosing positive talks over negative ones, and how we can trick our mind to be proactive. Tips and hints Be aware of the participants’ emotions and reactions during the activity and provide support if needed. Encourage participants to be open and honest during the activity but also respect their boundaries if they do not feel comfortable sharing personal experiences. Safety measures Provide a safe and non-judgmental space for trainees to share their experiences. Respect the participants’ privacy and confidentiality. Added value This activity can help develop a positive and resilient mindset, which can benefit their personal and professional lives. Variances Participants can create their own positive affirmations or statements based on their personal needs and experiences. Suggested readings “What to Say When You Talk to Yourself” by Shad Helmstetter  

Aim The aim of this activity Is to encourage participation, active involvement and active listening in the revelation of each other’s interests and backgrounds. Trainee profile Any. People with special needs can participate as long as they are able to express themselves. Learning Objectives To develop communication skills by engaging in conversation with others. To foster inclusivity by learning about the backgrounds and interests of others. To improve integration skills by interacting with people from diverse backgrounds. n° participants Between 8-10 people Duration 45 minutes Materials Bingo cards (customized with interesting and diverse traits, such as “plays a musical instrument,” “has lived in another country,” “can speak a second language,” etc.). See the Annexes for example. Pens/pencils Preparation Create a list of interesting and diverse traits that participants may possess. Using the template provided in the Annexes, create a bingo card with 5×5 squares. Each square should contain one of the interesting traits from the list. Print enough copies of the bingo card for each participant. Implementation Hand out randomly the bingo cards and pens to each participant. Instruct participants to go around the room and find people who fit the descriptions in each square of their bingo card. Participants should write the name of the person who fits the description in the card. The first person to fill out their entire bingo card should call out “Bingo!”. He/she should then describe the traits described in the Bingo cards and the persons they associated them with. Continue the activity until the second and third person would also call out “Bingo!” Debriefing Ask participants to share some interesting things they learned about their colleagues during the game. Facilitate a discussion about the importance of inclusivity and the benefits of getting to know people from diverse backgrounds. Ask participants to reflect on how they can use the skills they learned in the game to improve their integration in other settings. Tips and hints Encourage participants to interact with people they do not know well, rather than sticking with their close friends. Customize the bingo card to fit the specific group of participants, such as using traits related to a specific industry or field. Have a small prize for the winners to make the game more exciting. Safety measures Have the participants walk slowly and not rush and bump to each other during the activity. Added value This game encourages participants to step outside of their comfort zones, learn about others, and foster inclusivity in the group. Variances The game can be adapted to focus on a specific theme, such as “career goals” or “hobbies.” Other examples of Bingo Cards, here You can make your own bingo cards here.  

Aim The purpose of the exercise is to share the experience of expressing and discharging emotions. Emotions are a universal experience, each of us tries to master them but this can sometimes be difficult, especially with bad emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety or feelings of impotence. Increasing one’s own experience in this area is very valuable for every person. Trainee profile Any. People with special needs can participate as long as they are able to express themselves. Learning Objectives To create together an atmosphere of discussion on the importance of feeling emotions in our lives To test ways to deal with our emotions To look for new ways to discharge emotions, especially violent or negative ones n° participants At least 10 people Duration 50 minutes Materials Chairs for all participants, flipchart and markers Preparation Explain what the exercise is supposed to be about, as mentioned in the “aim” section above. Implementation 1.      Ask participants to help you make a list of emotions, both positive and negative. Write the identified emotions on the flipchart. Give max 5 minutes to the step. 2.      Tell participants how important it is to be able to embrace and positively deal with our emotions (also the bad ones), since our daily life interactions and our presence in each context is inevitably influenced by emotions. 3.      Ask everybody now to pick one emotion (either positive or negative), to embrace it, and to walk in the room meeting and greeting other people with that emotion in their body. They can exaggerate if they want to but respect towards others should always be ensured. 4.      Have all participants walk in the room and see how our current emotions make us change the way we greet others. 5.      After a couple of minutes, ask the participants to pick another emotion, embrace it, and repeat step 4. 6.     Repeat this part with 2 or 3 more emotions. 7.     Have all participants gather up and create a circle with chairs. You are part of the circle. 8.      Start a brief debriefing on this part of the activity, how they felt when greeting others with a specific emotion, what emotions they have chosen, and how our emotions do change the way we perceive and are perceived by others. 9.      Ask now the group how they deal with negative emotions that might hinder our social life or important interactions in a daily basis. They can answer questions like what emotion makes you feel, how you react to it, what techniques you use to proactively and positively deal with that emotion so that your personal and social life is not ruined. Allow volunteers to speak up and trigger the moment for sharing. 10.  Once they have shared their ways of discharging negative emotion (e.g. breathing exercises), you may test them out and try that technique on their own. 11.   If you have time, have two (or three) volunteers stand up to test the proposed technique to deal with the given emotion. 12.  Ask for a big round of applause. Added value Exercise is not only an opportunity to talk about emotions and the ways we feel them, but also to look for new ways to deal with them.

Aim This exercise aims at developing one’s imagination, the ability to express oneself in an unconventional way and increases the intensity of creative work. Trainee profile For the exercise, manual assistance is required for participants. Be sure they are at ease with each other. Learning Objectives To develop social skills To gain experience presenting to an audience To fearlessly express personality To be inspired by other people and vice-versa n° participants At least 10 people Duration 45 minutes Materials Fruits and/or vegetables and/or flowers with a strong and pleasant scent (e.g. lemon, cucumber, watermelon, …), which are to be placed on containers or Tupperware before the activity. Preparation Prepare a table with all the fragrance samples. Place the table at the center of the room. Participants will then form a circle around it. Implementation 1.      Have all participants gather in a circle around the table with fragrances. You are part of the circle. 2.      Pick the first container with fruit/vegetable/flower in it. Smell it and share with the group what emotions, memories, impressions or associations that scent revives in you. 3.      Pass the container to the person on your left. Have all participants, one by one, share their emotions, memories, impressions when smelling that scent. Give them some time to process the information and ask all other participants to refrain from speaking. 4.     Repeat the activity with the other scents. Ask volunteers to pick up the other scents. 5.      When you have all shared 4 or 5 fragrance samples, ask participants to choose the fragrance they most associate with CREATIVITY and have them explain their opinion one by one. They can pick the container again if they like. Debriefing Facilitate an open discussion on how smells can influence our perception of the context we are in and our presence in each moment. Tips and hints Fruits/vegetables or flowers may fall off if participants with special needs are involved. It is advisable to provide an assistant to help pass and pick up items. Safety measures Make sure none of the participants are allergic to the vegetables, fruit or flowers you get to pick. During the work, it is necessary to ensure that the vegetables, fruits or flowers are properly arranged in such a way that every participant has access to them and that passing successive samples of smell on to each other is easy and ensures the safety of participants. It is better to place the fragrance samples in plastic bowls so that they do not break if they fall off on the floor. It is also necessary to provide participants with paper towels to dry and clean their hands, which can get dirty during the activity. Added value The ability to express one’s thoughts through different senses is a skill we often forget. The experience of describing the world or emotions or memories through smells is therefore a skill worth remembering.  

Aim The purpose of the exercise is to develop creativity and cooperative skills in a group of participants. An interesting goal is also to develop the ability to deal positively with the consequences of other participants’ behavior/decisions. Trainee profile Any. People with special needs can participate as long as they are able to express themselves. Learning Objectives To develop creativity and imagination. To develop cooperation in a group. To strengthen participants’ communication skills. n° participants Between 10 and 20 people Duration 45 minutes Preparation Identify and print out the introduction of some children stories or fairy tales. We provide you with three examples: Beyond the seven mountains in a cottage on the edge of the forest lived resourceful Mary, who was friends with… Once upon a time, brave Prince Peter woke up in his castle and decided… In a big castle lived an angry King and a good Queen. Every morning the King strolled around… Implementation 1.      Have all participants make a circle, either standing or sitting on a chair. You are part of the circle. 2.      Tell participants that together you are going to co-create a story. You will start reading the introduction and they, one by one, will have to continue that story by contributing with at least one sentence. 3.      Begin the story by reading the introduction and pass the word onto the person on your left. You are therefore the last one to speak. 4.      When the story has been passed on back to you, conclude it with an ending. You may repeat the whole story if you feel like it is a wrap up. 5.     Ask a big round of applause for this co-creation. Tips and hints You may create smaller groups of at least 5 people and make the story into 2 or 3 rounds. With fewer co-creators, the story should progress more rapidly. Added value Exercise strengthens team communication, creates a fun atmosphere, and develops creativity and imagination.  

Aim Self-definition. The purpose of the exercise is to define yourself and to determine your current emotional state. Learning Objectives To develop skills in self-defining oneself in various ways To foster curiosity about other participants’ personalities and perception of themselves To develop communication and presentation skills n° participants Between 6 and 10 people Duration 35 minutes Materials The trainer must have self-descriptive questions that are tailored to the competencies and experiences of the participants. These questions may focus on people’s memories, emotions or personalities, and could relate to music, food, smells or sounds. Some examples are: What colour represents you the most? What element represents you the most? What kind of fruit are you? What kind of music do you listen to when you are at home alone or outside by yourself? What kind of superpower would you like to possess? Where do you want to spend your dream vacation? What would be your dream day? Participants are allowed to use digital devices to express themselves. Implementation 1.      Allow participants to sit in a place and position that is comfortable for them. You can also form a circle. 2.      Tell them you will ask self-descriptive questions for which they will have to identify an answer. Then everybody will share their answer, one by one. 3.      Start the first round and ask the first question to all participants (for instance, “what colour represents you the most?”). Tell the participants they can also use their mobile phone to play music or represents a sound. Give them a couple of minutes to think about their answer. 4.      Ask the participants to answer, one by one, the question and to then explain the reasons behind their choice (for instance, “I feel that green represents me a lot, because I immediately feel comfort when I look at it or I am around it”). Ask the other participants to respect their turn and to not speak while others are. 5.     Repeat step 3 and 4 with all other questions. Debriefing Take notes of the similarity between participants’ reasons for choosing their answer. Once all questions have been answered, facilitate a debriefing session with all in a circle. Tips and hints During the debriefing, invite participants to come up with their own questions and encourage them to ask others. Determine together whether the question refers to their self-definition or their current emotional state. Safety measures If participants use mobile phones or other devices/objects, make sure the participant takes care of them and does not leave them around. Added value The list of diagnostic questions enhances our ability to self-identify. It also allows us to play with associations, preferences for sounds, sights or natural experiences (type of rain, type of wind). It can be a good way for alternative forms of self-presentation.  

Aim The purpose of the exercise is to awaken the ability to empathize with other people, to understand different ways of acting and solving problems. Trainee profile The trainer should have conflict resolution and negotiation skills. Learning Objectives To develop empathic thinking skills Τo improve the ability of understanding different ways of behaviour To develop psychological and social imagination n° participants Between 6 and 12 people Duration 45 minutes Materials n° 1 chair (if possible) for each participant, sheets of paper and pens Preparation Print out the following 3 stories: Story 1. Charles is studying at a technical high school. His brother is visually impaired and Charles has come up with the idea that it would be nice to build new small movement sensors that make certain sounds when they spot someone approaching, instead of keeping the common ones that beep, in such a boring way. Charles wonders what kind of sounds may be nice to hear if you are visually impaired at home. Story 2. Gregory would very much like to help people with disabilities. He is very empathetic and believes that society thrives when people help each other. He is thus looking for opportunities (job, volunteering, etc.) to become an accompanying and supporting person for elderly visually impaired people. He is making research on communication and social skills to acquire in perspective of this opportunity. What competences should he work on? Story 3. Hania is about to start a new job position in the administration of a VET provider working with visually impaired people. For her curiosity, she wonders how colours and tones are perceived by people with visual impairment and how they could have conveyed them. The first thing that has come to her mind is temperature: white is cold, red is warm, but this distinction is too simplified in her opinion. She then realizes that maybe textures can do the case, assigning, for instance, smoothness to white, roughness to grey, sharpness to red. What other concepts could we identify for colour associations that people with visual impairment can visualize? Implementation 1.     Have the group sit on the chairs or on the ground. 2.     Ask participants to give a brief introduction of themselves, as in a story. 3.     Once all participants have introduced themselves, read the first story. 4.     Ask participants to form groups of 3. They can stay in their respective positions as long as the groups have the space to discuss without distractions. 5.      Provide pen and paper to the groups and tell them they have 5 minutes to continue and find an ending to the story, imagining the protagonist’s actions and feelings. It is important to point out that any version of the ending is equally real and possible. The time allowance is set to 5 minutes because the creation of the ending should be mainly emotional, triggered by their first thoughts and associations. 6.      Once they are ready, ask the first group to start narrating the story they created. Other participants should refrain from giving comments. 7.     Repeat step 6 with the other groups. 8.      After all ending have been told, start an open conversation on the story endings, on the protagonist’s actions, and on the feeling that ending activates on us. While conversing, ensure that the participants respect each other. 9.     Repeat the activity with another story. 10.   Repeat the activity with the third story if the time allows it. Priority should be given to the quality of the narration and the discussion after the story ends, which can be emotional. Debriefing The reflection session is in step 8 of the implementation. Tips and hints Try to maintain and foster an atmosphere of tolerance and recognition of different types of people’s emotional reactions. Added value Projection exercises are also a form of self-presentation. Participants in the exercise, through suggestions for story endings, discover their own mental and emotional preferences. Emotional security is key to fulfil the principles of tolerance and empathy in the discussion.