Topic 2: Method description
- Choose a large room where there is plenty of space to walk around, then print the pictures you will find in the “Resources” section and hang them on the walls as if it was a art gallery. Once the pictures are all placed on the wall, the activity can begin.
- Recommended group size: minimum 5 maximum 20 people
- Duration: minimum 60’ to maximum 90’
- Hang the pictures on the walls. Ask the young participants to walk around in the room and take a good look at each picture (at least 30 seconds). Then, invite the participants to choose the one that arise in them the most intense emotional reaction – pleasant or unpleasant.
- Once all participants stop, then each participant must first describe just what they see in the picture. then, the facilitator should stress the term “objectively” and ask for a second description, this time they must describe just what they see in the picture, no assumption, no jumping to conclusion, only what they see. Here the facilitator must stress the idea of objective description and ask, “can you say that’s the objective description of what you see?” anytime a participant is assuming something. This is to help them reflect how much of what they think they see in pictures is actually based on their assumption as opposed to real knowledge. Depending on the participants maybe it is best to make sure everyone shares the same definition of “objective description”.
- Once all participants give their answer, it is time for the second question “what emotions the image triggered in you, what did you feel?” Here there are no right or wrong answer, it is important to set up an environment which is positive and non-judgmental in order to allow the expression of negative feelings on delicate topics. The facilitator should remark this concept at the beginning of the exercise and bring it up again right after this question have been asked. Once all participants gave their answer, it’s time to move on to the last question. The last question is really important and must be clear to anyone so it would be best to prepare an explanation beforehand and maybe one concrete example and definition of “values”. the question is: “what are the values questioned by this image?”.
- This last question must be asked only if participants did not make their connections with values and emotional response on their own, otherwise it would be best to use their own connection and help them reach their own conclusions before introducing the concept of values which then can take place during the debrief.
