Lesson 2: Breaking stereotypes
Recommended size of the group: from 6 to 30 people
Aim of the Lesson: The lesson will focus on “break the stereotypes,” related to refugees by focusing and sharing good practises/examples: Stories in local and international community, famous refugee people, etc. The lesson will also allow the participants to develop their debates/advocacy skills further.
Objective/Learning outcomes:
After the lesson participants will:
- Have a better understanding of the reasons behind the migration and & issues surrounding migration.
- Gain knowledge about debate methods.
- Understand the need and importance of advocacy.
- Improve their communication skills in terms of expressing their points of view as well as the ability to participate in constructive discussion & debates.
- Improve listening skills.
- Understand how their “voice” can help to spread awareness, raise empathy & tolerance towards migrants and refugees in their communities.
- Raise awareness and empathy towards migrants and refugees.
Resourses needed:
- Handouts (Human Bingo sheets)
- White paper
- Pens
- Projector
- Computer
- ·Sound System
- Flipchart & flipchart paper
- Spacious training room
Teaching methods:
- Presentations by trainer
- Debates/Discussion
- Individual work
- Case studies/good practice sharing
Content
Presentation (10 minutes):
- What is a debate?
- How, why and where debates are being used?
- Advocacy through debates.
Hot air balloon debates (45 minutes)
Hot air balloon debates are a great
way to introduce debating and can be used as a platform for a wider discussion.
- Pick five or six people (depending on the group size) each of whom chooses a historical or famous person to impersonate from the given list. Alternatively, the trainer can allocate the speaker a historical or famous person.
- Ask them all to imagine that they are together in a hot air balloon in the middle of the desert going on the research expedition to establish new colony/city. The hot air balloon is going down due to heavy weight on board. One person must be thrown overboard/left in a desert in order to save the others, but who will it be?
- Each participant is given 5 minutes to prepare a speech and then he/she needs to make a speech saying why they should be allowed to stay in the hot air balloon. They are not allowed to reveal their names or historical achievements. Tip: they can focus on their knowledge, skills, etc.
- The rest of the group votes which of the person and the loser “is thrown out of the hot air balloon”. They will need to listen carefully to the arguments so that they can vote on who gets thrown out of the balloon.
- Trainer ask the group why they made the decision they came to. A discussion can take place about whether they voted someone off because of the arguments the speaker made or because of preconceived ideas.
- Trainer ask speakers was it difficult to play the role and prepare a speech? What points they decided to focus on and why?
- Trainer then encourage discussion telling the group that all the mentioned characters were refugees or immigrants from other countries reminding group the importance of their work to the whole world. Trainer can also encourage group to share other stories of famous immigrants/refugees they know.
Possible Famous People who were refugees or immigrants:
- Freddie Mercury
- Rita Ora
- Albert Einstein
- Marlene Dietrich
- Sigmund Freud
- Nikola Tesla
- Oscar de la Renta
- Dalai Lama
- Elon Musk
The list can be adopted to the region adding local famous refugees and immigrants.
Evaluation
Hand evaluation method (20 minutes):
Give participants a piece of paper and pens. Ask participants to draw around their hand, and record the following on the fingers of their hand:
- Thumb – something good, something they enjoyed
- Index finger – something that changed/challenged their point of view
- Middle finger – something bad, something they did not enjoy
- Ring finger – something they will treasure/remember from the activity or something that surprised them (they did not know about it before)
- Little finger – something they want to learn more about
- Palm – (a prediction for the future) what they are going to do next? How they can use gained knowledge in their communities?
General Tips for Trainer
Not everyone form the participant group will be comfortable to share their thoughts, thus you should not “push them” to speak rather just encourage them by observing the group and asking questions directed to specific persons, e.g. Thomas, what influence your decision to leave Elena in the desert?