Peer-to-Peer Activity: Skills Brainstorm
Overview
Participants apply their understanding of Commitment VII by brainstorming practical ideas they can implement to denounce hatred and by sharing these ideas with others.
Competencies
- Participants create a list of skills and tools they can use to combat discrimination.
- They add to their lists as they share together.
INTRODUCTION
- Encourage participants to identify real ways they can make a difference in combating hatred in their communities.
- This activity requires that participants have either a pen/pencil and paper or a personal computer to write down or type out their ideas. As facilitator, notify participants in advance about bringing these materials or consider providing these materials, if possible.
- If Faith for Rights notebooks are being used during the sessions, suggest that participants use them for this activity.
ACTIVITY
Participants are given 3 minutes to make a list of skills and tools important to combat discrimination and violence.
Ideas may be varied and include attributes, skills, strategies, training, or education.
Consider providing an example to ensure participants understand the scope of the activity.
Possible responses might include the following: showing empathy, counting to ten before speaking, supporting inclusive businesses, making a new friend, praying for peace, attending a conflict resolution course.
- Participants share their lists with one another and add to their own lists relevant skills and tools shared by other participants.
CONCLUSION
- Challenge participants to commit to implementing at least one idea generated during the session. They might discuss their progress in a future session.
- If time permits, participants may discuss why they chose a specific skill or tool and how they plan to use it to denounce hatred within their communities.
There are no specific resources for this activity.
Facilitator may use a sand clock or mobile phone timer to track time. Brainstorm activities are most effective when participants think as quickly as possible in a short amount of time to generate ideas.
Participants might enjoy friendly competition in this activity. For instance, they may be rewarded with a small token (a piece of candy or a public compliment) for generating the most ideas, for thinking of a unique idea that no one else mentioned, or for coming up with an idea that everyone in the group can implement.
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)