A creative toolbox of non-formal education methods
STEP OUT OF YOUR MIND!
Animate your life!
Step Out of Your Mind, Animate Your Life! A creative toolbox of non-formal education methods
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This small brochure has been developed in the frame of the Step Out of Your Mind, Animate Your Life! training course and collects between its covers the work of the 20 participants involved who worked together and created various methods to be used in working with young people and not only.
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The training course took place in Busteni, Romania during 23rd of November and 1st of December 2013. The project was financed by the European Commission through the Youth in Action Programme and gathered together 22 participants from 7 countries all over Europe: Romania, Ukraine, Spain, Croatia, Latvia, Georgia and Armenia.
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The Step Out of Your Mind, Animate Your Life! project created the context for youth workers and youth leaders to explore their creative potential in order to develop a set of methods and instruments that they will use further in their work to develop the young people’s natural talents and abilities for a better understanding and integration in the work field.
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What happened there? The participants spent an amazing week together thinking about the values that guide them through their work, exploring their creativity through games and playing, working in teams and creating magic together. The sparkle of their work is available both in this brochure and online on the A.R.T. Fusion Youtube channel where you can check the video results of the training course.
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The project was initiated by A.R.T. Fusion Association from Romania in partnership with Youth Initiative Center from Armenia, Raplection from Croatia, International Centre for Peace and Integration from Georgia, Society “ERFOLG” from Latvia, Fundació Catalunya Voluntària from Spain and Institute of Ukrainian Studies from Ukraine.
• Theme SOCIAL BARRIERS FOR TEENAGERS • Description of the objectives: Self exploration by changing roles
• Materials: Post it s / Colored papers A4 / Markers / Chairs / Apples / String
• Energizers: 1.Ramsamsam Aiiia 2. Apple QUEST (1 bite at least per person) 3.TALKING TRAIN Presentation of the stations STATION1 Assigning roles - Conversation - Changing stations STATION2 Assigning roles - Conversation - Changing stations STATION3 Assigning roles - Conversation - Changing stations STATION4 Assigning roles - Conversation - Changing stations
• Theme BLIND PATH • Description of the objectives: Suitable for inside and outside. Path with obstacles – one eye folded guided by the group 2 Groups, race for who gets first.
• Energizer: All the groups are placed at sides of the paths. Every group has to guide the eye folded in order to get to the other side of the drawn path. The guidance will be made through an invented language. The language invented has to be logical and to be composed by songs, invented words or any sound that should suggest to the folded the proper guidance. The group has to “translate” the directions (forward, backwards, left, right, jump). BLIND FOLDED IS OUTSIDE OF THE GROUP while they are “translating”. Eye folded participant CAN’T TOUCH ANY OBJECT and if he touches he’ll/she’ll start from the beginning.
• Theme MINIMALIST PROBLEM SOLVING • Description of the objectives: A concept of an alternate problem solving method, by focusing on accomplishing a goal while using as any means available, giving only restriction of time and space, and regarding any other information or instruction as a restriction in the path of finding a simple, creative method to solve the problem at hand.
• Energizers: Introduction: Name: “One minute fly” Learning objective: presenting time as one of the biggest constraints to face. Materials: projector, chairs, blankets or some seating places, flipchart and pens. Nr of participants: 5-25 Description: The “One Minute fly” movie is shown and afterwards, using a clock drawn previously on the flipchart, the participants are asked about their opinion and about what they see as limitations. Then the relation is explained between the various answers given and time. It should be explain why and how, from a human perspective time is one of the biggest limiting factors in any activity.
• Exercise 1: Name: Paper retrieval. Learning obj: Pointing out the difference between actual restrictions and obstacles that are only assumed to be true without neccesarily being so. Time : ~10min. Materials: chairs, string, paper, adhesive tape, pens for each and every participant, a stopwatch. Nr. of participants: 2- 25 Description: A piece of paper is hanged from a lamp, out of reach of the tallest members in the group, but within reach of them if they would be sitting on a chair. (preferably before the starting of the session) A circle is made with the chairs with the backs to the inside of the circle. Every participant is asked to stand inside the circle and is given a pen. The participants wil only be given as information the timeframe in which they have to achieve the goal (recovering the paper without moving the lamp) - (10 seconds) and the rule that they must not leave the circle. No other information should be given, even if requested. Note: the lamp in this example is only required so that to eliminate the posibility of participants of jumping to grab the paper, for both safety reasons and for the unfolding of the exercise. Proposed solution: dragging a chair inside the circle and standing on it.
• Exercise 2: Name: Comparative drawing Learning objective: Observing the differences between the results of a process both with and without a clearly defined goal. Time :~ 10 minutes Materials: 2 pieces of paper, chairs and pens for every participant Nr. of participants: 5- 25 Description: The chairs are put in the circle, with the backs towards the inside. The participants are instruted to draw a single line each on the piece of paper then pass it as fast as possible to the person on their right (or left). A time limit should be implied, but not specified, as to motivate the participants to pass the paper as fast as they can. The round ends when the paper has made a full circle. After the first sheet is collected, a second one is given to them and they are asked to repeat the exercise in such a way as the end result to resemble a certain thing, preferably a simple drawing, such as a smiley face. After the second round is completed the results are compared, and the differences are pointed out between them. The usefullnes of having a properly defined goal be explained if not already observed by the participants.
• Exercise 3: Name: The Bus. Learning objective: Offering an situational device based on improvisation to explore the effects (drawbacks) of overthinking/ overcomplicating a situation. Time: 10-15 minutes Materials: chairs or anything that could mark a path for the group to follow, or create obstacles. Nr. of participants: 5-25 (or more depending on the space available) Description: A path is marked with the chairs, then the participants are asked to group and imagine they are inside of a bus. They are tasked with following a path, while the trainers create obstacles and stop the bus at each of them. Examples: a punctured tire, where the participants have to change it. A person in a wheelchair who needs help to get in the bus. A person caught without a ticket by the taxator. After overcoming several such obstacles, the participants are asked about their opinions, how they acted and how could they have acted.
PARTICIPANTS step out of your mind, animate your life!
Armenia
Angela Avetisyan
Sahakyan Suzan
Vardanyan Arsen
Georgia
Nika Markozashvili
Nino Ungiadze
Ukraine
Olha Krat
Pushahinuska Iryna
Olga Budzhak
Spain
Elias Escribiano
Lia Ortega
Josep Manuel Mu帽oz L贸pez
Nazareth Peral
Croatia
Tena Dubcek
Elvira Angyal
Latvia
Svetlana Smirnova
Romania
Cristi Musetescu
Ignat Iulia
Anca Hurubaru
Ana -Maria Ilie
Staff Support
Alexandra Tomescu
Trainers
Roxana Turcu
Cristina Stan
Project initiated by
Financially supported by
Do not forget to Step Out of Your Mind and Animate your Life every single day! Thank you! :)