Peer-to-Peer Activity: Positioning
Overview
This activity may be used as an icebreaker to encourage participants to “take a stand” against hate speech. The visual effect may encourage participants to contemplate their thoughts and beliefs throughout the session. Alternatively, facilitator may use this activity as a springboard for group discussion.
Competencies
- Participants identify their current perspectives about faith and rights.
INTRODUCTION
- This activity may be used as a “visual” icebreaker for a first session of Commitment VII. It may also be used to initiate group discussion about incitement to hatred and other elements associated with Commitment VII.
- Facilitator may print Positioning Signs (under Resources tab) to post on either side of the room.
ACTIVITY
- Participants stand up and position themselves along a continuum in the room.
- The left side of the continuum represents “faith actors are more often perpetrators of hate speech.” The right side represents “faith actors are more often victims of hate speech.”
- Participants decide where to position themselves along this continuum (on either end or somewhere in the middle).
- Once participants return to their seats, they might discuss where they chose to stand on the continuum and why.
CONCLUSION
- Facilitator may consider repeating this activity at the end of the lesson so participants can re-evaluate their perspectives about hate speech.
Although this activity is designed as an icebreaker, the group may choose to discuss when people of faith have been victims of discriminatory speech and when people of faith might have been perpetrators by inciting anger through their speech.
Discussions might focus on situations in history rather than on current events in the participants’ communities as a way to “break” into this discussion in a more sensitive and less threatening way.
Facilitator may print out Positioning Signs to post in the room.
Depending on the makeup of the group, time constraints, and local conditions, facilitator may use this activity simply as an icebreaker rather than as a springboard for discussion. In this case, facilitator may explain that participants should consider the visual effect of this spatial activity and begin formulating personal insights, which they might share with the group later in this session or throughout the Faith for Rights sessions.
Additional Tips for All Peer-to-Peer Activities
- The #Faith4Rights modules are flexible and require adaptation by the facilitators before their use. Case studies related to peer-to-peer exercises in the 18 modules need to be selected by the facilitators from within the environment where the learning takes place. The #Faith4Rights toolkit is a prototype methodology that requires contextualization, based on the text of the 18 commitments, context, and additional supporting documents.
- Not all issues raised need to be resolved. This would be an impossible and even a counterproductive target. The aim is rather to enhance critical thinking and communication skills, admitting that some questions could receive many answers, depending on numerous factors.
- Tensions may occur during discussions related to “faith” and “rights.” Most of these tensions are due to human interpretations. Learning sessions are spaces for constructive dialogue in a dynamic process where tensions can be reduced with the help of clear methodologies, including pre-emptive situation analysis and evidence of positive results in areas of intersectionality between faith and rights.
- When preparing the sessions, facilitators need to factor in the profile, age, and backgrounds of participants. Focused attention on the learning objectives can transform tensions into constructive exploration of new ideas.
- Meaningful engagement requires democratically pre-established rules. Facilitators should dedicate time with participants to elaborate these rules together at the outset and act all along the training as their custodians.
- The time frames suggested in this #Faith4Rights toolkit are merely indicative. Facilitators may adapt them freely to suit the needs of their group of participants. The key balance is between respecting the overall time frame while not cutting short a positive exchange momentum.
- To ensure optimal and sustainable benefit, facilitators may create a “training notebook” for participants during their peer-to-peer learning sessions. It would contain a compilation of templates to help participants keep track of what they have learned throughout the program and eventually use this notebook as their personalized follow-up tool.
- When technically feasible, facilitators are also advised to project the module under discussion on screen in order to alternate between discussions thereon and showing the audio-visual materials listed in each module or any other items selected by the facilitator.
- “Now this is the command: Do to the doer to make him do.” (Ancient Egyptian Middle Kingdom)
- “Repay injury with justice and kindness with kindness.” (Confucius)
- “What is hateful to you, don’t do to your friend.” (Talmud, Shabat, 31,a)
- “Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” (Buddha)
- “By self-control and by making dharma (right conduct) your main focus, treat others as you treat yourself.” (Mahābhārata)
- “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18)
- “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
- “Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not.” (Baha’u’llah)