Who Am I? From Where Do I Draw the Strength to Be Who I Am?
Materials: Magazines, newspapers, collage paper, flipchart papers, crayons, felt- tip pens, glue, scissors, music Exercise description Instructions: Use the available materials to make a collage about “Who am I?...
Where I Live
Make a large “carpet” by connecting the flipchart papers with masking tape (so they don’t move around). It should be large enough so that the participants can gather round it...
When My National Identity Affected My Life
Materials: Chairs Exercise description The hot seats method The person sitting in the hot seat in the middle discusses the topic: When my national identity affected my life.
What Type of Man Do I Like? What Type of Woman Do I Like?
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description The participants split into four groups: two of just men and two of just women. One male and one female group (separately)...
What Tells Us That We Are (Not) Living in Peace? What Could Lead to a New War? 2
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Instead of splitting up into small groups, wall newspapers can be prepared collectively for each of the three topics. What tells us that...
What Our Societies Deny
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description The participants split into groups based on nationality. Their task is to discuss and prepare a presentation about What our society denies (in...
What Is It Like Being King/Queen?
Materials: Post-its, pencils, chair Exercise description Find a volunteer to be the king/queen of the group. They sit in a chair in the middle of the room while the...
What Contributes to Peacebuilding?
Materials: A4 or A5 paper, felt-tip pens Exercise description The participants are given three pieces of paper and asked to write in large legible letters three things they recognise...
What Can We Do?
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Work in four mixed groups of about five participants each. The task is to discuss what they could do to reduce discrimination against women and against...
What Can We Do to Take a Step towards Reconciliation?
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Step 1. Split into groups based on home countries and prepare wall newspapers about: “What can we do to take a step towards...
What are the Greatest Challenges in Peacebuilding?
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Split into small groups. Discuss and prepare a presentation about: “What are the greatest challenges in peacebuilding?” This is followed by presentations and...
Voting on a Verdict
Materials: Two charts of voting outcomes (see annex), a lot of small notes of equal size to serve as ballots, two flipchart papers to record the voting results Exercise...
Twenty Minutes of Blindness
Materials: Blindfolds for all participants (scarves, kerchiefs) Exercise description Slowly and clearly read the instructions: “The whole group will spend 20 minutes doing as they please. You can go...
The Media Image of the Past
Materials: Different daily newspapers and political magazines from the region, Flipchart paper, scissors, glue Exercise description Split into three groups. Each group gets a few different dailies and political...
The Heroes 2
Subject: Personal heroes. Participants work individually and write down who their heroes were during childhood and who they are now. . They split into small groups (made up of people...
The Heroes
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description The participants split into small groups based on nationality: Albanians, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Macedonians, etc. Each group should make a list of the...
The Attitude of Our Societies to the Past
Exercise description Discussion in small groups of four or five people (mixed in terms of region, nationality and age) about: “How does your community deal with a painful past? What...
Telling It*
Exercise description The trainer asks the participants to sit in a circle. When everyone is seated comfortably, the exercise procedures are set up as are the rules of the discussion....
Swamp
Materials: Masking tape Exercise description A grid of squares is drawn on the floor, 6 x 8 squares It can be made by using masking tape. Each square should be...
Squares, Dots
Materials: Coloured stickers of different colours (squares, dots, etc.) Exercise description Every participant gets a sticker on his/her forehead without seeing what the sticker is. For example, seven...
Social Groups, Power and Privilege
Materials: Large pieces of paper, felt-tips Exercise description Step 1. In plenary put together a wall newspaper on the topic of “Which social groups have more power in our...
Shame and Pride in the Narratives of My Society
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Split into small groups based on ethnicity. The task is to prepare wall newspapers about: “Shame in the Narratives of My Society” and “Pride...
Reflection and Analysis of Teamwork
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Step 1 – Everyone thinks individually about the following: How satisfied am I with my behaviour in teamwork? How satisfied am I with the...
Reconciliation Fishbowl
Exercise description The fishbowl method is described in detail at the beginning of this section on p. 65. There are four chairs in the fishbowl. They are taken by...
Questions I’m Not Supposed to Ask
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Split into groups according to the participants’ home countries. The task is to prepare a wall newspaper about “Questions I’m not supposed to...
Presidential Elections
Materials: Paper and pencils Exercise description The participants split into two groups: the “candidates” (five or six persons) and the “voters”. The candidates have two to three minutes to come...
Prejudice against Me and My Prejudice
Exercise description Divide the participants into small groups to discuss two topics. Prejudice against me: Each of the participants describes to their group an experience when someone treated them with...
Prejudice about Ethnic/National Groups
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Step One (prejudice about your own group): The participants split into groups according to ethnicity. Each group should write on the wall newspaper...
Planet
Materials: Paper, pencils Exercise description Check that everyone has a paper and pencil and then slowly and clearly read the background story at least twice. Story: “A new planet has...
Past, Future
Materials: Paper, felt-tip pens Exercise description Task: Pair up. 1) Think of at least three to five important moments in your relationship to peacebuilding so far. Write each on...
Parting Envelopes
Materials: Envelopes, paper, pencils Every member of the group, including the trainers, receives an empty envelope. Everyone writes their name on their envelope and displays it somewhere that has been...
Oral Evaluation of the Training
Exercise description In the plenary, sitting in a circle, people take turns giving their evaluation of the training. For directions, write out guiding questions. What did you receive from this...
Open Nights
The Open Nights are conceived of as an additional opportunity for team work outside of the planned thematic part of the training. Open Nights have become a significant segment of...
Obstacles in Work: Situations
Materials: Handouts with situations Exercise description Divide into three groups. Each small group is given two situation scenarios (of the three described below), which they need to examine. They...
National Identity Questionnaire
Materials: Printout of the questionnaire for all the participants. Exercise description All participants are given a copy of the questionnaire. The trainer asks the participants to think back and...
My Safe Space
Materials: Paper, coloured Paper, felt-tip pens, crayons, magazines, glue, scissors, etc. Exercise description Everyone works independently on a drawing or a collage about “My Safe Space”. The collages are...
My Conflicts
Materials: Paper and pencils Exercise description Everyone should think of a conflict they were involved in, specifically: a conflict that isn’t yours, but you’re implicated in it; a conflict you...
Musical Chairs
Materials: Chairs, a music-playing device, flipchart paper, marker, multicoloured paper Exercise description A few days beforehand, the participants are split into four groups. The training team makes a list...
Multicoloured Barometer about Dealing with the Past
Materials: Coloured paper, papers with statements prepared beforehand Exercise description A few sets of papers are prepared beforehand, each with a statement/sentence. The papers should be of different colours...
Memorialisation: Monuments 2
Materials: Photographs of monuments, flipchart paper, marker Exercise description Step1. In smaller groups, start a discussion about the function of existing forms of memorialisation. Prepare a wall newspaper about: “What...
Memorialisation: Monuments
Materials: Photographs of monuments, flipchart paper, marker Exercise description Step1. Prepare wall newspapers in the plenary about: “What are monuments for? What is their purpose? Who do we make...
Marching*
Materials: Music Exercise description Choose a piece of music beforehand that all the participants might like and make sure you have the means to play it. Ask for a volunteer...
Mapping the Patriarchy and Militarism
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Split into two groups. One group is to map the patriarchy and the other is to map militarism in our societies. They should...
Life on an Island
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description The participants split into small groups (of 5 to 7 people). They are told that they find themselves on a desert island – each...
Large Barometer: What Is/Is Not Ethical?
Materials: Prepared papers with statements (see exercise description) The large barometer method Exercise description The poles of the barometer are “Is ethical” and “Is not ethical”. Some situations...
Large barometer: Peacebuilding
Materials: Prepared pieces of paper with statements (see exercise description) The large barometer method. The poles of the barometer are “Is peacebuilding” and “Is not peacebuilding”. Some statements and social...
Labyrinth
Materials: Blindfolds, chairs Exercise description Divide into small groups of six or seven people. In each group, one person wears a blindfold. Using chairs, the others make a small...
Justice, Forgiveness, Truth, Reconciliation*
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description The participants split into four small groups: justice, forgiveness, truth, and reconciliation. The groups discuss and prepare a presentation about: “Why are you...
Justice, Forgiveness, Truth, Peace
Exercise description Pairs of participants are tasked with advocating (i.e. speaking in favour of) one of the following terms: justice, forgiveness (or mercy), truth, or peace. These are the four...
Jigsaw Puzzle*
Exercise description The participants split into groups of five (the remaining participants can be observers). Everyone stays in the same room, but the groups sit in separate circles. It would...
Insider/Outsider*
Exercise description The participants split into two groups of roughly the same size. One group should be asked to leave the room until they are invited back inside. The trainer...
Iceberg
Materials: Flipchart paper, felt-tip pens, markers Exercise description The trainer introduces the meaning of the term “iceberg”. The iceberg is a symbolic representation of what we show and what we...
I’m Sorry…
Materials: Chairs Exercise description The hot seats method The person sitting in the hot seat in the middle tells their story about “I’m sorry that...” which is related to...
Four Colours, Drawing Exercise
Materials: 4 flipchart papers; felt-tip pens, colouring pencils or crayons; questionnaire printout for each participant Exercise description Split into small groups of four. The participants pick a colour (crayons, felt-tip...
Fortress*
The participants split into two groups. One group will be in the “fortress” and the other will be outside trying to get in. Both groups have 15 minutes to prepare...
Five Minutes of Power Over You*
Materials: Paper and pencils Exercise description Divide the group up into pairs. The instructions are: “Decide which one of you will have power over the other person for the next...
First Round
Materials: Chairs Exercise description The chairs are set up in two concentric circles, so that each chair in the inner circle faces a chair in the outer circle (see...
Feedback in Pairs
Exercise description Before the exercise, briefly introduce the notion of feedback, its rules and purpose. This is an opportunity to give each other feedback and to receive it. We approach...
Fear Statues
Duration: 70 minutes Exercise description Split into three groups. The groups are separated into different rooms or spaces and given the task to prepare a statue about fear, paying...
Family Narratives
Exercise description Everyone has ten minutes to think about and note down an outline of narratives they heard in their family about the Second World War and the wars...
Expectations From Peace Activists
Materials: Paper, pencils Exercise description This exercise may be carried out together with the exercise Criteria for Activists (“Dub” Island), or independently from it. Version 1: A piece of paper...
Exercise with Tasks*
Materials: Prepared envelopes with tasks, Paper, pencils, Flipchart paper, markers, other Exercise description The participants are given envelopes containing descriptions of tasks. The tasks are different and there is...
Exercise with Tasks (2)
Materials: Prepared envelopes with tasks, Paper, pencils, Flipchart paper, markers, other Exercise description There are 18 tasks in the workroom, one for each participant. The participants should find their...
Enemy images 2
Split into three smaller groups: The participants discuss: Who are the enemies in our societies, who are the “others”? What are images of the enemy used for? Who constructs these...
Enemy images
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Split into groups according to the participant’s home country/region. Step 1. The participants are instructed to list the groups their environment presented as enemies...
Elephant Walk
Materials: Blindfolds, tables, chairs, textiles, other props Exercise description Before the workshop, ask participants to bring something to the workshop that they can use as a blindfold (a scarf,...
Documentary from the Series on Simulated Dialogue
Materials: Equipment to show and watch the film Exercise description The documentary series Simulated Dialogue* establishes indirect dialogue between people from the Balkans. Each of the films deals with the...
Discrimination against Women and Discrimination against Men
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description The participants split into four groups: two of just men and two of just women. One men’s and one women’s group (independently) write...
Developing Ideas About Peace/Nonviolent Activism 2
Exercise description Divide the participants into smaller groups. Participants develop the idea and plan how to implement peace activities using a catalogue of questions as a basis. Then they present...
Developing Ideas About Peace/Nonviolent Activism
Materials: A few copies of the questionnaire, a large piece of paper, markers Exercise description Divide the participants into smaller groups. Each group should talk through ideas for peace...
Denial, Justification, Truth Seeking
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description The participants split into three smaller groups, each of which is to work on a wall newspaper addressing one of the following types...
Delegating Exercise
Materials: Prepared index cards with more information for the groups Exercise description Split into three groups: “Drama”, “Music” and “Computers/English”. Story: “The youth centre in a small Bosnian town has...
Decision Making Model
Exercise description Split into two groups. In both groups one to two people have the role of observers of the decision- making process (volunteers). The groups are given the task...
Dealing with the Past Fishbowl
Exercise description The fishbowl method is described in detail at the beginning of this section on p. 65. There are four chairs in the fishbowl: three are taken up...
Criteria for Activists (“Dub” Island)
Materials: Large pieces of paper, markers Exercise description Step 1. Divide into three groups. The task is for the participants to determine which criteria people involved with peacebuilding should meet,...
Controlled Dialogue*
Exercise description Using the barometer set-up with the poles of Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree, find pairs with different opinions and an observer for each pair. Barometer method: Determine two...
Conflict and Modelling Clay
Materials: Modelling clay Exercise description The participants use modelling clay and plasticine to make a sculpture about conflict. An exhibition of sculptures is set up where everyone presents their work....
Collective Narratives About the 1990s Wars
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description The participants split into smaller groups based on the countries they come from. Their task is to make a wall newspaper with the...
Change!
Exercise description If it is a large group, divide it into two smaller groups. The group stands in a circle. One person is the “initiator”. The initiator steps into the...
Box
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description The participants split into men and women. Each group gets a flipchart paper with a rectangle drawn in the middle symbolising the “box”...
Blind Following*
Materials: Blindfolds (scarves, kerchiefs, etc.) Exercise description Before the workshop, ask participants to bring something to the workshop that they can use as a blindfold (a scarf, kerchief, T-shirt,...
Better Understanding
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Split into four groups. Group discussions about: “What contributes to better understanding and constructive dialogue? Which modes of communication shut down dialogue and...
Auction
Materials: “Paintings”, “Points” Exercise description The participants split into three groups. Each group is given the task of buying as many paintings at the auction as they can. The bidding...
Analysing Behaviour in Conflict Using a Chart
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers, prepared conflict behaviour analysis charts Exercise description The participants fill out the chart in small groups. They give presentations in the plenary, followed by a discussion....
Airplane
Materials: “Lifesavers” made of paper (prepared in advance), large piece of paper, markers Exercise description Prepare lifesavers in advance by cutting them out of a large piece of paper...
Actors in Dealing with the Past
Materials: Paper, felt-tip pens, masking tape Exercise description With the help of the training team, the participants identify all the social groups relevant in public and political life (politicians,...
Action Pillars*
Materials: Large pieces of paper, markers, “action pillars” model Exercise description The participants are divided into three groups. The groups are given the task of choosing a specific social...
A Step Forward
Materials: Cards with descriptions of roles Exercise description Prepare as many cards with roles as there are participants. Randomly hand out the cards to the participants. They are not to...
A River of Identities
Materials: A stack of A4 paper Exercise description Everyone gets five pieces of A4 paper. Task: On each one write in large letters one thing that means a lot...
A Fair Attitude to the Past?
Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Step1. Split into smaller groups based on nationality, ethnicity or religion. Each group is tasked with making a wall newspaper on: “What would...