Woodcraft Folk
Issues for Venturers
CD
Introduction and welcome
Contents
Welcome to this resource for Venturers and Venturer leaders. Woodcraft Folk Scotland secured funding from the Scottish Government through YouthLink Scotland to create a new issues-based resource for Venturer groups.
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What is Woodcraft Folk?
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What is a Venturer?
We know that many Venturer leaders find it challenging to address difficult and challenging issues with 13 to 15 year olds in Woodcraft Folk. This resource is designed to help explore some of these issues which concern young people at a level they can relate to and learn from. We hope it will give you ideas and confidence in educating for social change.
3 Outcomes for a Venturer
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Education for Social Change
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The session plans
Each session has been set out with a warm up activity, one or more main activities, and then some discussion points with timings given as a guideline. This is not intended to be a format that your group must stick to; please adapt the sessions to your group’s needs and take what you need.
6 Exploring myself 19 Exploring our community 31 Exploring our world
Many of the 36 sessions need extra activity sheets, activity cards or additional information to be given out. If this is so, it will be indicated in the ‘you will need’ section under each activity. A CD symbol, shown on the left, means you will find those additional pieces on the CD included at the back of this resource. Don’t forget to visit our website www.woodcraft.org.uk for further resources and ideas. We hope you will enjoy using this resource.
Written by Judith Fisher Produced by Woodcraft Folk Scotland 2012 With thanks to leaders, helpers and Venturers who have given their ideas and helped with the testing of this resource, particularly Glasgow Scotstoun Venturers, Glasgow Southside WOW Venturers and Leicester Venturers. With thanks to the National Voluntary Youth Organisations Support Fund.
50 Next steps
51 Contacts
back cover
Activity sheets on CD
Issues for Venturers
What is Woodcraft Folk?
• ‘Pre-AG activities’ – activities to prepare delegates to represent the group and introduce Venturers to how Annual Gathering works; available online • Activities for Woodcraft Folk Venturer Groups – a collection of games and short activities for Venturers and Venturer leaders to use in their group night sessions; available from Folk Office (contact info@woodcraft.org.uk) • Follow the Trail activities for Venturers and DFs – activities to help groups reflect on what Woodcraft Folk means, how young people are involved and how we can take that further; available from Folk Office (contact info@woodcraft.org.uk) • Leading for the Future - a series of group night activities to help Venturers develop leadership skills and take first steps into new roles and leadership in Woodcraft Folk; available from Folk Office (contact info@woodcraft.org.uk)
Woodcraft Folk is a unique progressive educational movement for children and young people – both girls and boys – designed to develop self-confidence and activity in society, with the aim of building a world based on equality, friendship, peace, social justice and co-operation. Our motto is ‘Span the world with friendship’. Through its activities, Woodcraft Folk tries to give its members an understanding of important issues such as the environment, world debt and global conflict, with a key focus in recent years being sustainable development.
All online resources can be downloaded from www.woodcraft.org.uk/resources
We expect all new adult members to understand and accept Woodcraft Folk’s aims and principles. It is important that new groups discuss these thoroughly, and remain constantly aware of their practical implications for how the group is run. You can find the aims and principles on the reverse of the Woodcraft Folk membership form.
What is a Venturer?
Unlike other traditional youth organisations, we don’t have a set uniform but children and young people can choose to wear ‘woodie hoodies’ or t-shirts designed by young members.
Venturers is the 13-15 age group of young people in Woodcraft Folk. Any young person in that age group can join a Venturer group and benefit from having fun with a group of peers and being part of the dynamic Woodcraft Folk movement.
Woodcraft Folk was established as an educational movement and charity in 1925, and was run entirely by young people. We operate in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
But being a Venturer is about more than just an age group. Being a Venturer also means being part of Woodcraft Folk and everything it stands for. It means engaging with this wider movement and working with other like-minded young people. It means being part of an amazing community where you can learn new things and meet inspiring people.
Contrary to the myths that surround our name, we do not under normal circumstances, hug trees or craft wood. The name ‘woodcraft’ was used by the influential writer and naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton at the turn of the twentieth century. Woodcraft in this context meant the skill of living in the open air, close to nature. Woodcraft Folk, like other youth movements, traces its origins back to Ernest Thompson Seton’s pioneering work with North American young people.
In Woodcraft Folk, Venturers meet and do activities with their local group, go on trips or camps, have fun and make long lasting friendships. The great thing about Venturers is that you can do anything that you like - many group programmes are entirely based on the Venturers’ suggestions and young people can run lots of it themselves. Some favourite activities include games, bushcraft, camping, art activities and discussions about things that are important to Venturers.
For more information about the history of Woodcraft Folk visit: www.woodcraft.org.uk/history Other resources you may find helpful are: • Games, Games, Games - this is both a book (available from Folk Supply) and a DVD (available from Folk Office) • The Woodcraft Folk Songbook - available from Folk Supply • ‘Choose it, Plan it, Do it!’ – participative facilitation tools and activities for groups; available online
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Some Venturers also start to develop their own involvement with Woodcraft Folk; starting to help out with younger age groups and often linking up for the first time with Woodcraft Folk members from around the country, at exciting events like Venturer Camp and Annual Gathering. “Venturers is an opportunity to really be an active part of Woodcraft and make a
Issues for Venturers
difference”, says Jess, a Venturer from Cambridge. “Whether you want to plan your own group nights or get involved in a national campaign, Venturers is a great way to have new experiences and broaden your horizons.”
discussion and planning sessions in ‘Choose it, Plan it, Do it!’ available from www.woodcraft.org.uk/resources Since most DFs run their groups without additional support from adult volunteers, and also often start to take on other leading roles within their district or wider Woodcraft Folk, it’s also really important that Venturers begin to develop the skills and confidence that will help them with this. Leading for the Future is a Woodcraft Folk programme of developmental activities for Venturers and DFs that groups can work through together during weekly meetings, or on weekends away. Leading for the Future comes with a booklet full of activity plans that you can use to run the sessions and fold-out accompanying booklets for each Venturer to chart their progress. Visit www.woodcraft.org.uk/leadingforthefuture to find out more.
Outcomes for a Venturer Lily a Venturer from Bradford says, “Being a Venturer has made me a lot more confident and given me a more informed and involved attitude”. When asked what difference being a Venturer has made on their outlook, other Venturers added that it opens your mind to new ideas and possibilities, makes you more aware of other people around you and gives you a great sense of confidence.
Education for Social Change
For Venturers, learning about the world in a fun and informal way, being with friends, and having a place to feel safe and be able to voice their opinions are particularly important. For Woodcraft Folk as a whole, Venturers is a key stage for young people in considering what the Woodcraft Folk aim of ‘education for social change’ means for their lives, and in starting to develop leadership skills.
Woodcraft Folk seeks to develop a critical awareness of the world. All volunteers and staff strive to support children and young people to develop the knowledge, attitudes, values and skills necessary for them to act to secure their equal participation in the democratic process that will enable them to bring about the changes that they feel are necessary to create a more equal and caring world.
“Being a Venturer has given many people a wider outlook on life and also teaches us many subjects that we aren’t taught in school”, says Arwyn from Machynlleth as he sums up this empowering mix of outcomes. “Venturers get a lot out of Woodcraft activities. Firstly and quite importantly they are fun and entertaining. They are very educational as well. Also they teach both life and social skills for the future. I know that personally I have gained a lot of confidence from being a Venturer and from the various camps and activities that I have taken part in.”
This is taken directly from the aims and principles of Woodcraft Folk and can seem a grand ambition, so just exactly how does a volunteer youth worker achieve this goal? A tried and tested model for introducing and supporting young people to explore new topics would be to sit the group in a circle:
Woodcraft Folk groups are run co-operatively, with children, young people and adults working together to learn about the world and develop skills and confidence, united by shared values of co-operation and equality. This is particularly important in the Venturer age group, as young people take a more active role in facilitating their own activities, in preparation for being self-organising as DFs (District Fellows) post-16.
Introduction: Share some stimuli, for example, an object to touch/eat, a film to watch, photographs, an individual to tell their story. When choosing a stimulus think how the group can hear, feel, smell, touch and see the theme or issue. Thinking time: Give the group a few moments to reflect on the stimulus. Ask the group to think about how the stimulus makes them feel, what does it make them think of?
Because developing self-confidence and leadership skills is a key part of the Venturer experience and development, the role of the group leader is often more facilitative than leading, as in younger age groups. Step back and guide the Venturers through the processes and decisions which will affect how the group is run and what activities are on the programme. There are lots of ideas for running participative
Shared reflection: Now encourage the group to share their responses with their neighbour or as a small group.
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Issues for Venturers
Formulation: Once the group have shared their initial response, ask them to consider what they want to know about the object or theme. Encourage the group to write down a list of questions. Questioning: Get each group to share their questions and prioritise them, choosing maybe just one per group to consider or research. First words: After a period of time ask the group to open up the discussion. You may find it useful to use a talking stick if your group often talk over each other. Final words: Ask all group members to share a final word or sentence. This may include what they have learnt/what they think about the issue, or what they might like to do next e.g. find out more about the topic. This approach supports young people, individually and as a group, to: • • • •
identify the problem/issue for themselves to test their assumptions in a supportive environment begin to formulate their own ideas and views by raising questions for themselves communicate effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.
The process as described will lead to the development of critical thinking skills amongst participants. Critical Thinking occurs whenever one judges, decides, or solves a problem; in general, whenever one must figure out what to believe or what to do, and do so in a reasonable and reflective way. Critical Thinking is a way to respond to life and society issues. Critical Thinking is one route to education for social change.
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the session plans Exploring Myself 6 Knowing Me, Knowing You 7 Body Image 8 Interpersonal Conflict 9 Bullying – Verbal and Cyber 10 Becoming a Changemaker 11 Faith and Identity 13 Mental Health 15 Sex and Relationships 16 Stereotypes 16 Leadership Exploring our Community 19 Energy 20 Poverty and Inequality (Local) 21 Our Locality 21 Tax and Spend 22 Think Global, Act Local 23 Financial Literacy 24 Community Integration 25 Smoking and Tobacco 26 Sexualisation, Gender and the Media 27 Race and Diversity 28 HIV/AIDS 29 Drugs Exploring our World 31 Climate Change 32 Charity 34 Trade 35 Co-operatives and Ethical Business 36 Democracy 37 Fair Trade 38 Poverty and Inequality (Global) 41 Power and Powerlessness 42 Refugees and Asylum Seekers 43 Sweatshops 45 Water 46 Reduce, Re-use, Recycle 47 Food 48 Human Rights
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Exploring Myself – Issues for Venturers
Knowing Me, Knowing You Aim To encourage the group to learn about the identities of others in the group and to start to consider their own identity.
of questions and the aim of the activity is to get as many ‘diversity points’ as possible within the time limit. The leader keeps note of the points on a large sheet of paper, adding all the points together so the groups are all contributing to a single collective goal, and each time the points reach 10, or 5 for smaller groups, a star or smiley face should be drawn on the other sheet by one of the group.
Warm-up – Knowing me, knowing you statements (10 minutes)
When you have explained the rules, set the timer for however long you want the activity to last. 20 minutes is probably a reasonable time. If you don’t have an oven timer or stopwatch, the leader can time the session on their watch, shouting out half way marks etc to keep the excitement going.
How to do it Sit in a large circle. The leader should stay outside the circle. The leader explains that they are going to read out a number of statements. If a young person feels that the statement applies to them, they should get up and swap positions with someone else in the circle who has also got up. If a young person is the only person to get up, they should receive a round of applause and then re-take their seat.
Some suggested ‘rounds’ are: • How many different types of pets does your group have? • How many different countries have your group visited? • How many piercings are there in your group? • How many different skin colours are there in your group? • How many different star signs are there in your group? • How many different musical instruments does your group play? • How many different faith traditions or denominations are there in your group? • How many different ethnic backgrounds does your group have? • How many different languages can your group speak?
Some possible statements are given below, but these can be adapted to suit the group: • I have lived in more than one country • I like to go on Facebook • I have been blamed for something I didn’t do • I have religious parents • I believe in God • I read my horoscope • I support a football team • I regularly recycle • I am proud to be from (insert place).
When the Venturers have figured out how many points they have for each session, they should sit in a line to indicate they are ready. Rather than just add the points together and give the points total, the leader should ask each group to list what they’ve got, for example, the faith traditions in their group.
Activity – Jigsaw (35 minutes)
Try to end on a statement which includes everyone, such as: • I like coming to Venturers
You will need Coloured pens/pencils, paper, sticky tack, pins or any way to stick the sheets up, scissors, ideally an ipod or similar and speakers, plus some relaxing music.
Activity – Diversity game show (30 minutes) You will need 2 large sheets of paper, a marker pen, a timer.
How to do it Put on the music and hand out the pens, scissors and paper. Ask the group to cut their sheet of paper into four pieces and head them: My Family; Things I Like; Things I Don’t Like; How I Want People To See Me.
How to do it Depending on the numbers of young people, this game can either be played with several groups of around 5 or 6, or as a single group. The group(s) are asked a range
Then encourage them to lie on the floor for a few quiet minutes to think about these different pieces of their life. Say that when they are ready they should draw or write something on each of the four pieces to represent this aspect of themselves.
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Once they have completed their jigsaw the group should then scatter their own pieces on the floor. Once all the pieces of all the jigsaws are on the floor, the group should work together to find the pieces for each jigsaw and stick them on the wall so they join together. They should also be stuck so that that each person’s jigsaw joins on to others.
How to do it Ask the Venturers to choose a partner to work with and sit down back-to-back. Hand each person a copy of the ‘How I see you’ activity sheet and a pen. They should then tick all the statements that they think best describes their partner. Once this is done ask the group to place the sheet face down on the floor. Hand out another copy of the sheet, but this time they should tick all the statements they think describes themselves.
Once everyone has stuck their jigsaw to the wall, encourage them to spend a few minutes quietly looking at what other people have drawn or written.
Allow up to ten minutes for everybody to complete the task, and then ask the group to face their partners. They should then take turns to feed back which statements they chose to describe their partner, explaining why, before comparing this with the sheets they completed themselves. Encourage them to ask questions and explore any areas of difference.
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion that considers the following: • Did you learn anything about other people in the group that you didn’t already know? What did you learn? • Did you find out that you had something in common with someone in the group that you didn’t know about before? What was that? • Do you think that this group is representative of the diversity in your area, city or country? If not, how is it different?
Activity – Body Image – self-perception vs. public perception (20 minutes) You will need A4 paper, pens.
Resources Pears Foundation which promotes citizenship and a positive contribution to British society. www.pearsfoundation.org.uk/identity-community-citizenship-uk
How to do it For this activity to be really effective you need to have been working with the group for some time so there is a feeling of trust and openness. Reinforce your group contract, if you have one, making it clear that only positive contributions are acceptable.
Ipsos Mori research on Young People and British Identity. www.mori-ireland.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=271
Body Image
Hand out paper and a pen to each young person. Ask them to write their name and then fill the sheet with an outline drawing of a gingerbread person. Explain that for the purpose of this exercise the gingerbread body will now represent the person who drew it.
Aim To open up discussions around body image, explore difference and build confidence. It works best with groups who know and trust each other.
The group should spend time writing onto the ‘body’ anything about their own appearance they don’t like or are not happy with. For example, ‘I don’t like my eyes’ or ‘I don’t like my thighs’ etc. Lay the sheets out so the whole group can have a look at what has been written, and then invite everyone to challenge the negative statements by writing positive comments onto the gingerbread bodies. Each person should write at least one positive comment on each sheet. Discuss the differences between the way we see ourselves and the way others see us.
Warm-up – How I see you (10 minutes) CD
You will need Copies of the ‘How I see you’ activity sheet from the CD – enough for two each, pens.
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Exploring Myself – Issues for Venturers
Activity – Gender differences (30 minutes) CD
Resources Brook Advisory Service – Section on positive body image. www.brook.org.uk/my-body/everybody/body-image
You will need Sets of the ‘Gender differences game cards’ from the CD - cut into individual cards, a sheet of flipchart paper and a marker for each group.
YMCA – Work on body confidence in young people. http://ymca.co.uk/bodyconfidence
How to do it Demonstrate drawing a Venn diagram, (two overlapping circles), and label one circle ‘Male’, one circle ‘Female’ and the bit where they cross in the middle, ‘Both’.
BBC radio report with young people talking about their bodies. www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/a-radio-report-with-young-peoples-views-aboutbody-image-audio/11687.html
Ask the Venturers to form groups of four and hand each group a pack of ‘Gender differences game cards’ and a flipchart sheet and marker. Ask each group to copy your diagram onto their sheet. Explain that the group task is to discuss each card in turn and then place it in the area that they think is true. Encourage them to consider not just their own opinions but also those of the people around them and the media. For example if they think that it is mainly women who worry about being too skinny they should place the card in the ‘Female’ zone, if they think it is mainly men, then it goes in the ‘Male’ zone. If they think it is of equal concern to both genders then it goes in the ‘Both’ section. Allow about 20 minutes for discussion and then rotate around the groups asking each for one for their decisions and reasons. Spend time discussing cards that have been placed in different areas and conclude that problems with body image affect men and women and that most people face it at some stage of their life. Reinforce the point that young men have concerns about their body image too and that research has suggested a worrying rise in eating disorders amongst males.
Interpersonal Conflict Aim To help Venturers identify feelings and situations which lead to conflict and consider ways to deal with these situations.
Warm-up – Assertiveness quiz (15 minutes) CD
You will need Copies of the ‘Assertiveness quiz’ activity sheet from the CD, pens. How to do it Hand out a pen and a copy of the quiz to each young person.
Conclude that although people are bombarded with messages about how they ‘should’ look, the truth is that bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Suggest that instead of striving for perceived physical perfection it is much better for young people to be the right shape and size for themselves. This involves eating healthily and exercising regularly and learning to accept and love yourself as you are.
Introduce the quiz. Explain that individuals should tick the response they feel would be closest to their own reaction in a similar circumstance.
Discussion (15 minutes)
Finally, ask the group to see which letter they have ticked the most. Read aloud the paragraphs below to see where answers fit. Passive Not expressing your own feelings or saying nothing; Aggressive Asking for what you want or saying how you feel in an offensive, threatening or angry way; Assertive Asking for what you want or saying how you feel in an honest and respectful way that does not affect another person’s safety, dignity or well-being. Stress that no one needs to share their score but encourage feedback. Do they
Once everyone has finished, ask the group to come together. Read out the questions and the answers and ask the group to keep a tally of how many As, Bs and Cs they have ticked as you go through the sheet.
Facilitate a discussion that includes the following: • How did it feel to give compliments? • How did it feel to receive compliments? • How easy is it to see positive things about yourself? • Is self-perception and public perception the same thing? • What is the ‘perfect body’? Where do our perceptions about this come from? www.woodcraft.org.uk page 8
Exploring Myself – Issues for Venturers
early warning signs were that the situation was escalating. Consider alternative ways that the situation could have been handled to avoid conflict. This should include the option of walking away.
agree with the quiz? How easy is it to say what you want? How can you be assertive without being aggressive? Adapted from a resource by Vanessa Rogers
Write down these ideas on flipchart paper after each performance.
Activity – Showing anger (15 minutes)
Discussion (15 minutes)
You will need A flipchart sheet with a drawing of a thermometer on it, sticky notes and pens.
Facilitate a discussion that includes the following: • What were the different anger-management techniques suggested in the roleplays? How could these be used in real-life? • What makes you angry? How could you use the techniques discussed to diffuse your feelings?
How to do it Divide the main group into threes. Ask each small group to discuss soap operas they watch and the way that the actors portray feeling angry in different ways, both through aggression and in other ways. Encourage them to think about behaviour and consequences. Then hand out sticky notes to each group and ask them to write the name of a soap character on each sticky note.
Resources Leap Consulting – Helps young people tackle interpersonal conflict. www.leapconfrontingconflict.org.uk
Meanwhile, stick the picture of the thermometer on the wall. Now, show the young people the ‘Anger Thermometer’ and explain that the thermometer is a continuum, with Passive at one end of the scale, through Assertive to Aggressive at the far end. Recap the broad definitions from the warm-up activity to help.
Aik Saath – Youth group with quizzes and support to approach conflict. www.aiksaath.com
Next, invite a member from each group in turn to place their soap character onto the thermometer in the place that they think best defines the character’s behaviours. Encourage the young people to explain their decisions and ask them if they think the character gets what they want as a result of their behaviour. Consider alternative ways that they could reach a positive conclusion.
World Vision – Offers exercises to get young people thinking about conflict. issues www.worldvision.org.uk/what-we-do/advocacy/peace-and-conflict
Bullying – VERBAL AND CYBER Aim To explore the feelings associated with being excluded or picked on and to explore the issue of cyber-bullying, how it makes the victim feel and how it can be tackled.
Activity – Frozen pictures (20 minutes) You will need Four photos depicting young people in aggressive or angry situations, a flip chart and markers.
Warm-up – Left out (10 minutes)
How to do it Divide the Venturers into groups of three or four and hand each group a picture. These could be news cuttings or even film posters for action movies. Explain that their task is to devise a role-play that explains what is happening in the picture. The small groups should then, in turn, share their scenes with everyone else.
How to do it Ask all but one young person to form a circle and join hands. Ask the people in the circle to start to walk round in a circle holding hands. The person outside the circle should try and get inside, but those in the circle should try to stop them. Swap over a few times so that one person is not left outside the circle for too long.
After each performance, ask the Venturers what made the characters angry, what the
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Exploring Myself – Issues for Venturers
Activity – Cyber-bullying (60 minutes)
Discussion (20 minutes)
Background The Report to the Anti-Bullying Alliance by Goldsmiths College, University of London (July 2006) found that: • between a fifth and a quarter of students had been cyber-bullied at least once over the previous few months • phone calls, text messages and email were the most common • There was more cyber-bullying outside school than in • girls are more likely than boys to be involved in cyber-bullying in school, usually by phone • for boys, text messaging is the most usual form, followed by picture/video clip or website bullying • picture/video clip and phone-call bullying were perceived as most harmful • website and text bullying were equated in impact to other forms of bullying • around a third of those bullied told no one about the bullying
Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • What other kinds of bullying are there? • Why do people bully? • Should all forms of bullying be handled in the same way? Resources Kidscape – Charity committed to keeping children and young people safe from abuse. http://kidscape.org.uk Bullying UK – Support for the victims of bullying. www.bullying.co.uk Childline – Section on bullying. www.childline.org.uk/explore/bullying/pages/bullying.aspx
MSM Cyber report on Blogging, Instant Messaging and Email (2007) found that: • 11% of UK teenagers have experienced cyber-bullying • 13% say that cyber-bullying is worse than physical bullying • 74% did not go to anyone for advice when cyber-bullied • girls are twice as likely as boys to know someone who’s been cyber-bullied; 34% as opposed to 17% • 48% of UK parents are unaware of cyber-bullying.
CD
Becoming a Changemaker Aim To introduce and act on the idea that young people can affect the world around them.
You will need A copy of the ‘Stories’ activity sheet from the CD to give out, copies of the ‘How to Protect Yourself’ activity sheet from the CD to distribute.
Warm-up – Everyone is Simon says (10 minutes) How to do it The Venturers stand in a circle. This is effectively a rolling game of ‘Simon Says’. One person in the circle starts by saying ‘Simon Says do this’, the next person in the circle then becomes Simon. Every now and then the leader should shout “Change” and the order reverses back around the circle.
How to do it Ask the Venturers to break into three groups, or more if you have a large number of participants. Each group should be issued with one of the stories. The group should consider: • how the victim feels about the bullying • how they think the bullying should be tackled. Having decided this, the group should develop a drama exploring the situation, how they decided to tackle it and what the outcome was. Time should be left for each group to present their drama to the other young people and to discuss whether the other young people would have tackled the situation in the same way as the group chose to. Give out copies of the ‘How to Protect Yourself’ activity sheet and briefly discuss. © Children & Young People Now
Activity – Taking to the streets (60 minutes) CD
You will need A set of ‘Taking to the streets cards’ from the CD for each small group - cut into individual cards.
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Exploring Myself – Issues for Venturers
• What would make you take to the streets? • How would you make sure the protest was peaceful? • How would you ensure that by protesting you were not infringing on anyone else’s rights? • What do you think should happen if the protest becomes non-peaceful? • How much of an influence can individuals have on what happens in this country?
How to do it Summarise, or just read out, this text for the group. ‘In August 2011 the media, police, politicians and ordinary citizens were shocked and horrified by five days of riots across several British cities. Businesses were hit hard; looters raided stores and some people lost their homes as the authorities struggled to restore law and order. TV footage recorded some of the worst civil unrest in recent history. It has been reported that this series of events was started following a peaceful protest by the friends and family of a young black man, Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police officers, in Tottenham, London. The protesters, friends and family of the victim, were asking police to tell them what had led up to the shooting and wanted their questions answered. However, peaceful protests are nothing new; they are part of a democratic society and have a long and respected history in the UK. Protesting by marching, picketing and campaigning can be very powerful and many modern day rights and freedoms were gained because of people taking to the streets. This includes things like the vote for women, the right to be a part of a trade union and campaigns for human rights. However, to exercise this right protesters do need to protest safely and peacefully and keep within the law.’
Facilitate a discussion including the following:
History of the Suffragettes. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/politics/g9
History of the Anti-Apartheid Movement – the campaign against apartheid in South Africa. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Apartheid_Movement
Faith and Identity
The task is to discuss each card and then rank them in order of ‘Most Likely to Take to the Streets’ to ‘Least Likely to Take to the Streets’. Allow time for discussions and then invite groups to feedback their rankings, sharing the reasoning behind their decisions.
Discussion (15 minutes)
Friends of the Earth resource explaining how to protest on the right side of the law. www.foe.co.uk/resource/how_tos/cyw_59_protest_law.pdf
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament – campaigns peacefully to rid the world of nuclear weapons. www.cnduk.org
Ask the group to divide into small groups and hand each group a set of the ‘Taking to the Streets’ cards.
Following on from this, ask the young people to consider how else they can make their voices heard. In their groups, ask them to make a list of ways to effect change, for example, through lobbying their MP, writing to a company, choosing to buy or not buy certain products. Once they have drawn up their list, ask them to add an issue they feel strongly about to each avenue of dissent. The young people should then choose one of these couplings to act on and think about how they will achieve this. The proposed actions should be shared with the whole group.
Resources Changemakers UK – a charity helping young people unlock their leadership potential. www.changemakers.org.uk
Aim To appreciate our own and other people’s cultural identity and celebrate diversity.
Warm up – The story of my name (15 minutes) You will need Flipchart paper and markers, online access to research the meaning of individual names (optional). How to do it Invite each member of the group to ’sign in’ on the flipchart paper, before telling a short personal ‘story’ about their name. It may be a good idea to introduce yourself and share your story first to demonstrate
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Exploring Myself – Issues for Venturers
what you mean. For example: “My name is Elizabeth and I was named after my grandmother. It has been a family name for five generations. My dad wanted to call me Gladys after his mother, so I am quite pleased they went with my mother’s choice, although everyone calls me Beth anyway. I will probably continue the tradition if I have a daughter.” Allow time for everyone to share stories and then start a discussion that considers: • who gave you your name and why? • is your name traditional within your faith or culture? • do you know what your name means? • what are your nicknames, if any? • what do you prefer to be called? Conclude that parents choose a name for their child for many reasons, including religious or cultural heritage, family tradition, fashion and personal taste.
Activity – What is culture? (15 minutes) You will need Flipchart paper and markers. How to do it Start the activity by suggesting that the word ‘culture’ is used in many contexts. For example: • Cultural festivals • Cultural differences • The minister for arts and culture • Cultural rituals • Personal culture • Youth culture Now, divide the group into smaller groups of three or four and hand each group a sheet of flipchart and markers. Ask each group to come up with a definition of what they think ‘culture’ means. Allow a maximum of 10 minutes for discussion and then invite each group to share their descriptions. Suggest that although aspects of culture include language, speech patterns, customs, foods, religious expression and arts, no two people are the same. Facilitate a discussion that considers: • Is a culture something you can only be born into?
• Is it about where you live? • Can you belong to more than one culture? Conclude that there are many factors that contribute to defining cultural identity, some visible, such as food, holidays, arts, folklore and history etc, and some that cannot be seen, e.g. values, beliefs and religion.
Activity – Bags of culture (30 minutes) You will need Craft materials – coloured paper, glue, scissors, glitter etc, pens, 6cm x 6cm squares of material (this should be light, such as silk, nylon or fine cotton), thin ribbon, a branch or twigs to hang the bags on (paint this if possible). How to do it Explain that each person is going to make a personal ‘culture bag’ to hang onto the ‘culture tree’. It is a good idea to make one yourself in advance to show what you mean. Invite each person to choose a square of fabric and a piece of ribbon and hand out the craft materials. This will become their ‘culture bag’. The ribbons will need to be cut long enough to wrap around the fabric to make a pouch and then to hang from the branches (rather like a Christmas tree decoration). Ask the group to draw with words or images important aspects of their cultural backgrounds on coloured paper. This can include family traditions, holidays, celebrations, food etc. These will need to be small enough to fit inside the culture bags. Once everyone has completed the task, demonstrate placing the paper into the middle of the fabric, folding where necessary, and then gathering the material to make a little pouch and tying the ribbon around the top. The bags can now be decorated with glitter, sequins or more ribbons to personalise them ready to hang up. In turn, invite the group to share information about their culture bag before hanging it onto the branch or twigs. You should now have a visual representation of all of the different cultural identities within the group.
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Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • How important is your culture? • Are you aware of other people’s culture and how do you show respect for them? • Can your culture change? Resources Research study on young people and British identity. www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/publications/1219/Young-People-andBritish-Identity.aspx Study by the Home Office on young people and identity. www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/agencies-public-bodies/ips/ips-researchpublications/young-people-identity-summary?view=Standard&pubID=879316 Video clips of young people talking about their faith. http://pof.reonline.org.uk/voices_of_faith/index.php Interfaith Network UK – Group that works to increase understanding across faiths. www.interfaith.org.uk/local/youngpeople.htm
Mental Health Aim To build self-esteem, to encourage young people to look at their strengths and weaknesses and consider positive mental health strategies.
Warm-up – Reflecting (15 minutes) You will need A4 paper and pens. How to do it Hand out a pen and paper to each person and ask them to fold the paper in half lengthwise. Explain that this is now a mirror that will reflect back things about its owner. On one side of the mirror, they should list all the things they like about themselves. On the other side of the mirror, all the things they do not like. Ask the young people to compare the two lists. Which side has more on? Which was the more difficult to list?
Suggest that people with high self-esteem are realistic about their strengths and weaknesses and feel optimistic about setting achievable goals. They also feel good about themselves and do not take other people’s negative impressions of them too seriously. People with low self-esteem have a harder time honestly evaluating their strengths and weaknesses. This can lead to an overall negative impression of themselves that makes it easy to take other people’s opinions more seriously than they should. Feeling bad about themselves can lead to people thinking that everything they do will fail before they even try. Ask the Venturers to choose a partner to work with that they are happy to share their mirrors with. Allow time for each pair to look at their personal mirrors and encourage positive additions.
Activity – Stressed out! (20 minutes) You will need 5 x large sheets of coloured paper, a selection of coloured markers, sticky tape, flipchart paper. How to do it Ask the group for a definition of stress. Emphasise that stress can cause powerful feelings, as well as biological changes in the body. Facilitate a short idea storm that suggests some of the feelings and biological changes that stress can cause. Next, stick up the five large sheets of coloured paper at different points in the room. Each sheet should have one of the headings below: • Situations that Anger Me • Situations that Worry Me • Situations that Make Me Happy • Situations that Make Me Excited • Situations that Scare Me If you are working with a small group facilitate as a whole group activity, if not divide the main group into five smaller ones. Position each group next to one of the posters and hand out a selection of markers. Each group has 1-2 minutes to write down their responses to the situation on the poster in front of them.
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Activity – Stress audit (10 minutes)
When the designated time is up, ask each group to move to the poster on their right. Continue rotating until each group has had a chance to write their responses to the situations on all five posters. Invite a spokesperson from each group to read the responses on the poster in front of them. Discuss similarities, insights, or perceptions related to the ideas listed. Talk about which responses are positive stressors and which are negative stressors. Conclude that stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can be positive in some situations. As a group consider healthy strategies to cope with the stressful situations identified. For example; going for a walk, playing sport, using art to express feelings or talking to someone. Write these down on the flipchart paper and display or type up and distribute later.
Activity – Name that feeling (15 minutes) CD
You will need Copies of the ‘Name that feeling’ activity sheet from the CD, folded into a concertina so that only the first scenario shows. How to do it Begin the session by talking about the wide range of emotions that we all feel. Introduce the idea that sometimes these feelings either get in the way of how we deal with a situation or are not identified correctly. So the problem remains unresolved, or becomes larger and we feel less able to deal with it. Ask the group to think about a time when a problem got worse because of something they did or did not do. What feelings do they remember? Hand out the ‘Name that feeling’ activity sheet, folded up so that only the first scenario can be seen. Ask everyone to read the situation and then consider the questions posed at the top of the sheet. Facilitate a group feedback for each of the situations. Does everyone see the problem in the same way? Do they agree the feelings that might arise? How easy is it to think through some ideas for solutions?
CD
You will need A copy of the ‘Stress audit’ activity sheet from the CD for each person, pens. How to do it Before you start refer back to any ground rules you have agreed and make sure that you set clear boundaries. Hand out a pen and a ‘Stress audit’ activity sheet to each member of the group and ask them to fill it in on their own, at this point not sharing information. Point out that this is not a medical assessment, more an indicator of people’s level of stress. When everyone has finished ask the group to add up their ticks in each column, and then look at the results underneath. If this is going to be an issue for some young people you may consider doing the quiz as a group exercise. Invite the young people to share their findings with the person sitting next to them, in particular discussing how they feel when they are stressed, or any symptoms that they are starting to feel pressured. Invite feedback and record results, concluding that it is very important to know how you react to stress and to recognise the signs and symptoms so that you can get support if needed. © Vanessa Rogers
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • What techniques do you want to share for reducing stress? • How can we support others to stay healthy mentally? • What should we do if we feel we aren’t coping? Resources Young Minds – Provide advice and training for young people, parents and carers on mental health issues. www.youngminds.org.uk 10 tips to look after your mental wellbeing from the Mental Health Foundation. www.shef.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.34784!/file/10-top-tips.pdf Mind – A guide to what keeps people mentally well. www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/mental_wellbeing
Finally encourage the group to think about some examples of their own to share and work through together. Adapted from a resource by Vanessa Rogers www.woodcraft.org.uk page 14
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Sex and Relationships Aim To look at the topic of relationships, talk about different types of relationships and intimacy and discuss issues around sexual relationships.
Warm-up – Exploring relationships (30 minutes) You will need A large sheet of paper with a picture of a young person, taken from a magazine, stuck into the middle of it, sticky notes, marker pens. How to do it In pairs, ask people to talk about the different people they have spoken to over the past 24 hours. Encourage them to think about casual conversations as well as those with close friends or relatives. Invite feedback from the whole group and write each suggestion such as brother, friend, sports partner or girlfriend, on to a different sticky note. Place the sheet of paper with the picture on where everyone can see it. In turn, hand each person a sticky note, asking them to stick it onto the sheet in relation to the picture of the young person in the centre. People that they consider themselves to have the closest relationships with should go closest to the picture; those that are emotionally less close should be placed further away. Ask other young people to comment on the positioning and conclude that those closest differ depending on the individual’s relationships and everyone will have different feelings. For example, some might feel very close to their father or mother, while others might feel less so and that it is important to respect that and not make assumptions about relationships that others have. Are there different kinds of closeness? What are they?
Activity – Why do people have sex? (35 minutes) You will need Flipchart paper, marker pens. How to do it Divide the young people into small groups, give each group flipchart paper and two
different colour markers and write the following question up on a sheet of flipchart paper: ‘Why do people choose to have sex?’ Explain that this should include sex outside of or within marriage or a committed relationship. Tell them they now have five minutes to write down as many reasons as they can think of, for example, because it is fun, feels good, to show love, to get pregnant. Call time and invite feedback from each group, allowing time for discussion and congratulating the group with the most suggestions. Ask the group to identify the ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ reasons for having sex. Then ask them to identify other ways of achieving the ‘positive’ outcomes other than by having sex. Conclude by suggesting that having sex is only one way of showing your feelings and that there are lots of other ways to have fun, be intimate and enjoy spending time with someone. Everyone has to make the choice that is personally right and should not feel pressured into having sex until they are ready.
Discussion (20 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • What’s the connection between sex and love? • Is there a pressure to have sex before you are ready? How can you say no to sex? How do you know if you are ready? • What makes a good relationship or friendship? • What makes a good personal relationship (girlfriend or boyfriend)? Why is it different? • Do relationships last forever? • What can cause relationships to go wrong or end? • What can help couples stay together? • Why should some relationships end? • How can you end a relationship kindly? Resources Brook – Provides free and confidential sexual health services for young people. under-25. www.brook.org.uk www.woodcraft.org.uk page 15
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Terence Higgins Trust – Ask any question about sex. www.tht.org.uk/howwecanhelpyou/youngpeople/sexfacts/gotaquestion/
rankings and put up on the flipchart. Invite them to explain their choices and reasoning, pulling out similarities and differences etc.
Guardian Teachers Network – Video clips of young people taking about their experience of sex. www.teachers.guardian.co.uk/teacher-resources/5730/Videos-Young-Peopleexperiences-of-Sex
Then explain that you have been given some more information on the people and act/read out their stories. Give out the second sheet. Then get them back into their small groups and invite them to re-rank with the new information at their disposal.
Stereotypes Aim To encourage thinking on how we judge people we have never met and to explore our own prejudices and assumptions.
Warm-up – Famous people (20 minutes) You will need Some slips of paper with the names of famous people written on them. How to do it Each young person takes it in turn to take a slip of paper with the name of a famous person on it. The young person then has to describe the person without saying their name so that the others can guess who the person is.
Activity – Fantasy Woodcraft Folk (50 minutes) CD
You will need Copies of both ‘Fantasy Woodcraft Folk’ activity sheets from the CD to hand out, pens, flipchart and marker pens. How to do it Introduce the activity by giving the background that you have been asked to help choose the next member of the Venturer group. Give out the first sheet and ask everyone to individually put the people they would like in order of preference. After about 10 minutes ask everyone to get into small groups and work out an agreed order of preference. Important rule – no voting or barter allowed.
Come back again after about 15 minutes and put up the new ranking, having another discussion about this.
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Why do we judge people so quickly? • Have you ever been in a situation where people have assumed things about you? • How can we avoid stereotyping people? Resources Stereotyping of Young People Resource Pack – A resource pack from the Irish Equality Authority to support young people and organisations of young people to recognise and challenge any stereotyping of young people. www.equality.ie/en/Publications/Good-Practice-Publications/Spotlight-onStereotyping.html Nil By Mouth – Scottish charity which challenges sectarianism. www.nilbymouth.org
Leadership Aim To consider what makes a good leader and how people can work together as part of a team with different roles.
Warm up – What makes a leader? (15 minutes) You will need Sticky notes and pens, flipchart paper and markers.
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How to do it Hand each person a sticky note and a pen and then ask them to write down the name of one person who they regard as being a good, strong leader. Collect in all of the sticky notes and shuffle them. Next, divide the Venturers into smaller groups of three or four and hand each group a selection of sticky notes. The group task is to discuss the selection of leaders given to them and then to write down four things that they think makes this person a strong leader. If they do not agree with the nomination then they should discuss why and offer reasons to support this view. Start a feedback session and from those leaders nominated encourage people to agree four leaders who they think have the strongest, most effective leadership qualities.
Divide the main group into two teams and ask young people to choose a partner to work with. Explain that the task is for each team to successfully get all of their members along the runway to the other side, without anyone falling in a hole. To do this, each couple will take turns at being blindfold and guiding their partner along the course. Point out that for this to work they are going to have to communicate clearly and trust each other. Invite a couple from each team to go first and set the following rules: • The person being led must be guided by their partners voice only. • Those leading cannot touch their partner. • The rest of the team cannot give instructions. • If anyone falls in a hole they have to return to the start of the course and be led again. Once a blindfolded team member has successfully completed the course they should take off their blindfold and blindfold their partner. The rest of the team should then rearrange the course (to stop people just remembering where the holes are).
Discussion points • Why would people follow this leader? • How did those nominated become leaders? For example, by election or because of their own outstanding skills • How many of those leaders nominated are women? • What are the main responsibilities of leadership? • What do people gain by leading others?
In this way, all the couples should travel across the pathway to join the rest of their team on the other side. The team that manages to complete the task in the quickest time wins the game. Review the activity • What made someone a good leader? • What helped/didn’t help people to complete the task? • Was it easier to give or receive instructions?
Write down the key points about leadership and close the activity by summarising there are lots of different styles of leadership. Most people tend to use the style of leadership they feel most comfortable with, but effective leaders use a variety of styles for different tasks and situations. Good leaders don’t necessarily make all the decisions or tell everyone what to do. Delegation, consultation and discussion are all leadership skills.
Activity – Name that emotion (20 minutes) You will need A large paper plate, a ruler, markers, pencil and rubber, thin card and a split pin, telephone directory, dice, flipchart paper.
Activity – Mind the hole (20 minutes) You will need A3 paper, masking tape, blindfold for each team. How to do it Create two long pathways on opposite sides of the room by sticking two seven metre strips of masking tape, about 1.5 metres apart on the floor to create a corridor. Take the A3 sheets of paper and randomly place them within each of the pathways, to make the ‘holes’. These do not have to be in the same place, but do need to be the same number.
How to do it To prepare for the game you need to make the ‘emotions dial’ in advance. To do this, take a large paper plate and divide it into eight (or more) equal segments using a ruler and pencil. Once you are happy with this go over the lines in marker. Next, label each segment with a different emotion: • Happiness
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• • • • • • •
Excitement Embarrassment Anger Surprise Disgust Sorrow Fear
Make the dial by drawing and then cutting an arrow shape out of thin card. This should be big enough to fit half way across the paper plate. Find the middle of the plate and attach the arrow using the split pin. Make sure it is loose enough to spin comfortably on the plate. To play, divide people into two teams and invite each team to select a team leader, team name and a team number between one and six. Draw a line down the middle of a sheet of flipchart paper, labelling each column with a team name and the team number. This can now be used as a score sheet. Each team takes it in turns to throw the dice. If a six or their team number is thrown the team leader has three choices: • Select a team member to take a turn with the emotions dial. • Take the turn themselves. • Pass the turn to the other team to play. Whichever player is taking the turn should spin the emotions dial, check what the arrow lands on without letting anyone else except the facilitator see where it has stopped. The player should read aloud a randomly selected passage from a telephone directory in a style that expresses the emotion they landed on. Their team mates then have one chance to guess the emotion. If they are correct then the team wins a point. If they are wrong then the opposition has a chance to win the point with a guess. The team members can confer before making a guess but all guesses must come through the team leaders and the first answer will be the only one accepted. If no one guesses correctly then no points are won and the player returns to their team and the dice throwing continues. Keep going at least until all team members have had the opportunity to spin the Emotions Dial. The team with the most points wins the game.
• expressing emotions through verbal and non-verbal communication • things that make it easier/harder to listen • things that make it easier/harder to be heard.
Activity – Building bridges (20 minutes) You will need Newspaper, sticky tape, glue and scissors, a toy car, paper and pen for the observers, a list of rules for each group (given below). How to do it Divide the main group into teams of up to 10 young people. Give each group the equipment listed above by placing one item in front of each person (the newspaper can be given to more than one person). Make sure you leave one person with nothing in front of them and choose one person to be an observer. The observer will record everything they see happening as the group completes the task. Explain that the group task is to build the longest newspaper bridge that will allow the car to travel from one side to the other. Write these rules out in advance and place in the middle of the group: • No one must speak for the duration of the activity. • The car must be able to travel unaided across the bridge. • You can only use the equipment provided. • You cannot take equipment from each other. Allow 10 minutes for the groups to complete the task, circulating and enforcing rules as you go. Call time and in turn invite each group to race their car across their bridge. Congratulate the team with the longest bridge that manages to get their car across and lead a round of applause. Now, invite the observers to feedback to their teams: • Who led the task? • How did they become group leader? • Did others follow them? • Was there a turning point in the task where everyone worked together? • Was anyone left out?
Review the game by encouraging discussion to explore: • the role of the team leader
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Discussion (15 minutes)
Activity – Renewable energy (60 minutes)
Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Why did you follow any leader that emerged in your group? • What qualities did they have? • Was anyone in the group resentful of their power? • What was your role in the group? • What contribution did you make? • What makes a good leader? • What would make a bad leader? • Is it important to have a balance of people with different roles in a group or team? • What could those roles be?
CD
You will need Copies of the ‘Energy’ activity sheet from the CD (note that this is 3 pages in total) cut into the 6 energy sources, paper and colouring pens for poster making, paper and pens to make notes for presentations. How to do it Begin with a quick set of questions and answers on what energy is used for. Examples may include: • Heating (residential housing, commercial buildings and schools). • Cooking. • Transport (cars, lorries, trains, planes). • Electricity for lighting and driving machinery (from electronics to industrial processes).
Resources UNICEF – Information on young leaders who are making a difference in their community. www.unicef.org/people/people_leaders.html
Energy
Then ask what the sources of this energy are: • Heating and cooking – mostly gas, with some electricity. • Transport – petrol and diesel for vehicles. Kerosene for aeroplanes. Derived from oil. • Some may know about alternatives such as electric cars, petrol-electric hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells. Petrol-electric hybrids are the only ones that are currently available commercially. • Electricity – coal, oil, gas, nuclear and renewables (mostly wind).
Aim To explore the topic of renewable energy.
Explain that some forms of energy are non-renewable and some can be renewed so they will never run out. Discuss which kind of energy is which.
Warm-up – Chain reaction (10 minutes)
Ask the Venturers to get into groups and give an energy source activity sheet to each group. Ask them to design a poster promoting this form of energy and a short presentation explaining the advantages and disadvantages. Ask them to consider whether this form of energy would be appropriate for where they live.
Columba 1400 – Leadership Academy for young people in difficult circumstances. www.columba1400.com/what-we-do/programmes/young-peoples-leadershipacademy
How to do it Ask everyone to stand in a line and hold hands with the person on either side of them. Explain that the line is the electricity cable getting electricity as fast as it can from where it’s generated to their house. The person at one end of the line should start the transmission by squeezing the hand of the person next to them; as soon as they feel it they should pass the squeeze down the line. When the squeeze reaches the person at the end of the line, they should run up to the start of the line and begin their own transmission by squeezing the hand of the next person. This continues until everyone has been at the top of the line.
Once all the presentations have been made, ask them to decide how the Government should invest their budget for the development of renewable energy. Give £10 billion as a notional figure and ask them to decide how it should be allocated.
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Discussion (20 minutes)
2. What proportion of people living in poverty are in households where someone is in work? A) More than a quarter, B) More than half, C) More than a third
Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • What can we do as individuals to save energy? Encourage each of the Venturers to make an energy saving pledge for the week and report back on this next time. • What can we do as a group to save energy? If the group comes up with some practical suggestions, discuss how these should be implemented. • Is there anything we can do to encourage the use of renewable energy?
3. What proportion of total income goes to the richest 10%? A) A third, B) A quarter, C) A fifth 4. What proportion of total income goes to the poorest 10%? A) 5%, B) 1%, C) 10%
Resources Energy Saving Trust – offers advice on how to save energy. www.energysavingtrust.org.uk Eco-schools – Programme to encourage greener schools. www.eco-schools.org.uk www.ecoschoolsscotland.org www.eco-schoolswales.org www.eco-schoolsni.org Young Energy People – aims to increase the sustainability of energy. www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Young-Energy-People-6164437
Poverty and Inequality (Local) Aim To introduce the scale of poverty in the UK and to encourage an understanding of the difficult choices people living in poverty face.
Warm-up – Poverty quiz (10 minutes) You will need 3 large sheets of paper, a marker pen, something to stick the paper to the walls with. How to do it Place the sheets of paper around the room, having written ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ on the sheets. Then ask the following questions and ask the group to run to the option they believe is correct. The correct answers are highlighted in bold. 1. What proportion of people in the UK are living in poverty? A) 15%, B) 9%, C) 22%
Activity – Life happens (60 minutes) CD
You will need The ‘Family profiles’, ‘Cost of living’ and ‘Life happens cards’ activity sheets from the CD (cut into individual profiles and cards), pens, paper, calculators. How to do it Ask the group to get into groups of 4 or 5, then give out one family profile to each group. Also distribute the ‘Cost of living’ activity sheet. Explain that each group must work out how to best use their income, as given in their family profile. Emphasise that the flexibility exists to make decisions such as whether to move or to give up work. Allow the young people some time to work out their budgets. Then announce that as this is real life, situations change. Go round and let each group select a ‘Life happens’ card. Repeat this around 3 times or as you think appropriate. At the end of the session, ask each group to present on what their circumstances were, how things changed for them and the budgetary decisions they made. Encourage the rest of the larger group to discuss the decisions made by the group. Discuss how some of the changes that happened through the ‘Life happens’ card had a much greater negative impact on those who were already living in poverty.
Discussion – (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • How did it feel to be one of the families who were not as well off? • Did you enjoy the game? Or was it quite stressful? • Do you think that the current balance of wealth is the right one? If not, how would you alter it?
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Resources The Poverty Site – Facts and statistics on poverty and wealth in the UK. www.poverty.org.uk Poverty Alliance – Anti-poverty campaigners. www.povertyalliance.org End Child Poverty – Campaign to end child poverty by 2020. www.endchildpoverty.org.uk
Our Locality Aim To get young people out into their local area.
Activity – Local area survey (75 minutes) CD
You will need Copies of the ‘Local area survey’ activity sheet from the CD, pens, torches if the activity takes place after dark. How to do it Issue copies of the questions in the survey. Ensure all the Venturers are wearing appropriate outdoor clothes (depending on weather and season) and have a torch. Go out for a walk around the local area. Encourage the Venturers to really pay attention to what it going on around them. After returning, ask the young people to fill in the survey.
Tax and Spend Aim To introduce the subject of tax and what it pays for and to encourage the young people to think about how they would choose to spend tax revenue.
Warm-up – Introduction to tax and spend (20 minutes) You will need Three large pieces of paper, a marker pen, pens, something to stick the pieces of paper to the wall. How to do it On each of three large pieces of paper (at least A3) write one of the following titles: • Who pays tax? • What kinds of tax do people pay? • What are taxes used for? Stick the sheets around the wall of the room before the young people arrive. As they come in to the room get them to wander around and write down anything they know about the different subjects on each sheet of paper. After 10 minutes collect the sheets of paper and discuss what the young people have written. Don’t forget to point out to the group that they pay tax through VAT.
Activity – Your budget (50 minutes) You will need Paper, pens, calculators, flipchart, marker pen.
Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • What were your survey findings? • Did anything surprise you? • If you identified something you would like to change, how could you do that?
How to do it Give the group, in pairs, a couple of minutes to think about and write down all the things the Government pays for. Bring pairs of pairs together to pool their lists, then share this with the whole group, noting their findings on a flipchart. The leader should add any more they can think of. Explain to the group that it costs around £3,000 per Secondary School pupil to run all the Secondary Schools in the UK, which adds up to £12 billion a year.
Resources Locality – Resources to help communities identify needs and flourish. www.locality.org.uk/projects/building-community/resources
Ask the Venturers to guess how much it costs to run the whole of the UK. Tell them that in 2008/9 it cost £620.685 billion to pay for all the Government services in the UK.
Discussion (15 minutes)
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Think Global, Act Local
Ask them to stay in their groups of 4 and decide how much of the £620.685 billion they would allocate to all the different things the Government pays for. Tell them that they have the option of raising the level of taxation to bring in more money, or cutting taxes to let people keep more of their money.
Aim To improve awareness of our global connections and to think about how our actions impact on others around the world.
Bring the groups together at the end of the session and ask each group to present their budget for the country.
Warm-up – Country connections (10 minutes) Discussion (20 minutes)
You will need An inflatable globe, or a ball with stickers showing the names of different countries.
Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • How important is tax for the running of a country? • Would we be able to function without it? • Can you think of any other way in which funding could be obtained? • What public services would you be prepared to give up if you could pay less tax? • What public services that are not currently available would you be willing to pay more tax for? • Do you think that different political parties have different approaches to tax and what it should be spent on? • What do you think happens to the amount of money the government has to spend if more people or fewer people have jobs?
How to do it People stand in a circle and take turns throwing an inflatable globe to each other. When they catch it they point to a country to which they have a connection, and explain what the connection is. Each person should find a different kind of connection. Start with easy options such as ‘I went on holiday here’ or ‘my uncle comes from here’. Move on to encourage more interconnected thinking, such as ‘the cereal I had for breakfast was made from rice which was grown in America’, ‘my shirt was made in India’, or ‘the striker for the football team I support was born in Cameroon’.
Resources Tax Matters – Online module exploring how and why we pay tax. www.taxmatters.hmrc.gov.uk
The young people might find this activity quite difficult to begin with and will need prompting and reminding not to give the same examples as their friends.
Guardian website breakdown of how the Government allocated its budget in 2008/9. http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2009/09/16/Public_ spending_160909.pdf
Activity – Sustainable living game design (75 minutes)
Comprehensive information and economic data for the UK from the Treasury. www.hm-treasury.gov.uk Low Incomes Tax Reform Group. www.litrg.org.uk Tax Aid – for information on rights and responsibilities under the UK tax system. www.taxaid.org.uk
You will need Paper, cardboard, scissors, glue, colouring pens, dice. An Eco Footprint tells us how much land we need to make all the stuff and energy that we use, to deal with our waste, and to neutralise our greenhouse gas emissions. It measures global hectares of available productive land and sea. If everyone in the world had a fair share, then we’d have about two hectares each. In the UK we each use 5.16 global hectares each. If everybody in the world consumed as much ‘stuff’ as we do in the UK, then we’d need about three planet Earths to support us. ‘Thought shower’ with the Venturers on how we could all reduce our Eco Footprint. Then ask them to divide into groups and develop their own board game to
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communicate how to live more sustainably. Give them plenty of time to develop the game, but leave time for the young people to test out the games designed by other groups.
How to do it Pass out the surveys and ask everyone to complete one for themselves. Encourage them to do this on their own, thoughtfully and honestly.
Discussion (5 minutes)
Invite them to discuss their results with their neighbour – what surprised them? Did it make them think about their approach to money? © Citizens Advice
Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Is it easier to know what we are supposed to do to live more sustainably, than to actually do it? • What are the key things stopping us from living more sustainably? • What do you think the consequences will be if we don’t learn to live more sustainably?
Activity – Debt case study – based on a true story (55 minutes)
Resources World Wildlife Fund – section on working with young people. www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/working_with_schools The Co-operative Group – Green Schools Revolution project www.co-operative.coop/green-schools-revolution
You will need Copies of the ‘Debt case study’ activity sheet from the CD, large sheets of paper and marker pens. How to do it Hand out copies of the ‘Debt case study’ activity sheet and ask the young people to read it. Divide up into groups of 3-4.
National Buy Local Campaign www.buy-local-campaign.co.uk
In these groups, take a large sheet of paper and imagine you were this young man. Map the decisions he has made and the things that have happened in a line across the middle of the sheet. Then consider where he could have made different decisions and whether these would have led to different outcomes, or whether some things that happened would have happened anyway. © Citizens Advice
Financial Literacy
Discussion (20 minutes)
Aim To raise awareness of the importance of financial literacy and to encourage the group to consider their own approach to their finances.
Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • What caused this person to get into debt problems? Was there one single factor or a combination? • What factors could have influenced this person’s spending when at university? • What effect did the car crash have? • What could he have done differently? • What should he do now?
Eco Footprint Calculator www.bestfootforward.com/resources/ecological-footprint
Warm-up – Money survey (15 minutes) CD
CD
You will need A copy of the ‘Money attitudes survey’ activity sheet from the CD for everyone, pens.
Resources Money Makes Sense – A financial literacy site containing teaching materials designed to de-mystify the world of money. www.moneymakesense.co.uk
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write these around themselves. The groups that they feel closest to should be written closest to the centre and more distant links shown further from the word ‘me’.
The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice, and by influencing policymakers. www.citizensadvice.org.uk Financial Services Authority Case Studies on helping young adults take control of their finances. www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/other/young_adults.pdf
Ask people to take two of the communities they have identified they are a part of and consider, are there different rules, spoken and unspoken, in those different communities? Working in fours, invite people to share their ‘Who am I?’ maps. Ask them to consider the following: • What benefits are there to being a part of the groups you feel closest too? • Are there any disadvantages? • What privileges does this give you? • What responsibilities do you have? • Do different groups and communities which you are a part of have different rules and conventions?
Community Integration Aim To encourage the Venturers to explore and define the different communities which they are a part of.
Warm-up – Leading the line (15 minutes) How to do it Ask everyone to stand in a line. Each person should take the hand of the person in front and behind them. The line then sets off around the room, with the person at the front of the line encouraged to change direction, do zigzags etc. When the leader shouts ‘Change’, everyone turns to face the other way, still holding hands and the person at the other end leads the line.
Bring the whole group back together and invite individuals to share information about the groups they represent. Then as a whole group, consider what it means to be part of the Woodcraft Folk community. Map out on a large sheet of paper the thoughts of the young people on this, using the questions above.
Discussion (15 minutes) Activity – Personal maps (40 minutes) You will need Large sheets of paper, pens. How to do it Begin by saying, ‘everyone is a member of different communities and social groups. Some are groups of people you choose to spend leisure time with, for example social groups or sports teams. Some groups bring together people with shared values or to campaign for a common cause. Additionally, there is membership of larger communities as well, for example where we live, school, work etc. Other groups include gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and age. Everyone here represents a group that other people belong to as well.’ Hand out a sheet of paper and a pen to each person and ask them to write ‘me’ in the middle of the paper. Now ask them to consider all the groups they belong to and
Facilitate a discussion that includes the following: • Is it ever difficult to be part of a range of different communities? • What are the advantages of being part of a range of different communities? • Are there communities which we choose to be a member of and communities which we are a member of for reasons other than personal choice, for example, because our family is? Resources Community Development Foundation – Supports strong communities www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/strong-communities TES article on engaging young people in community integration projects. www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6076896 Young People’s views and attitudes towards community relations. www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/voices.pdf
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CD
Smoking and Tobacco
Activity – Smoking bottle (15 minutes)
Aim To improve understanding of facts related to smoking and tobacco and to consider the influences which encourage smoking and where they come from.
You will need A filter cigarette, sticky tack, cotton wool, a large, empty, clear plastic bottle, matches, leaflets for support groups and giving up information (which are available from the organisations in the Resources section at the end of this session).
Warm up – The facts quiz (20 minutes)
How to do it Before the group arrives, set up your smoking bottle. You do this by taking the empty bottle and pushing cotton wool into it until you have a good size wad covering the bottom. Next, take the cigarette and place it into the neck holding it in place with sticky tack.
You will need Copies of the ‘Smoking – the facts quiz’ activity sheet from the CD, pens How to do it Hand out pens and a copy of the quiz, asking the group to tick whether they think the statements contained are true or false.
Explain that the aim of this is to look at smoking and the effect it can have on your health. You may want to have a short discussion or conduct a quick poll to see how many of the young people smoke or have ever tried a cigarette.
Once everyone has completed the quiz go through the questions, taking time to discuss any points raised or answer any questions. Finally count up the scores. How much did they know? Which statement did most get wrong?
Bring out the smoking bottle and ask for a volunteer. Invite the volunteer to light the cigarette in the top of the bottle. Once it is alight ask the young person to squeeze the sides of the bottle gently to simulate inhaling and exhaling.
The answers: 1. False – 300 people in the UK die each day from smoking. 2. True 3. False – 70 per cent light up within 30 minutes of waking up. 4. False – They are eight times more likely. 5. True – According to the NHS survey Drug Use, Smoking and Drinking Among Young People in England 2007. 6. True – Year 7-11 young people groupified as regular smokers smoked an average of 44.1 cigarettes a week, approximately six a day. 7. False – The number has dropped to 33 per cent from 53 per cent in 1982. 8. True – Secondhand smoke is a mixture of sidestream smoke from the burning tip of a cigarette and smoke exhaled by a smoker, and can cause a wide range of serious medical conditions including lung cancer. 9. False – Smokers inhale more than 4,000 chemicals from a cigarette, out of which 400 are toxins, including carbon monoxide. 10. True – Carbon monoxide restricts oxygen essential for the baby’s health and development and, because cigarettes restrict the oxygen supply, their heart has to beat harder every time the mother lights up. 11. False – According to the NHS, children of smokers are three times more likely to smoke. 12. True – Statistically, those that give up smoking have increased health benefits. © Anti-Smoking Health
Pass the bottle around the group inviting everyone to have a go. As the bottle is passed around, ask the group to comment on any changes they see to the cotton wool. It will gradually turn brown as the tar is collected. Review what has happened and ask the group to consider the effects smoking has on the lungs.
Activity – Messages (20 minutes) You will need Six pieces of flipchart paper, sticky tack, coloured markers. How to do it In advance, take the pieces of flipchart paper and label them ‘Friends’, ‘Adult you live with’, ‘Youth worker/teacher’ and ‘Media’. Start the activity by explaining that people learn about things from a wide range of sources. Information is given to us and we process it to form our own beliefs. These may be influenced by the people giving us the information.
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Sexualisation, Gender and the Media
Next, stick up the posters around the wall, hand each person a marker and invite them to move around the room, writing messages they have received about smoking from the sources under the different headings. Now divide the main group into four and hand each group one of the flipchart sheets to discuss: • What messages are they given about smoking? • Are they consistent? • How do these messages affect what we believe and the way we act? • How reliable are they?
Discussion (15 minutes) Invite everybody back into one big group. Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • How has tonight affected what you think about smoking? • Which messages are the most powerful and why? Resources Cancer Research – Charity funding research into cancer and providing information on the causes of cancer, such as smoking. www.cancerresearchuk.org Tobacco Sales Law – Information on the changes to the law on tobacco sales. www.tobacco18.co.uk Quit – UK Charity to help people stop smoking. www.quit.org.uk Action on Smoking and Health – Anti-smoking campaigning organisation www.ash.org.uk
Aim To encourage young people to think about the rules of society and how different genders are portrayed in the media.
Warm-up – Unwritten rules (15 minutes) You will need Flipchart paper, marker pens. How to do it Ask the group to consider: • Why there are rules in any society? (For example to keep people safe.) • Are rules a good thing? • What would happen if there were none? Go on to discuss some of the rules that they think particularly apply to young people, for example school or home rules. Next ask the group to consider the difference between laws, for which there is a judicial punishment if you are caught breaking them and unwritten laws that people live by, for example it is against the law to smoke on a train, but it is an unwritten law that people do not jump a queue. Now, divide the group into small groups of four and hand each group a sheet of paper and a marker. They should draw a line down the middle of the sheet, and then write ‘MAN’ at the top of one half, and ‘WOMAN’ on the other. The task is to discuss and record any unwritten rules they consider are gender specific eg boys don’t cry. Bring the whole group back together and ask for feedback. Encourage people to discuss: • Have they been told this unwritten rule? • How old were they when they received this message? • Who passed the message on? • Has it affected their behaviour/attitudes/values? • How? Finally discuss what happens if these rules are broken and if we should break the rules. How can we break gender rules?
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Activity – How do gender stereotypes in the media impact society? (45 minutes) You will need Markers and one large sheet of paper, various forms of media (books, magazines, newspapers). How to do it Explain to participants that their mission will be to research the portrayal of women and girls in the media. Use old magazines and newspapers and have participants cut out images of the women they see. Paste these cut-outs onto one large sheet of paper and have them use markers to write words associated with the images. Do the same thing with pictures of men and boys.
Discussion (15 minutes) Hang the papers up on a wall and look at all of the images as a whole. Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Who do you think these ads are aimed at? A male or female audience? • Why? • What activities are the women in the images engaged in? How does this impact the image of women? • How are men portrayed, and how does this further affect gender stereotypes? • What are the conventions of female beauty that the ads embody? • How might these ads be different if they came from a different culture? • Why does the media portray men and women like this? • How can we stop or reduce these images in our lives? Resources Mother’s Union – currently running a campaign against the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood in the UK and Republic of Ireland. www.themothersunion.org Mumsnet.com – An online community for parents and it is currently running a campaign called Let Girls be Girls against premature sexualisation of children. www.mumsnet.com/campaigns/let-girls-be-girls Preventing Violence Against Women – Briefing on the sexualisation of young people in the media. www.vawpreventionscotland.org.uk/sites/default/files/Sexualisation%20Briefing.pdf
Race and Diversity Aim To help young people recognise and appreciate some ways in which they themselves are different from other people in their group, and to appreciate how others are different from them.
Warm-up – My potato (15 minutes) You will need A potato for every participant, a big sack or bag. How to do it Ask everyone to look closely at their potato, to become aware of all its lumps and bumps, its shape and its size. Now put all the potatoes in a large bag, mix them up and pour out onto the floor. Ask everyone to try and identify his or her own potato. Discussion can follow the game on how each potato, even though very different in their own way, still remained a potato inside.
Activity – Identity collage (35 minutes) You will need A recent photo of all group members that each individual is proud of, sticky labels, materials for making a poster – paper and pens/crayons, glue stick. How to do it Ask each young person to think about themselves. In what way are they proud to be different from everyone else in the group? Encourage them to think about: 1. Physical appearance, skills, talent, personality. 2. Ways in which their likes and dislikes differ from everyone else in the group. Invite them to write down a statement relating to each of (1) and (2) on a sticky badge.
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The participants can swap badges, mix them all up and then try to match the statements to the photograph on the wall (there may be clues in the photographs).
HIV/AIDS
Assign one smaller group to the task of using the badges to list all of the abilities, talents, attributes, experiences and skills that are present in the group.
Aim To increase understanding of HIV/AIDS, both in health terms and as a global issue.
The whole group then works on a giant poster or display to celebrate how differences enrich the whole group. If you have a large group which makes it hard for the whole group to be actively involved in making the poster, assign some of the young people the task of creating a poem, rap or song which lists all the talents, abilities, skills etc. of the group. This can then be performed to the whole group.
Warm-up – HIV/AIDS quiz (15 minutes) CD
How to do it Hold a quiz and test the group on HIV basics.
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Invite everybody to name a way in which they admire differences expressed by other people present. • What way do they want others to regard their difference? • What attitude does the group want to have to other people’s differences? • Why do we pick on people who are different? (Suggest fear, ignorance, etc.) Resources All Different, All Unique – A UNESCO resource on young people and cultural diversity. www.unicef.org/magic/resources/CulturalDiversityUNESCO.pdf Youth Access – Good practice resources to help promote equality and diversity. www.youthaccess.org.uk/resources/goodpractice/Equality-and-Diversity.cfm Show Racism the Red Card – Anti-racism educational charity. www.srtrc.org/home
You will need A copy of the ‘HIV/AIDS quiz’ activity sheet from the CD for each Venturer, pens.
The answers are 1. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus: a virus that attacks white blood cells (reducing what’s known as the CD4 count) and weakens the body’s natural immune system. 2. No. See answer 5. 3. No, thankfully, the virus can’t survive in the digestive system of a mosquito. 4. The advanced stages of HIV change your condition to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). This is when HIV has attacked the immune system and reduced its resistance to illnesses such as TB or pneumonia. 5. No. You can get HIV through a contaminated blood transfusion or sharing needles with an infected drug user. Mothers can pass the virus onto their unborn child through, pregnancy, childbirth and breast-feeding. 6. Diddly-squat. A tenner a month provides basic HIV treatment in a poor country. 7. South Africa, between 5-6 million people. 8. Not yet, HIV/AIDS is not treatable, but you can keep the virus under control and live a healthy and active life by using anti-retroviral drugs. Even though these drugs cost £10, sadly only one in three people has access to them. 9. Freedom of movement is not a human right if you’ve got HIV. The USA had a 25-year ban on people with HIV entering its country. The ban has recently been lifted. 10. 95% of the 39 million people living with HIV live in developing countries. © Christian Aid
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CD
Activity – Communicating the message (65 minutes)
Drugs
You will need A copy of the ‘HIV sketch’ activity sheet from the CD, paper, coloured pens and ball point pens.
Aim To introduce the topic of substance use and abuse and discuss attitudes towards this.
How to do it Ask two young people to take on the roles of Person A and Person B and to read out the sketch.
Warm up – Call my bluff (15 minutes)
Explain to the young people that the sketch they have just seen is one way of communicating information about HIV/AIDS to a wider audience. Ask them to get into groups and develop their own way of communicating a message about HIV/ AIDS. This can take any format they wish, some examples being: a song; a drama; a poster; a dance; a poem. They may also choose to use a mixture of these approaches. Suggest they begin by deciding on the key messages they wish to communicate about HIV/AIDS. Leave time at the end of the session for each of the groups to present what they have done. Adapted from a Christian Aid resource
Discussion (10 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Do you think there’s a link between poverty and HIV/AIDS? • What can you do to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS? Resources Stop AIDS Campaign – Lobbying drugs companies to produce generic versions of their drugs. www.stopaidscampaign.org.uk NHS Information on HIV/AIDS. www.nhs.uk/Conditions/HIV/Pages/Introduction.aspx
CD
You will need ‘Call my bluff cards’ activity sheet from the CD (note that this is 7 pages in total) – cut into individual cards, 3 chairs. How to do it Prepare a set of ‘Call my Bluff’ cards. Keep the cards in drug order, but mix up the order the answers are in so the pattern doesn’t become familiar as the game progresses. Set up three chairs facing the group. Start by asking for three volunteers, choose a drug and distribute the answers amongst the volunteers, without the rest of the Venturers seeing your choice. Invite the three volunteers to sit on the chairs and read out their answer card, without saying if it is a bluff or the truth. All three volunteers should try and sound like they are saying the right answer. The rest of the Venturers then vote which answer they think is correct. Choose three people from amongst those that got the right answer to come and play the second round. Repeat until all of the cards are done, reinforcing answers and offering additional information, such as the legal status of each drug or outlining the effects. © Know The Score
Terence Higgins Trust – Resources on HIV/AIDS. www.tht.org.uk/informationresources/hivandaids www.tht.org.uk/binarylibrary/policy/povertyandhiv.pdf
Activity – What do drug users look like? (20 minutes)
Christian Aid – Information on HIV/AIDS in poorer countries. www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/in-focus/hiv-malaria-health/index.aspx
You will need Flipchart paper, markers, sticky tack, 8 x pieces of card labelled: cannabis smoker, alcoholic, crack smoker, ecstasy user, solvent user, heroin user, cocaine user, person who does not use drugs.
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How to do it Divide into small groups and allocate one card to each small group. Ask each group to draw what they think a person using the drug on the card looks like. Stick the drawings on a wall and then ask the group to guess from each other’s drawings which drug the person uses. Next, ask how they made these decisions, what information or knowledge it was based on and if their assumption was correct.
to consider why people choose to take or not take illegal drugs. Hand one group the sheet headed ‘DO’ and the other the one labelled ‘DON’T’. Ask the young people to discuss their ideas in the group and then record them under the heading given.
Introduce the idea of stereotypes. Discuss what it means and offer the following definition: ‘A stereotype might be defined as a generalisation and assumption that together portrays the reputation of a group.’
Don’ts could include – scared of being out of control, scared of getting caught, cultural values, health concerns, not interested, moral viewpoint or damage to future career aspirations.
Now, facilitate a discussion that considers: • Are the drawings stereotypes? Do most or all users of that drug really look like that? • How are gender, age and ethnicity represented in the drawings? • Where do people get information from about drugs and drug users? (Introduce the role of the media here if it hasn’t been mentioned) • Can you tell who might use or not use different drugs just by looking at them? • What can happen if incorrect assumptions are made about people?
Invite each group to present their findings and discuss responses as a whole group. Make sure you consider both the emotional and physical effects of decisions made as well as the legal standpoint.
Finally invite the young people to share their own experiences of being stereotyped in any way and conclude that you cannot always tell if a person is using or misusing drugs just by their appearance, the music they like or the friends they have.
Activity – Do or don’t? (40 minutes) You will need 2 sheets of flipchart, one headed ‘DO’ and the other headed ‘DON’T’, marker pens. How to do it Start the session by asking who drinks tea or coffee or cola, where and how often. Point out that all of these drinks contain a legal stimulant drug called caffeine. Go on to ask if any of the group know someone who says they can’t get out of bed without a cup of tea, or who says they need a coffee in the morning to wake them up. Suggest that this could be the result of a dependence on caffeine, which can be difficult to give up. Go on to ask which other legal drugs the group have used, or seen used, in the last 6 months, encouraging young people to call out ideas. This could include prescription medicines like antibiotics or over-the-counter cold and flu remedies. Continue to ask the Venturers to call out reasons why they think people use these drugs. Now split the main group into two. Explain that this time you are going to ask them
Do’s could include – peer pressure, to increase confidence, to have a good time, new experience, relaxation, depression or ignorance.
Conclude that there are lots of reasons why some people choose to use illegal drugs, and lots of reasons for not taking them.
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • What have we learnt about drug use and drug users? • How would you respond to someone offering drugs? • Have you thought about the illegal activities around the drug trade? Resources Know The Score – Information and advice about drugs. http://knowthescore.info Talk to Frank – Facts about drug-taking. www.talktofrank.com Time to Talk – Resources for talking to young people about drugs and alcohol. www.timetotalk.org
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Exploring our World – Issues for Venturers
Climate Change
Activity – Exploring vulnerability (30 minutes)
Aim To explore the causes and consequences of climate change.
CD
In this activity participants will play the role described on their card – they must keep their role a secret from other participants.
Warm-up – Consequence chain with ball throwing (30 minutes) CD
How to do it Ask the group to line up at one end of the room in groups. Give out the role-play cards to small groups of 2 or 3.
You will need Copies of the ‘Effects of climate change in Malawi’ activity sheet from the CD (one per group), a ball, flipchart paper and pens.
Ask the Venturers to spend to spend a few minutes imagining the daily life of the person whose role they are playing and to think of a name for their character.
How to do it Stand in a circle holding a ball. Ask young people if they’ve ever had a day where everything just seems to go wrong. Then ask them for an example of a little thing that may go wrong day to day. Shout out one of these suggestions and ask the group to put their hand up if they can think of something bad that may follow as a result. For example, your alarm clock doesn’t go off so you are late for school. Pass the ball to someone with their hand up, and ask them to give an example of what might happen next. Keep repeating this with the group passing the ball to each other. Carry on until the group can think of no more. Then repeat the game but using one of the top line examples from the ‘Effects of climate change in Malawi’ consequence chain. Split the group into small groups with pens and flip chart paper. Ask students to draw a spider diagram or consequence chain using one of the examples from the activity sheet. When they have finished explain to the students that in real life things don’t inevitably spiral downwards into awful situations. In real life people are fighting back with flood protection, irrigation, flood/drought resistant crops etc. Adapted from Oxfam resources
You will need ‘Role-play cards’ activity sheet from the CD, cut out into individual cards, plus an uncut copy for yourself, list of statements (given below).
Read out the list of statements below and ask those participants whose role can agree with the statement to take a step forward (give them time in their small groups, if you have them, to decide if they would agree with the statement). Encourage those who are unsure how to answer to ask you for advice. Eventually the young people will be spaced out across the room according to how many steps they have taken forward. Once you have read out all the statements, ask the Venturers to stay where they are and introduce their role to the others. Ask the Venturers if they think that role is correctly placed in relation to others. For example, should the married man be further forward than the 12 year old girl? In some cases this can create a lot of discussion. Ask the participants to identify what factors make some people more vulnerable than others, and if their role was affected by climate change. What did they learn overall from the activity? List of statements to read to the group. Who is vulnerable? 1. You receive or received a primary school education 2. You receive or received a secondary education www.woodcraft.org.uk
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3. You can afford to meet your basic needs 4. You are never short of food 5. You do not rely on good local weather for growing crops to make a living or have food to eat 6. You can afford to see a doctor and buy medicine when you have health problems 7. You have the power to influence people in your community 8. If there is an emergency the emergency services can come out and help you and your community 9. You have people who care about you and protect you 10. You have savings (i.e. money) 11. You don’t have to do dangerous things in order to survive 12. You can afford a place to live 13. You live in a sturdy house safe from bad weather 14. If you have a place to live, it is insured 15. You have good enough reading and writing skills to get a job that provides a regular salary if needed 16. If you lose your way of making an income, you can probably find another. Adapted from Oxfam resources
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Are the effects of climate change being felt evenly across the world? • What’s the connection between our lives and the people in Malawi? • Should we change our behaviour at all? Resources European Commission’s site on climate change www.climatechange.eu.com Young People’s Trust for the Environment www.ypte.org.uk Christian Aid – Policy papers on climate change. www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/policy/climate_change.aspx Cool Planet – Oxfam site for young people. www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/kidsweb/index.htm
Charity Aim To encourage young people to explore their beliefs, values and ethics and to introduce the topic of charity and world aid.
Warm up – World pledges (20 minutes) You will need Sticky notes, pens, flipchart and markers. How to do it Hand each young person a pen and five sticky notes. Ask; “If you had to design five pledges that everyone had to make to ensure a better world what would they be?” Allow a few minutes of thinking time and space for everyone to write down their ideas. Divide the group into groups of four and hand each group a flipchart sheet and a marker. Their task is to discuss the individual pledges suggested and agree five for the group. In turn, invite each group to share their world pledges, leading a round of applause after each turn. Display the pledge sheets around the room. Now pose these questions to the group • What would be the world benefits of people sticking to these pledges? • What would be the negatives? • How could the pledges be enforced? Encourage the young people to think of pledges that would mean individuals giving up something in order to benefit others. For example, increasing taxes in wealthier countries and giving the money raised to those either in other countries or at home with less. Then ask, “How likely is it that people would willingly do this?” Move on to ask the Venturers what they would be prepared to change to benefit others. Suggest that even small changes can add up if everyone does it. Agree one thing that each person will do to benefit others for a week. Stress that this should be something that is achievable. Review at the next session.
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Activity – Charity scatter (15 minutes)
Activity – Charity begins at home (30 minutes)
You will need Three sheets of flipchart paper headed, ‘Local charity’, ‘UK charity’ and ’Global charity’, sticky notes and markers.
CD
How to do it Divide the Venturers into three groups and hand each group a sheet of pre-headed flipchart paper and markers. Explain to the Venturers that they have 10 minutes to write down as many charities, causes, community groups or campaigns as possible that fit under the heading on their sheet. Explain that some may come under more than one heading, for example, Oxfam, while some might be local only, such as a Save Our Youth Club campaign.
How to do it Write the statement ‘Charity begins at home’ onto the flipchart in large letters. Ask the Venturers what they think this old saying means and how true they consider the statement to be. Start a short discussion that considers the true meaning of charity. Ask if people receiving charity should feel grateful. Next, divide the Venturers into small groups and hand each a set of the ‘Charity cards’. Explain that there are 14 cards, each with an outline of a charitable gesture on it. The task for each group is to discuss the cards and rank each one to form a ‘level of charity continuum’, placing the card that they consider the highest act of charity at one end, and the card they consider the least at the other.
Call time and invite each group to read out their findings, congratulating each one for their contribution and answering any questions raised. Was Woodcraft Folk mentioned? Next, still in their groups, invite the young people to highlight the charities that interest them most. The sticky notes can be used for individuals to write down why they are interested and should be stuck near to the name of the charity. Invite each group to call out their favourite charities and compile a list, placing a tick next to those mentioned more than once.
Allow up to 20 minutes for discussion and then go through the level of charity continuum, inviting a different group to share their decision first each time. After each round, invite comments and encourage discussion, especially where there is a difference of opinion among the groups. © Children and Young People Now
Suggest that most people’s interest in a charity or cause tends to fall under one of three headings: • Personal experience • Community • Personal values or beliefs.
Discussion (15 minutes)
Write these up and then invite the young people to read out their sticky notes before sticking them under the appropriate heading. For example, a commitment to a national cancer charity could be because of a relative’s ill health so should be placed under the ‘personal experience’ heading, campaigning to stop the closure of a local hospital is about ‘community’ and a belief that it is wrong to test on animals could be the reason why someone supports an animal rights charity. If there are any reasons that do not fit the headings, invite the young person to explain why that charity is important to them so that the idea is not lost. Conclude that people support charities for lots of different reasons, before moving onto the next exercise that considers the recipients of charity.
You will need The ‘Charity cards’ activity sheet from the CD, cut into individual cards - a set for each group of four young people, flipchart and marker.
Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Does true charity have to be completely selfless? • Is it charity if you are giving away something you don’t want? Or is it just recycling? • Can you enjoy being charitable? • What is the difference between charity and self-help? Resources Breakdown of charitable giving in the UK. www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/research/giving Barnardo’s – the UK’s leading children’s charity. www.barnardos.org.uk
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Activity – It’s not fair (15 minutes)
Charities Direct – provides links to UK charities and data and statistics on the sector. www.charitiesdirect.com
You will need Straws, string, sticky tape, paperclips, sticky tack, chocolate.
Trade
How to do it Divide into two uneven teams.
Aim To explore how countries depend on each other and explore the power balance in these relationships.
Give the smaller team 100 straws, string, sticky tape, 20 paperclips and sticky tack. The larger team get 30 straws, string and two paperclips. The smaller team have ten minutes and the larger team have seven minutes to make a self-standing tower. The team with the highest tower wins the chocolate.
Warm up – No country’s an island! (10 minutes) You will need Paper and pens.
Which team won? Why? How do the losing team feel? How do the winning team feel? What could the larger team have done about their conditions? How could the contest have been made fairer?
How to do it Ask everyone in the group to write a basic outline of his or her day (get dressed, travel, eat, etc) before reading this story ...
Activity – A fair share? (50 minutes)
‘Britain doesn’t need anyone else,’ a man said angrily to his radio (invented by a Russian, an Italian and a Croatian) as it broadcast a programme on world unity. CD
The angry man had just had a wash (with soap – invented by ancient Gauls from Europe), checked his hair in a mirror (that originated in Egypt) and put on a tie (that evolved from seventh-century Croatian shawls). He was tucking into a hearty English breakfast (made with Danish bacon) at his table covered with a cloth made from Ugandan cotton. After a cup of Indian tea, he looked at his clock (invented in Germany) and rushed out of the door. He bought a newspaper (created using the German process of printing) and as he read about what the rest of the world was up to (in English – a language based on Arabic characters, on paper invented by the Chinese) he thanked a Hebrew God for making him 100 per cent (percentage being a system invented by the Greeks) British.’ Lead a discussion around the following questions: • How do people’s daily routines depend on other countries? • Encourage people to think beyond the examples in the story – did they listen to music from another country today? • What products in the story are a result of trade (rather than invention)? • What does this show about global trade?
You will need The ‘Cocoa-trading chain’ activity sheet from the CD – cut into individual roles, a chocolate bar, paper and pens. How to do it Assign everyone in the group a role in the cocoa-trading chain. Discuss what might happen at each stage in the production of chocolate. Ask each group to discuss their role and decide how much of the cost of a chocolate bar (£1) should come to them. Each group then presents their suggestions. Add up the total. The total is likely to exceed £1, in which case each group should rethink their costs and suggest another figure. Give them the actual amounts and discuss how each group feels about their amount. Is it fair? The group could draw a diagram of a chocolate bar, and divide it according to the above figures, using percentages. In reality, the roles of cocoa buyer, importer and
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Co-operatives and Ethical Business
chocolate company are often carried out by one company, which means that it gets even more of the price of the chocolate bar.
Aim To encourage the Venturers to work together and build co-operation and communication skills as they work together to achieve a task.
It is also important to note that the last four stages of the chain, the most profitable, are usually carried out in manufacturing countries, which means that an even higher proportion of the money goes to those countries that are already rich. Actual amounts Farmer 8p Cocoa buyers 7p Importer 14p Chocolate company 28p Shops 28p Government 15p Source: Dave Richards and Chris Blythe, X-changing the World, Reading International Solidarity Centre, 1997. © Christian Aid, 2008
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Do you often think about where your food comes from? Should we? • How did you feel when you were treated unfairly? • How can we make world trade fairer? As individuals, as a group, as a country? Resources Dubble chocolate company www.dubble.co.uk Christian Aid resources www.christianaid.org.uk/learn
Warm-up – Co-operation cards (15 minutes) CD
You will need A copy of the ‘Co-operation cards’ activity sheet from the CD - cut into individual cards, prop box (optional). How to do it Ask the young people to choose a partner to work with. Explain that for this game they are going to work together as one person. To do this, one person (A) stands with their hands behind their back, whilst the other (B) stands behind, slipping their own arms under the first person’s arms. Explain that the person who has their arms behind their back must be the ‘brain’ that works the arms of the other person, so that they operate as one person. Allow some practice time so that people can get used to directing their partners arms and hands to perform small tasks, e.g. touching their toes, plaiting their hair, picking up objects etc. Now, hand person (A) one of the Co-operation cards, which they must not show person (B). In turn invite each pair to role-play their situation with person (A) directing person (B) as before. As soon as person (B) can guess what it is they are doing they should shout out, and then continue to develop the scene for a few minutes longer. Lead a round of applause after each round. Review the activity by reflecting on the main skills necessary for the exercise to work: • Listening skills • Clear direction • Working together Conclude that the task could not have been done without co-operation from both partners.
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Activity – Start a business for a better world (60 minutes)
Democracy
How to do it Ask the young people to split into groups of 4 or 5. Each group will become an enterprise developing a business idea which they will come up with themselves. This can be either a product or a service. Ask the young people to consider their triple bottom line, which is how their idea will impact on Profit, People, and the Planet.
Aim To explore the subject of democracy and consider the systems of democracy which we use in the UK.
They should think about the following questions: • How will this product/service make money? • How will we advertise this product/service? • Is this something people need or just want? • Are there any harmful aspects to this product/service for people or the planet? • How will our enterprise impact on the planet? How can we limit the negative impacts? • Who will make the product/provide the service? • What will we do with the profits? Each group should then present their idea to the rest of the group, with an explanation of how they made their decisions and how they have dealt with the issues that have arisen.
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Are making profit and caring for people and the planet incompatible? • How did your group make decisions? Would this be the way things would work in most businesses? • Do the ethics of a company affect your own decisions as a consumer? Resources The Co-operative Group – The UK’s largest mutual business. www.co-operative.coop Ethical Business Guide www.thegoodfolk.co.uk/The_Ethical_Business_Guide.pdf
Warm up – Democracy in action (10 minutes) How to do it Suggest two games to the group and ask them to put up their hands to decide which they want to play. Introduce the theme – democracy in action! Play the game.
Activity – Value line (15 minutes) You will need Masking tape. A range of statements such as ‘School holidays are too short’, ‘War is never justified’, ‘Young people are listened to in Woodcraft Folk’, ‘Eating meat is wrong’, ‘Girls are better at English than boys’ and ‘Young people have an easy life compared to previous generations’. Sheets of paper marked with ‘Strongly agree’ and ‘Strongly disagree’. How to do it Stick a length of masking tape along the floor and mark one end with strongly agree and the other with strongly disagree. Invite someone to read out one of the statements and ask everyone else to stand somewhere along the line, corresponding to how they feel about the statement. You could either use your pre-prepared statements or ask the Venturers to write down their own suggestions before doing the activity. Encourage everyone to explain why they are standing where they are. If some members of the group are quieter than others, you could ask everyone to discuss why they are there in small groups standing near each other first, and then to share with the whole group.
Young Ethical Pioneers – Site dedicated to young ethical entrepreneurs. www.youngpioneers.org.uk
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Activity – Referendum and alternative voting (50 minutes) You will you need Pre-prepared voter registration cards with the names of everyone in the group on Voter registration list,2 sets of pre-prepared ballot papers (one for a yes/no referendum vote and one for an AV vote on a topic of your choice - see below), pencils, polling booths (use chairs turned away to create some privacy), ballot box (you could use an A4 printer paper box with a slot in the lid and ‘Ballot box’ stuck on the sides), instructions on how the AV voting system works (see resources). How to do it Ask the group to tell each other what a referendum is. Ask them if they are aware of any recent or upcoming referendums; e.g. AV referendum, referendum on Scottish independence. Explain that you are going to have a mock referendum and together decide on a topical question. For example: Should the UK stay in the European Union? Should we re-introduce the death penalty? Appoint a Returning Officer. Give everyone their voter registration cards and ballot papers. Take turns to go into the polling booths, vote, and put the papers into ballot box. Ask the Returning Officer to count the votes and announce the result. Facilitate a discussion: • What do you think about this method of voting? • Would you have liked a chance to discuss it before voting? • How are the results of referenda used? • How would you feel if something you didn’t agree with changed as a result of such a referendum? Prepare a second ballot paper in advance on a topic of your choice with at least 3 options to vote on. For example, this could be ‘What political party will you vote for?’ or ‘What activity would you like to do as a Venturer group evening out’? Introduce some different voting systems such as Alternative Vote (AV), First-pastthe-post and Proportional Representation (PR). Explain what systems are used in the different UK elections. Explain that you are now going to have an election using the AV system.
the ballot box. Ask the Returning Officer to count the votes and announce the result.
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • How did the voting methods work? • What different methods of voting do we have for different elections? • Did some seem fairer than others? • Were some more complicated than others? • What features did we have and why? (For example secret ballot, polling booths, Returning Officer etc) • How do we protect voting rights and voters? • Does that happen in other countries? • Will you vote once you’re 18? • What age do you think people should get to vote? Resources A-Z of voting systems www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems Information about the different voting systems used in UK elections. www.electoralcommission.org.uk/elections/voting-systems Voter turn-out for General Elections from 1945-2010. www.ukpolitical.info/Turnout45.htm
Fair Trade Aim To establish the ideas of fair and unfair and to encourage action to promote the availability of Fairtrade products.
Warm-up – Unfair football (10 minutes) You will need A ball, something to act as goal posts, a whistle.
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How to do it Ask the group to get into teams, with one team having half the number of people. Start a game of football with a leader acting as referee. Ensure the referee makes several unfair calls in favour of the team with the larger number of players. After the game, ask the players in the smaller team how they feel.
Activity – Writing to supermarkets (60 minutes) You will need A product with the Fairtrade mark displayed on it, flipchart, paper, pens, envelopes, stamps. How to do it Show the product with the Fairtrade mark and ask the group what the mark is and what fair trade is all about. The young people may have a fairly good understanding of this, but note the key points that they make on a flipchart so that those who are not as aware of fair trade have something to refer to. Ask the Venturers to choose a supermarket to write to, asking them about their policy on fair trade and encouraging them to stock more Fairtrade products. The Venturers should be supported in choosing their own wording, rather than working from a template. Be careful not to pressure any of the young people into writing letters if they do not feel comfortable. They could, instead, write a short story about fair trade to share with the other young people. Addresses for supermarkets: • Sainsburys Plc, 33 Holborn, High Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT. • Customer Service Department, Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, Hilmore House, Gain Lane, Bradford, BD3 7DL. • Customer Services Department, Asda House, Southbank Great Wilson Street, Leeds, LS11 5AD. • Customer Service, The Co-operative Group, New Century House, Corporation Street, Manchester, M60 4ES. • Waitrose Customer Sales and Support team, Waitrose Limited, Doncastle Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YA. • Aldi Stores, Holly Lane, Atherstone, Warwickshire, CV9 2S. • Tesco Stores Ltd, New Tesco House, Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9SL. • Lidl UK GmbH, 19 Worple Road, London, SW19 4JS.
Discussion – (20 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • What do you think are the barriers to people buying Fairtrade products? • Do you think there’s any conflict between buying Fairtrade products and products that have been locally produced? • Why do you think that all products are not fairly traded? Encourage the young people to bring in and share any responses they receive. Resources Fairtrade Foundation – Organisation which promotes Fairtrade and awards the Fairtrade mark. www.fairtrade.org.uk Young Co-operatives – Helps schools run co-operative and fair trade enterprises. http://youngco-operatives.coop People and Planet – Organisation for teenagers and young adults, taking action on world poverty and the environment. www.peopleandplanet.org Bonkers About Bananas – Oxfam site on bananas and Fairtrade. www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/kidsweb/banana/index.htm
Poverty and Inequality (Global) Aim To explore the issue of global poverty and injustice and to encourage young people to think about the nature of poverty. Background Millennium Development Goal 1 – To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Target – Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day. Target – Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. Today 1.2 billion people around the world live on less than $1 a day, while almost 850 million go hungry every night. The greatest number of poor people live in South
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Asia, but the proportion is highest in sub-Saharan Africa, where over 40% of the population continues to live on one dollar a day or less. In fact, the number of poor people in this region has actually increased over the years. The main aim of the first Millennium Development Goal is to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty from 1990 levels by 2015. While this will not mean a complete eradication of poverty, it will bring the world closer to a stage where all its people will have at least the minimum necessary to feed and clothe themselves. The proportion of people living in extreme poverty worldwide fell from nearly a third to less than a fifth between 1990 and 2004. If this trend is sustained, the MDG poverty reduction target will be met for the world as a whole and for most regions. However, sub-Saharan Africa is not on track to reach the target. It is vital that the world community works together to reduce poverty and so meet people’s basic needs. Much could be achieved by reforming international trade, so that developing countries receive fair prices for their goods. Halting climate change will also be essential if the progress that has been achieved worldwide is not to be wiped out by floods, droughts and food shortages. In a world in which many people are better off than ever before, it is unacceptable that so many others should be struggling to survive.
Warm up – Living on one dollar (50p) a day (20 minutes) You will need Flipchart paper and pens. How to do it 1. Ask the young people what people need in order to live, and write their answers on the flipchart. When they make suggestions such as ‘food’ or ‘clothes’, ask them further questions to encourage them to think more deeply. How much food? What kind of food? How often?
Encourage them to think more broadly than just food and clothes. What would happen if they fell ill? What would happen if they were too cold?
2. Explain that more than a billion people in the world (roughly one-and-a-half times the population of Europe) live on less than 50p a day. In order to help them understand what this means, give some examples: • In Tanzania, £2.50 (50p per person in a family of five) would buy enough maize meal, vegetables, tomatoes and onion for a one meal.
• In Peru, £2.50 would buy food for a family of five for one day: one kilo of chicken, two kilos of potatoes, and enough bread for breakfast and an evening meal. • How much food would 50p buy in the UK? 3. Use the list below to check that all the things that people need have been listed, and ask the Venturers to rank them, with 1 being the most important and so on. Compare their answers. • Money for rent or mortgage (if they are renting or buying a house). • Money to pay off existing debts (if they have any). • Clothes for the family (apart from protection from the weather and decency, people need proper clothes for work, for example). • Repairs to the house or to things in it (the house might leak when it rains). • Gas, electricity or fuel for cooking and heating (most food needs to be cooked and people living in cooler climates need to keep warm). • Water (most people have to pay water companies for providing water). • Money for school fees (in some countries there is no free state education). • Transport (people might need to take goods to the market or travel to other towns to work). • Medicines, doctors, clinics and hospitals (most countries do not provide these for free). 4. Explain that on 50p a day many of these things could not be paid for. Ask the young people to work in groups and to decide what they would do without and why. 5. On a large piece of paper, they should create a ‘consequences chain’ showing what would be the result of going without these things. For example: We couldn’t afford to repair the house
The roof might leak
Members of our family might catch cold and become ill
6. Display the consequences chains for other groups to see. © Oxfam GB 2010
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Activity – Poverty connections (30 minutes) CD
to consider what would be the lowest amount that someone could live on in the UK. They should consider what they learnt from the previous activities and justify the amount they decide on.
You will need Copies of the ‘Poverty connections statements’ activity sheet from the CD - cut into individual statements - enough sets for each group of four, a large sheet of paper, some glue and some felt-tip pens for each group.
Give out the activity sheet, ‘How many people are poor?’ and ask them to look at the definitions of absolute and relative poverty. Relate them to the discussions you have just had. Perhaps as a group you could rewrite the definitions in your own words.
How to do it Ask the groups to read through the statements together and discuss in their groups how each statement is connected to the others.
Ask the Venturers to work in groups of no more than four and to decide whether they agree (or how far they agree) with the following statements, using the definitions and statistics to inform their discussions: • Poverty has nothing to do with money. • Poverty can mean something different in different circumstances. • Poverty is about not having any control over your life. • You cannot be happy and poor at the same time. • The UK is a wealthy country. That means that no one here is poor.
Ask them to put the ‘Poverty’ statement at the top of their large sheet of paper and to arrange the other statements underneath it so as to show how each condition is connected to or caused by another. When they agree on where to put the statements, they can glue them down. They should now draw arrows from the ‘Poverty’ statement and from one statement to another to show how they are all related. Ask one or two groups to feed back on their discussions. Discuss what steps would have to be taken to break the cycle (eg programmes of free healthcare, funding for education). What are some of the factors that contribute to poverty (eg war; lack of jobs or land; people unable to sell their produce for a fair price; poor transport; lack of services such as health care; extreme weather conditions caused by climate change … etc.)? © Oxfam GB 2010
Activity – What is poverty? (20 minutes) CD
You will need Copies of the ‘How many people are poor?’ activity sheet from the CD for each Venturer. How to do it Ask the group, as individuals, to consider whether they feel they are rich or poor, but do not ask them to share their thoughts on this as there may be a wide disparity of income within the group. Ask them whether, in doing so, they thought about whether they were richer or poorer than other people. Are any of them as rich as well-known sports stars or pop stars?
Ask the small groups to feed back to the whole group. Did most groups have the same views? © Oxfam GB 2010
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion to include the following: • What can we do to end extreme poverty and hunger? • Why do so many people live in poverty? What do you think are the causes? • Are any of you willing to try to live on 50p a day for the next week and report back? Resources War on Want – International anti-poverty campaigning organisation. www.waronwant.org Save the Children www.savethechildren.org.uk Oxfam – Charity fighting global poverty. www.oxfam.org.uk
Tell them that 1.2 billion people live on less than 50p a day. 50p (or one dollar) represents the minimum standard of living in the poorest countries. Ask the group
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Power and Powerlessness Aim To explore power dynamics both within the group and in the world.
Warm-up – Influence line (10 minutes) How to do it Ask everyone in the room to put themselves in a single file line that stretches from the person who feels he or she has the most influence in the group to the person who expresses a feeling of having the least influence. Explain that this must be done silently: participants are not to talk or compare notes. They are doing this on their own perception of their influence, not anyone else’s. When participants are in a single-file line, have the group count themselves off, from one to whatever number of participants there are, beginning with the person who is in the ‘most influence’ position. Ask a series of discussion questions: • How did it feel to do this activity? • How did it feel to be at one end of the line or the other? How about the middle? • What did you notice when everyone lined up? • Think about another group you’re involved in: How would that group line up? Where would the adults be standing? Where would the young people be? • What do you think made different people stand in different places? • What would you most like to remember about this activity?
Activity – Having a voice (30 minutes) You will need Sheets of newspaper for making the aeroplanes, paperclips, glue, scissors, slips of paper to determine the roles of participants. How to do it The Venturers should divide into groups of 4 or 6. The task assigned is to design the most effective paper aeroplane possible. Members of the group should try out various designs, decide on modifications and settle on their preferred option. However, half of the group are not allowed to speak or to communicate with the others by writing down their opinions, though they can still try to influence what happens in their group. Those not allowed to communicate should be decided at random through slips of paper which either state ‘You have a voice’ or ‘You do not
have a voice’. After 10 minutes or so swap over the roles, so that those who could speak before, no longer can and vice versa. At the end of the activity, the young people should be asked to describe how it felt to be without a voice. All the aeroplanes should also be tried out.
Activity – Influencers (40 minutes) You will need Paper for all the young people, pens, a flipchart and marker pen. How to do it Ask the Venturers to take a sheet of paper each, draw a line down the middle and write down two headings, ‘I Can Influence …’ and ‘I Can’t Influence’. Ask them to write down a list of situations or people they feel they have influence over and a list of situations or people they don’t feel they can influence. They could be encouraged to consider how they use their money, in addition to being able to influence people through what they say. Bring everyone back together and ask them to share one item from each of their two lists. Encourage a discussion over whether they really have no influence over the second group. For example, if they have listed a situation such as famine or poverty, there are ways they can influence this, for example, by writing to their MP or by contributing to appeals. Then ask the Venturers to break into groups and note down the ways that the UK has influence over situations and people across the world. Ask them to consider both positive and negative influences. If they get stuck, encourage them to think about the UK having a voice in deciding trade rules, the armed forces and international aid. Come back together and note down these types of influence on the flipchart. Discuss whether they feel our influence is always used positively currently and whether we use our influence to help others or for our own advantage and whether this is right or wrong. Finally, ask the group to each write on the flipchart one positive way they can influence others, whether in their family, at school or in the wider world.
Discussion (10 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which considers the following: • Does every country in the world have a similar amount of influence? Why?
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• Are there ways we can increase our influence over situations and people? • Do we want to be able to influence things? • How can we ensure everyone feels powerful in this group? Resources Wealth, Inequality and Power – Key facts, charts and maps about the distribution of wealth around the world. www.theglobaleducationproject.org/earth/wealth.php
Refugees and Asylum Seekers Aim To explore the topic of asylum and generate an understanding of some of the reasons why people are forced to seek asylum.
Warm-up – It (10 minutes) How to do it One person is ‘It’. ‘It’ chases the other young people. If they are caught they have to stand still with their arms straight out. Other players can rescue the stuck player, by running under their stretched-out arm. Change over the person who is ‘It’ regularly.
Activity – Time to flee (60 minutes) You will need Copies of the anonymous note – which you should prepare using the description given in ‘Three Days Ago’ (see right-hand column), paper and pens to note down the items to take with the family. How to do it Divide the group into groups of five or six. Read the story below imagining you are a member of the family explaining what happened. You should consider whether this activity could act as a trigger for any young people in your group who are asylum seekers or refugees.
Setting the scene Dad works as a journalist on the local newspaper. Mum is a mechanic. They have recently had a baby. They have a boy and a girl at school. Granny is in a wheelchair and house-bound since her stroke. Uncle Ali, who is very religious, was a political prisoner for a number of years. He walks with difficulty and a limp since prison. Mum and Dad have an old car. Dad has been a leading figure in the local journalists’ trade union. The situation in the country has been changing quite dramatically recently. Two months ago A military coup took place. There was a lot of gunfire on the streets. Tanks and armoured cars were everywhere. A lot of people were killed and others arrested. A curfew has been imposed and everyone must now stay indoors after dark. The military rulers have taken over the TV and radio. It is very hard to know what is really going on. A month ago Dad was told that the new military rulers had arrested a number of people. Others, including religious figures, politicians, writers and trade unionists, have simply ‘gone missing’. Nobody knows where they are. A fortnight ago An article appeared in a local newspaper (which supported the military coup). Underneath a drawing of a skull and coffin was a long list of people in the town that it said were enemies of the state. Both Dad’s name and Uncle Ali’s appeared on this list. It was signed: ‘Friends of the Motherland’. Last week Soldiers came to the school looking for the dinner lady’s husband. He was not there. So they took away the dinner lady and her children instead. Four days ago It was announced that several trade unions, including the journalists’ union, had been banned. Three days ago A note (you pass out copies of the sample) was pushed through the door of the family home. It was made of letters cut out of newspapers. It said Dad was ‘a spy and an enemy agent’ and that ‘his days are numbered’. There was a drawing of a coffin and a skull, a noose and a gun. It was signed ‘Friends of the Motherland’. Two days ago Someone rang up Uncle Ali and told him he’d better get out, as some people were planning to set the house on fire.
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Yesterday Some children at the school said that snatch squads of soldiers had been searching the streets in a nearby neighbourhood and arresting people, including some members of Dad’s trade union.
too, saying they may well prove useful in your investigations. If they cannot provide any proof for their story, send them back as ‘failed asylum seekers’. © Amnesty International
Today There has been the sound of gunfire in the main square and trucks full of military have been arriving in front of the Town Hall. There are roadblocks stopping all cars. All trains are being searched.
Discussion (20 minutes)
The family meets together for a hurried discussion. What are they going to do? Dad says the family should flee, and seek political asylum abroad as refugees. It is under an hour to the border by car, but that journey would be very risky. By foot would mean a whole week’s journey through the desert and then the high forest across dangerous country to the frontier. Now they hear the military are starting to search their street. They have 10 minutes to make their minds up, get organised and get out. Decisions 1. Who is to go? Each group must decide who should go, and who should be left behind or sent off to relatives, or hidden somewhere. Should they take Mum, Dad, the baby, Uncle Ali, Granny, the children? Ask each group to feed back their decision and discuss. 2. What should they take with them? Each group must make a list of the 10 most important things to take with them to get across the border to claim asylum as refugees. When everyone is agreed, they write the list down or draw pictures of the chosen items on the sheet of paper. Groups then report back on who they decided should go and what was on their lists. Tell the group that after a long, difficult and frightening journey, tired and hungry, they arrive at the border. The leader now takes on the role of an Immigration Officer at Passport Control. Ask the Venturers who they are and what they are doing here. When they say they are in danger and need a place of safety in your country, ask them to tell you what happened. Tell them their story sounds improbable and you suspect they are bogus. Do they have any proof for this story in their bags? Evidence could include Dad’s union card, the anonymous death threat and the newspaper article. Ask them to unpack their bags. If any of them have listed a weapon among their 10 things, ask what they intend to do with it and ask if they are terrorists! Confiscate the weapons. If they have brought family photographs, confiscate them
Facilitate a discussion including the following: • What do you think are the causes of people becoming asylum seekers? • How would you feel in the shoes of the family above, arriving in a new country? • What do you think would be the hardest thing about being an asylum seeker? What problems would you face? • What can we do to address the problems faced by asylum seekers? Resources Refugee Council – Offers advice and support to asylum seekers and refugees. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk Amnesty International – Campaigns for human rights worldwide. www.amnesty.org.uk
Sweatshops Aim To introduce key issues in the global garment industry and encourage young people to consider their views and feelings on the subject.
Warm up – Agree/disagree (15 minutes) You will need Two signs; one that reads ‘I Agree’ and one that reads ‘I Disagree’. How to do it Clear space in the room so that everyone can move from one side of the room to the other. Stick a piece of paper on one wall saying ‘I agree’, and ‘I disagree’ on the opposite wall. Read one of the statements. Statements vary in their complexity so choose ones that suit the group. www.woodcraft.org.uk page 43
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Ask the group to listen to the statements and then move towards one or other sides of the room depending on how strongly or not they agree with the statement. If they are very close to one wall, this is an indication they feel strongly about the statement. The further they move towards the middle of the room indicates they feel less strongly. Those who are undecided can stay in the middle of the room. Draw out why the group either agree or disagree with the statements. Try to ensure that all participants have a chance to share their opinions during this exercise. Participants can move towards one side of the room or the other as they listen to the arguments put forward by other participants. It is important not to judge participants’ responses but allow them to explore the issues. Repeat with a different statement. Four or five statements are usually sufficient. Do adapt or add your own statements as appropriate for the group. Suggested statements (you can add your own or adapt these): • Workers in the garment industry should be grateful for the jobs fashion companies provide. • I would pay more for my clothes if the workers got a better wage. • Homeworking is better for women than working in a factory. • Low pay is fine for workers in developing countries because the cost of living is lower there. • If children are found working in a factory, the factory should be closed. • Trade unions are a bad influence on workers and simply cause trouble. • It is entirely companies’ responsibility to make sure that the workers who make their clothes are treated fairly. • It is better to buy clothes made in Britain because it protects British jobs. • It is better to buy garments from China because it creates jobs for Chinese people. • The workers who make clothes really do not worry me. • My concern is that I look good and can afford to buy the latest fashion. • It is better to buy clothes from independent retailers than from high street chains.
Activity – Working 9 til 5 (60 minutes) CD
You will need A copy of the ‘Instructions for the supervisor’ activity sheet from the CD, for each group (groups should be of at least 6): A copy of the ‘Instructions for workers 1-12’ activity sheet from the CD, approximately 20 sheets of A5 paper, a packet of selfadhesive dots, 2 pairs of scissors, 4 rulers and 10 pencils.
Background In order to manufacture a shirt, many steps are required. In garment factories, these steps are carried out by several workers. No-one produces a whole shirt from beginning to end but instead spends all day sewing cuffs to sleeves, or waistbands to skirts or trousers, or hemming individual parts, etc. This division of labour considerably reduces the manufacturing time of a shirt – but makes the seamstresses’ work more monotonous. Workers are under time pressure as well. Completion of a certain number of pieces each day is expected to ensure future contracts. Workers are often paid by piece rather than by hour – this can result in very low pay or very long working hours to reach a minimum salary. To compound matters, the workers deal with a constant strain on the eyes and a continuous irritation of the respiratory organs caused by dust and fluff, as well as back problems. Through this activity, different steps on an assembly line are playfully illustrated by ‘manufacturing’ a shirt through folding, cutting, etc. Group members, one after another, carry out the task they are assigned to produce as many high-quality shirts as possible in the time available, in competition with other groups. The ‘supervisor’ is responsible for quality control, as well as maintaining pressure on the workers to complete the orders in time. How to do it 1. Brief the group on the background and explain the task. 2. Go through the manufacture of a shirt step by step with the whole group. 3. Form groups of at least 6 people and assign tasks (if there are fewer than 12 in a group, allocate more than one task per person). A Venturer may like to take on the role of the supervisor. 4. Work on the task for around 30 minutes. ©Sustainable Fashion: A Handbook for Educators Edited by Liz Parker on behalf of Fashioning an Ethical Industry, UK, and Marsha A. Dickson on behalf of Educators for Socially Responsible Apparel Business, USA.
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes: • How did you feel during the exercise? • How did you feel about the working situation, your colleagues, and the supervisor? • Did you enjoy your ‘work’? • Does thinking about how clothes are made influence your shopping habits?
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Resources Fashioning an Ethical Industry have produced over twenty factsheets and frequently asked questions that help to stimulate discussions. http://fashioninganethicalindustry.org/resources/factsheets An education lab for socially responsible fashion design. www.socialalterations.com Organisation campaigning for better conditions for workers. www.labourbehindthelabel.org
Water Aim To encourage Venturers to consider the issues which impact on access to clean, safe water.
Warm up – Sharks (10 minutes) How to do it One person is the shark and everyone else stands against one wall. The aim is to get to the opposite wall without being tagged. If you are tagged you become a shark. The game goes on until everyone has become a shark.
Activity – Water vulnerability (45 minutes) CD
You will need A copy of the ‘Water vulnerability: roles’ activity sheet from the CD – cut into individual roles, a world map, paper and pens. How to do it Young people are given a particular role to consider, eg ‘a grandmother living in a displacement camp in DR Congo’. It would be useful for them to be able to locate their country on a world map but it is not necessary for them to research their role in advance of playing the game. Rather, they should use their existing knowledge and understanding of global affairs to justify the decisions they make.
You can use the sheet of character cards to provide people with a wide range of different roles from around the world. Depending on the size of your group, you may wish to divide into groups and give each group one character card to consider. You should allow some time for the Venturers to think about or discuss the character they have been given. This would be a good time for them to ask you any general questions, such as where their country is located. You should ask everyone to imagine the daily life of their character, and they might want to assign them a name. Then, ask each person to introduce themselves, in character, and tell the rest of the group a bit about what they imagine their life to be like and the things they might do in a typical day. Line everyone up against a wall, so that there is space for them to walk forwards. If space is limited, you may want each group to choose one member to represent them. Explain that you are going to read a set of statements about water. For each statement, people should take a step forwards if they think the statement applies to them, or stay where they are if they don’t. Read out each statement in turn from the list of statements below, giving people time to make their decision. Water Vulnerability: Statements 1. You have running water in your house. 2. You know where to find safe drinking water whenever you need it. 3. You can expect rain to fall regularly. 4. When there is a lack of rain you can find water for your crops. 5. You understand how to use good hygiene practises. 6. You are able to find and use toilets and sanitation facilities. 7. You have access to containers to store and transport water. 8. Your house has working pipes and drains. 9. You do not worry that conflict will force you to move to an area with less water. 10. You do not worry that factories put rubbish or toxic waste in nearby rivers or lakes. 11. You do not worry that your home will be flooded. 12. You can rely on your government to help you if floods hit your home. 13. Your government is working on making sure that your water supply is safe and easy to use. 14. You have regular access to soap for personal and home hygiene. 15. You do not worry about falling ill from diseases carried by water (such as diarrhoea).
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You may need to expand upon some of the more difficult statements.
Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle
If people have questions about their character or are unsure about how they should respond to a statement, they should make a reasoned guess. It is better to leave all discussion until after the exercise. You may want to stress that the activity is not a competition or a race, and it might also be useful to demonstrate an appropriate step size!
Aim To raise issues of sustainability and increase understanding of our own consumption.
By the end of the activity the group should be spaced out across the room. This spacing should be used as a starting point for a discussion on who is most ‘water vulnerable’. It’s important that each person remember where their characters ‘ended up’ but you may find it difficult to conduct a discussion while they’re all still standing. One idea would be to draw a line on a large piece of paper and get each person to come up and mark their final position on the line with a short description of their character. ©Adapted from an Oxfam resource
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Who has moved the most? Why? • Are all the characters equal? • Who has the most power? • Which characters live in poverty? • What are the causes of water vulnerability? • What might you do to help? Resources Water Aid – Learning section providing information on issues related to water. www.wateraid.org/uk/learn_zone Oxfam – Information on Oxfam’s Water Week. www.oxfam.org.uk/Waterweek
Warm-up – Reduce, re-use, recycle quiz (15 minutes) CD
You will need Copies of the ‘Reduce, re-use, recycle quiz’ activity sheet from the CD, pens. How to do it Hand out copies of the quiz. Once they have been filled in, the leader can go through the answers, discussing each one. Quiz answers: 1 B – Dirt is not a main component of glass bottles. 2 C – It takes an average aluminium can between 80 and 100 years to decompose. 3 B – 17 trees are saved by every tonne of existing paper that is recycled. 4 A – Recycling an aluminium can saves enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours. 5 D – Perfume is not a source of energy in the UK. 6 A – Blue is not a common colour by which glass is sorted for recycling. 7 C – Recycling 2 glass bottles saves enough energy to boil 5 cups of tea. 8 A – Most of the energy used on Earth originally came from the Sun. 9 D – Leaving lights on in rooms you are moving between does not save energy. 10 D – The wind around the UK coasts could meet three times the UK’s energy needs if it was harnessed for energy. © Children and Young People Now
Activity – A swap shop party (60 minutes) You will need The week before ask everyone to bring some old clothes, CDs and other things that they would like to swap, some party refreshments, a couple of tables. How to do it The week before, invite everyone to bring one or two items of wearable clothes they
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either don’t like or don’t need anymore, or some games they don’t play with any more. Encourage the young people to be creative – check for CDs or DVDs they don’t use any more as well.
the food should be ingredients for a cake. For example, the person at the front of the line would be flour, the second in each team would be eggs and so on depending on how many you have in each group. The leader then calls out, “Granny Smith went to the shops and there she bought some….” and names one, or several, of the ingredients. The ingredient(s) named must run up to the front of the room, touch the wall, then run to the back of the room and touch that wall, then sit back down in their place. When the leader says “…and there she bought some cake”, all the Venturers must get up, run and sit back down.
Everyone brings their items and lays them out on a table. Try and create a relaxed party atmosphere with some soft drinks and nibbles. Everyone can have a look at all the items and then agree a time when people can choose an item they would like. Repeat this until everyone has chosen as much as they would like. Discuss as a group what they want to do with the remaining items – which charity shop do they want to donate to, or do they want to hold their own jumble sale or do they think any of the leftover items could be customised or altered?
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • What items other than clothes could we re-use? • What other contributions can we make as individuals towards reducing our consumption? What changes can we make as a group? Resources Reduce, Re-use, Recycle – Guide to recycling. www.recycling-guide.org.uk/rrr.html Fun green sites for young people. www.reducereuserecycle.co.uk/greendirectory/kids_green_sites.php
Food Aim To consider where our food comes from and the consequences and impact of our choices around food.
Warm-up – Cake (15 minutes) How to do it Ask the Venturers to divide into several even teams and sit in a line in their team. When they have done so, each member of the team should be labelled a food. All
Activity – Country of origin (50 minutes) CD
You will need 3 sets of the ‘World food cards’ activity sheet from the CD - cut into individual cards, 3 world maps, sticky tack, pens and paper (per group). How to do it Start the session by asking each person to say what their favourite food is, concluding that we all like different things and that the variety and choice available is almost limitless. Point out that this is a relatively new thing and that even twenty years ago the range of takeaways, restaurants and world food available in supermarkets was much more limited. Food travels the globe every day to satisfy consumer’s demands. Suggest that although in the UK we do produce our own food, most consumers expect to be able to eat fruit and vegetables all year around, regardless of the season, and so much of our food is imported. For example, explain that the reason that satsumas and oranges used to be a Christmas stocking treat was that the fruits were only available at certain times of the year. World export links and better food storage has resulted in wider choice all year around. Divide the group into 3 teams and issue each team a set of food cards and a map. Introduce the map and the game by explaining that each team has up to 15 minutes to place the food cards on the country of origin. Go through the answers (given below) awarding one point for each correct one. The team with the most points wins. Answers 1. Mexico supplies strawberries to the UK out of season. These travel up to 5,000 miles. 2. California supplies Europe with oranges when out of season in Europe. 3. Each year 60,000 tons of bananas are exported from the West Indies to UK and Europe. 4. Argentina supplies beef for hamburgers, travelling 7,000 miles to get there.
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5. 6. 7. 8.
The climate in South Africa means that they can supply apples all year around. Cocoa beans for chocolate and palm oil are imported from Central Africa. Spain supplies fruit and vegetables, including tomatoes to the UK all year round. Exporting lamb from New Zealand is a big part of their economy.
Information from www.climatechoices.org.uk Make a list of foods that grow in the UK. Ask the groups to design a recipe using only food that is grown in the UK. Encourage the group to try out these recipes at home.
Discussion (20 minutes) Facilitate a discussion that looks at both the pros and the cons of transporting food around the world: • Is it consumers demanding food, or is it supermarkets leading consumers? • How different would our diets be if we ate only local food? • What are the ethics of Fairtrade products vs. local produce? • What are the disadvantages of buying local produce? • Is it more ecologically sustainable to grow tomatoes in Spain and ship them here or to heat polytunnels in this country? Resources Article on the trade-off between organic food and air miles. www.guardian.co.uk/environment/ethicallivingblog/2007/sep/06/ areairmilesandorganicinco Soil Association – A membership charity campaigning for planet-friendly organic food and farming. www.soilassociation.org Eat the Seasons – Gives information on which foods are available in which Season in the UK. http://eattheseasons.co.uk
Human Rights Aim To consider what human rights are, how people can be deprived of them and encourage discussion of whether some rights can conflict. Background The leader may want to summarise the background to the Convention on Human Rights before starting this session. In April 1945, after the horrors of World War II, delegates from 48 states (countries) gathered to establish the United Nations (UN) through a charter. The UN was established to stop wars between countries and to provide a platform for dialogue. Some of the so-called ‘Great Powers’ in the post-war period were not interested in discussing human rights. They did not think other countries (or ‘the international community’) should interfere in how a state treated its own citizens. They thought these issues should remain as their own business. However some smaller countries, with the help of the United States, succeeded after some struggle in inserting the term ‘human rights’ into the UN Charter’s general statement of purpose. According to its Charter, the main objectives of the UN are ‘to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’ and ‘to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights’. But the document did not say what those human rights were, and whether they could be acceptable to all nations. The Human Rights Commission was established to develop a document outlining the human rights that everyone should have anywhere in the world: The Commission was led by Eleanor Roosevelt and included a group of respected lawyers, philosophers and officials from across the world. Their vision was influenced not only by events in Europe; other world events such as the assassination of Mohandas K Gandhi in India and the beginning of apartheid in South Africa were also at the forefront of their minds. After lengthy discussion and debate, the Commission drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first internationally agreed human rights framework in the world. The UDHR summarises human rights in 30 articles. The articles contained in the UDHR fall into two broad categories:
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• Civil and political rights: rights and freedoms that protect individuals from the abuse of state power and promote individual freedom. For example, Article 10 Everyone has the right to a fair and public trial. • Economic, social and cultural rights: rights that provide economic, social and cultural security. For example, Article 25 Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living and medical help if they are ill. A declaration is not the same as a law: it is a document that sets out standards that states should aim to achieve, but states are not bound by law to achieve those standards. The UN General Assembly adopted the UDHR in 1948 and in the years following has developed international human rights laws based on its principles. There are currently 192 member states of the United Nations, including nearly every recognised independent state in the world.
Warm-up – Right mimes (20 minutes) CD
You will need Copies for each Venturer of the ‘UN convention on human rights’ activity sheet from the CD, plus another copy cut into individual rights and sorted through for those that can be mimed. How to do it Give out copies of the activity sheet. Then ask people to sit in a circle. The leader should have prepared slips of paper with one of the rights written on each slip. Choose rights which will be possible to act out as a mime, for example, Article 28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international ‘order’ that is necessary for all these rights to be made real, would be quite a challenge to act out. Take it in turns to choose a folded slip of paper and mime the right, which the other young people should guess. At the end of the game, briefly discuss the rights which have not been acted out and what they would involve. © UNICEF
Activity – Walking debate (50 minutes) CD
You will need A copy of the ‘Prompts sheet’ activity sheet from the CD, two signs – one with ‘Strongly agree’ written in and the other with ‘Strongly disagree’ on. Label one end of the room ‘Strongly agree’ and the other end ‘Strongly disagree’. Read out the first statement ‘Everyone should be free to say whatever they want’. Ask the young people to stand at one of the two signs (or anywhere in between on
the continuum) to demonstrate their opinion. Encourage discussion by inviting the group to explain why they are standing where they are. Use prompt questions from the activity sheet or ideas from the group themselves to help explore the complexity of this general statement. If the young people disagree with the statement, they may refer to the idea that ‘with rights come responsibilities’. Explain that connecting rights to responsibilities is a problematic issue in human rights and that it is more accurate to frame this debate in terms of ‘balancing conflicting rights’. Bring in the idea that not all rights are absolute; sometimes they need to be balanced against other human rights and sometimes rights need to be limited. Ask the group to discuss how the conflicting rights should be balanced, i.e. which right they think should be limited, in the situation given. Continue the walking debate using the prompt questions and the balancing rights examples given. Encourage the Venturers to explain their answers and change their position on the continuum if anything they have heard has changed their opinion. © UNICEF
Discussion (15 minutes) Facilitate a discussion which includes the following: • Do these rights have any impact on our lives? • What can we do to ensure we get our rights? • What can we do to ensure other people get their rights? • Do our actions ever deprive other people of their rights? Resources Equality and Human Rights Commission – Section on Rights for Young People. www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/your-rights/young-peopleknow-your-rights Amnesty International – Campaigning organisation for human rights. www.amnesty.org.uk/index.asp UNICEF – Voices of Youth Programme. www.voicesofyouth.org Socialist Educational International – An international educational movement working to empower children and young people and fight for their rights. www.ifm-sei.org www.woodcraft.org.uk page 49
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Next steps For many people, being Venturer age is about expanding horizons. Build links between your Woodcraft Folk group and the rest of your district, the movement and the wider world by: • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Represent your group at Annual Gathering itself and join in the year’s biggest debate about the future of Woodcraft Folk on a UK level. • Become part of Venturer Committee – an elected national board of Venturers from across the UK who get together to share ideas and represent the age group in making plans and decisions.
going to a trip to a local outdoor pursuits centre, theatre or cinema bringing in an outside speaker or activity for a themed session linking up with other local Woodcraft Folk groups to do a joint activity planning a project with your group to run an event or take action on a local issue getting involved with a campaign (and check to see if Woodcraft Folk is running one of its own) supporting a younger Woodcraft Folk group by getting your Venturers to run some sessions for them twinning with a Venturer group outside your area – you could exchange videos, photos and e-mails with news and updates creating a page about your group or district on the UK Woodcraft Folk website preparing a news item for the website about a recent activity or experience going to a camp visiting one of the Woodcraft Folk residential activity centres doing some training as a group over a few weeks to get new skills and qualifications, such as first aid, baby-sitting, sound and audio or jewellery making courses.
Being a Venturer may present many young people’s first taste of meeting Woodcraft Folk outside your district. There are plenty of opportunities to make new friends and try new activities at: • Venturer Camp – a week of workshops, entertainment and socialising dedicated to Venturers from every corner of the Woodcraft Folk • Regional camps – get more involved with organising and running your region’s annual camp • International camps – make friends from all over the world at these huge summer events. In Venturers, there are also loads more ways to get involved in changing the whole of Woodcraft Folk for the better: • Do you want to change something about the way Woodcraft Folk works? Discuss it in your group and send a motion to Annual Gathering, Woodcraft Folk’s biggest democratic event of the year. www.woodcraft.org.uk page 50
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Contacts Woodcraft Folk Head Office Our UK headquarters are in Southwark, London, where most of our staff are based: Units 9 & 10 83 Crampton Street London SE17 3BQ 020 7703 4173 info@woodcraft.org.uk Gwerin Y Coed Woodcraft Folk’s Welsh office: Y Ganolfan Llanfrothen Gwynedd, LL48 6LJ 0845 458 9560 gwerin@woodcraft.org.uk Woodcraft Folk Scotland Woodcraft Folk’s Scottish office: The Co-operative Distribution Centre 401 Edinburgh Road Newhouse Lanarkshire ML1 5GH scotland@woodcraft.org.uk www.woodcraft.org.uk www.gwerin.org Woodcraft Folk is a registered charity in England and Wales (1073665) and in Scotland (SC039791)
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www.woodcraft.org.uk Woodcraft Folk is a registered charity in England and Wales (1073665) and in Scotland (SC039791)
Design www.uprightcreative.com