Our Names, Our Stories: Opening



Objective(s) & Context

  1. Encourage participants to move around.

  2. Identify thoughts and feelings relating to immigration.

  3. Gauge how participants feel about the topic of immigration.

 

Duration

25–45 minutes

* 25 minutes for group of 4–6

* 45 minutes for groups of 7–10

* Add 2 minutes for each additional person added to a group of ten

 

Group Size

4 +

* Works best for groups with fewer than 10

 

Age Group

10 +

 

Skills

Capacity to identify thoughts and feelings relating to immigration, interpersonal communication skills

 

Format(s) & Technique(s)

Large group, game

 

Materials

Sheets of paper: one for each participant

Markers or pens for each participant

Tape

Flipchart paper

 

Facilitation Tips

  • If participants are not all “immigrants,” it is useful to use the word “migration” instead of the word “immigration” and provide a wider definition of the theme.

  • Remind participants to use words that relate to their experience, their views, and feelings around immigration.

 

Popular Education Prompts

  • This is activity can lead to opportunities to add new information about immigration.

 

Leading the Activity: Steps to Take

  1. Hand out a piece of paper and marker to each participant.

  2. Ask each participant to write her name in big letters vertically, going down the centre of the page.

  3. Invite participants to think about immigration for a few moments.

  4. Ask participants to use each letter in their name to write down a word that describes their views, feelings, or experiences with immigration. Participants can use letters at the beginning, middle, or end of a word, in any language (10 minutes).

  5. Ask participants to tape their paper to their shirt, as if it were a giant name tag.

  6. Suggest participants walk around the room and talk to other participants about the words that they wrote on their paper (5 minutes).

  7. When each participant has been able to meet and talk to most or all of the other participants, bring the group back into a large circle.

  8. Ask each participant to introduce herself and to name one word on their paper that they would like to share with the group.

  9. As participants to name their words, record the words on a large sheet of flipchart paper (10 minutes).

  10. Ask the group to think about other words that they would like to add to the list.

  11. Add these words to the list (5 minutes).

  12. What words seem to come up a lot? With the group, try to identify patterns (5 minutes).

  13. As a group, use the words listed on the flipchart paper to create one story that demonstrates similarities of experiences. This can be done by going around the circle of participants and asking each person contribute a line to the story (10 minutes).

 

Debrief

  • What titles could we give to this story?

  • Invite as many titles as the group can offer and do not decide on just one at the end, instead, let all the titles exist.

 

Success Indicators

  • Participants reflect on experiences of immigration and personal stories

 

Source: Andrea Canales, Go Girls