ORGANISATION: IASIS NGO
ACTIVITY 1
ERASMUS + FATI PROJECT
Self-assessment
What?
Self-assessment is a method that is considered as part for the learning about one’s self.
Educational use
Group training activity
Benefits/advantages:
This activity is an important tool for strengthening the psychological condition of migrants and refugees, as this condition is directly linked with self-assessment. For example, some people tend to feel pessimistic and ineffective when they face difficult situations, such as migration, discrimination etc.
Through this activity refugees and migrants will gain better knowledge about skills, competences and self-esteem. Also, they will get ideas about how to improve one-self and motivation for personal development.
Limits: The current questionnaire is self-reported and represents aspects of the self only in the current moment
How to use it? Follow the step by step process.
Duration: 30 minutes
Participants: 10 to 20
Materials: Self-assessment handout (annexed)
Procedure:
- Self-assessment plays a significant role in developing self-perceptions. The self-reported questionnaire is to be distributed to trainees for self-reflection and assessment.
- Provide the questionnaire to the trainees. Give additional information and explain the concept of self-assessment and how to fill out the questionnaire.
- The questionnaire is a self-reporting tool. Therefore, trainees should take some time to read the questions and self-reflect. Their answers are a personal material onto which they can always refer and improve themselves.
- Debriefing
ANNEX
Self-assessment questionnaire: Please read the statements below and indicate what describes you more accurately.
| Area | Cultural Challenge | Strength | Area to improve |
| Self-awareness: I know what makes me angry | |||
| Social Awareness: I understand the point of view of others | |||
| Self-management: I know when to talk and when to listen | |||
| Empathy: I empathize with other people when listening to their stories | |||
| Social-awareness: I know how to share, take turns and work with others. |
Resources & availability:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/health/mental-health-assessment
ACTIVITY 2
ERASMUS + FATI PROJECT
Secret supporter
What?
Empowerment of self-esteem
Educational use
Group training activity
Benefits/advantages:
This activity emphasizing on empowerment of migrants’ and refugees’ self-esteem. In particular, through this they will gain better knowledge about self-esteem, self and group reflection, observation and praise of positive qualities in other people.
Limits: This exercise applies to group that knows each other in a certain level.
How to use it? Follow the step by step process.
Duration: 30 minutes
Participants: 10 to 20
Materials: Flipchart or whiteboard, markers.
Procedure: Ask the participants to think of something they have never told anyone before, or a subject that would be difficult for them to talk about. They do not disclose the secret but simply hold it in their minds. Next, they are asked to look around the group and pick the person they would trust with telling this secret to, or the one they would find easiest to discuss the topic with. Once again they do not disclose out loud their chosen person but simply hold them in their mind. Next, participants take it in turns to list characteristics of their chosen person which were behind their reasoning for choosing them, what makes them a good person to share a secret with, what makes them easy to talk to. A list of these qualities is drawn up.
Resources & availability:
ACTIVITY 3
ERASMUS + FATI PROJECT
Throw and take
What?
An activity which increase self-confidence and self-empowerment.
Educational use
Group training activity
Benefits/advantages:
Through this activity, migrants and refugees will get ideas about how to improve one-self and motivation for personal development. It’s very important to increase their self-confidence for their psychological condition. Especially, people with low self-esteem – who feel poorly about themselves and judge themselves to be inferior to others – are at risk, then, of not fulfilling their true potential in life. They may not take the initiative to set and pursue personal goals; they may not put any effort into their education or careers; they may accept poor treatment from family, friends and partners.
Limits: –
How to use it? Follow the step by step process.
Duration: 45 minutes
Participants: 10 to 20
Materials: Small objects to throw away like stress or paper balls.
Procedure:
Invite the participants to stand in a circle and think about the traits/ state of mind they believe suppose a limitation to them and they wish they could become detached from. Once all the participants are done with the task, ask them to “throw” the unwanted traits into the center of the circle imagining that there is a bonfire. Instruct the participants to call aloud the names of the traits they throw away, such as: Fear, anxiety, shyness, vanity, complexes, wrath, demand, etc. Each participant can throw away just as many traits as he/she wishes.
Once all the participants have finished, ask them to imagine that the fire is gone and there are only embers left. Tell the participants to take what they consider desirable or useful such as “courage”, “confidence”, “security”, “tolerance”, “patience”, etc.
Resources & availability:
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/personal-empowerment.html
ACTIVITY 4
ERASMUS + FATI PROJECT
This is me
What?
An exercise that assists participants to realize their main aspects of their identity, connected with their cultural background.
Educational use
Group training activity
Benefits/advantages:
Through this activity, migrants and refugees are going to explore main aspects of their identity and their self, connected with their cultural background. Also, they will get ideas about how to improve one-self and motivation for personal development. So, this activity is an important tool for strengthening the psychological condition of migrants and refugees.
Limits: –
How to use it? Follow the step by step process.
Duration:1 hour
Participants: No more than 10 participants
Materials: Photos, magazines, crayons, newsprint, glue, scissors, also a photo of themselves
Procedure:
Provide each participant with paper for a poster and have a collection of magazines, crayons and glue available.
Ask participants to put a photo of themselves on the poster (in the center of the page, perhaps) and to select pictures that describe them. Ask them to illustrate some of the following areas on their posters:
- Likes and dislikes
- Hobbies
- People who are important to me
- Things that concern me (e.g., poverty, hunger, etc.)
- Special abilities
- Qualities (e.g., considerate, energetic, etc.)
- How I want to be (e.g., type of person, what I want to do)
Tell them that they may use colors, shapes, and scenes to represent something. It is not important that someone else understand it when they look at it. It will make sense to the person who makes it and that is all that matters. Ask them to paste the pictures, words and symbols onto their poster paper to make a poster.
When all have made the posters, ask them to join up with three or four other participants to share/talk to each other about some of what they have on their posters and get reactions. Point out that there are times when we want to keep some things to ourselves and do not want to tell anyone else. They should therefore, share only what they want to. Everyone has this right and it should be respected.
Pointers for discussion:
- How did you feel doing the exercise?
- What was it like talking about yourself in the group?
- What is special/different about you?
Display posters in the classroom. Note for the class that all the posters are somewhat different – unique – just as each person is unique.
Resources & availability:
ACTIVITY 5
ERASMUS + FATI PROJECT
Circles of multicultural self
What?
An exercise that introduce us the multiplication of our identity, inside our different social contexts
Educational use
Group training activity
Benefits/advantages:
Migrants and refugees face daily stigma and discrimination, thus affecting their psychological condition. Through this activity they will be helped to gain better knowledge about multiplication of their identity, inside different social context. Also, this will motivate them deal with discrimination, stereotypes and stigma. So, they will improve their self-esteem and their psychological condition.
Limits: printing needed (but can be in a flipchart or A4 paper)
How to use it? Follow the step by step process.
Duration: 45 minutes
Participants: 10 to 20 (in pairs)
Materials: Multicultural Circles Handout (annexed here) and markers
Procedure:
Ask participants to write their names in the center circle. They should then fill in each satellite circle with a dimension of their identity they consider to be among the most important in defining themselves. Give them several examples of dimensions that might fit into the satellite circles: female, athlete, Jewish, brother, educator, Asian, Greek, middle class, and so on.
In their pairs, have participants share two stories with each other. First, they should share stories about when they felt especially proud to be associated with one of the identifiers they selected. Next, they should share a story about a time it was particularly painful to be associated with one of the identity dimensions they chose.
The third step will be for participants to share a stereotype they have heard about one dimension of their identity that fails to describe them accurately. Ask them to complete the sentence at the bottom of the handout by filling in the blanks: “I am (a/an) ____________ but I am NOT (a/an) _____________.” Provide your own example, such as “I am a Christian, but I am NOT a radical right Republican.” Instructions for steps 1, 2, and 3 should be given at once. Allow 8-10 minutes for participants to complete all three steps, but remind them with 2 minutes remaining that they must fill in the stereotype sentence.
Probe the group for reactions to each other’s stories. Ask whether anyone heard a story she or he would like to share with the group. (Make sure the person who originally told the story has granted permission to share it with the entire group.)
Advise participants that the next step will involve individuals standing up and reading their stereotype statements. You can simply go around the room or have people randomly stand up and read their statements. Make sure that participants are respectful and listening actively for this step, as individuals are making themselves vulnerable by participating. Start by reading your own statement. This part of the activity can be extremely powerful if you introduce it energetically. It may take a few moments to start the flow of sharing, so allow for silent moments.
Several questions can be provided in order to gain the right feedback:
- How do the dimensions of your identity that you chose as important differ from the dimensions other people use to make judgments about you?
- Did anybody hear somebody challenge a stereotype that you once bought into? If so, what?
- How did it feel to be able to stand up and challenge your stereotype? What was that about?
- Where do stereotypes come from? How are they connected to the kinds of socialization that make us complicit with oppressive conditions?
Responses are noted on large sheet.
Resources & availability:
Annex: Multicultural Circles Handout
ACTIVITY 6
ERASMUS + FATI PROJECT
Self-identity
What?
How do you call yourself?
Educational use:
Training activity, which can be used both to groups or individually and promotes self-identity, self-esteem.
Benefits/advantages: Understanding personal values and beliefs, learn how to respect the intercultural diversity.
Limits: –
How to use it: The purpose of this activity is to help learners understand themselves in the way that defines them. The educator will encourage learners to reflect on how they use their identity and what that identity means to them.
Procedure: STEP1: The social worker share to the floor some illustrated sketches and then tell to participants to pick one which it represents you the most.
STEP2: Then ask learners the following questions and create a discussion around identity and the meaning that they attach to it. Ask them to represent themselves into these pictures.
1) Who am I?
2) How do I like people to define me?
3) What does my identity mean to me?
4) What does others’ identity mean to me?
By asking these questions the educator allows learners to understand concepts related to personal and cultural beliefs and values and those of others. Through discussion the educator can help learners explore the oppressive elements of reality and awaken a critical level of consciousness by encouraging them to see beyond our initial labels of identity.
“When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind.
DEBRIEFING:
Do you like the exercise? Why?
How do you feel of representing yourself in front of another?
Which is the reason we did this exercise?
Duration: 40 minutes
Participants: 5-10
Materials: 10 illustrated sketches (one for each participant). In the file you can find some recommended animation cards.
Otherwise each trainer can find a wide of sketches at google by researching this link:
ACTIVITY 7
ERASMUS + FATI PROJECT
Presenting myself
What?
Description of your personal characteristics, your values and beliefs, in other persons, facilitate the beneficiaries to increase their self-esteem.
Educational use
Interactive activity between pairs, presentation of “my-self”, communication skills, self-esteem
Benefits/advantages: The aim of this exercise is to strengthen the learners with the ability of self-esteem, understanding and respecting their personal needs, and how they can express these needs to another person.
Limits: linguistic barriers
How to use it?
Duration: 40 minutes
Participants: 10-20/ into pairs or individually
Materials: The trainer should provide to the participants a paper with all the questions needed.
Procedure: Step 1: Complete the following statements with a brief description (5-10 minutes for each participant). If you cannot answer an item, don’t worry simply complete whatever you want.
Step 2: The trainer should make pairs of 2 persons. Each pair, have 10 minutes to discuss and to present it’s self in front of a ‘strange’ other.
Step 3: Debriefing:
Q1: Which is the most difficult part of the exercise?
Q2: Did you find any common elements with your interlocutor?
Q3: How do you fell presenting your own self in from of someone else?
Q4: Which, do you think is the aim of this activity?
The trainer should use the following questions:
1.I like myself because:
2. I’m an expert at:
3. I feel good about:
4.My opinion about the migration is:
5.Which I like mostly here is:
6. Goals for my future are:
7. My biggest fear is:
8. My expectations are:
Resources: http://www.self-esteem-experts.com/self-esteem-activities-toot-your-horn.html
ACTIVITY 8
ERASMUS + FATI PROJECT
Identifying core beliefs
What?
This activity can be an extremely effective technique to discover, identify, and challenge your core beliefs. We often carry negative or false unconscious or semiconscious beliefs, never stopping to recognize the values and norms that we apply on a daily basis.
Educational use
Enrich the characteristics of self- identity, self-esteem, self- awareness.
Benefits/advantages: This exercise will help you or your client explore and define your most deeply held beliefs, the beliefs that guide your thoughts and behavior every day.
Limits:
How to use it? Follow the step by step process.
Duration: 45 minutes
Participants: 10-15 persons or individually
Materials:
Procedure:
Step 1: The worksheet begins with an explanation of what core beliefs are:For example: “Core beliefs can be defined as the very essence of how people see themselves, others, the world, and the future.”
Next, it explains how core beliefs can influence one’s thinking and emotions through an example interaction.
Step 2: Then the trainer, separates the participants into 3 teams:
First team: “We are deserving”
Internal thought associated: “We are hard workers with a strong work ethic. We deserve this promotion.”
Which will be the result/reaction of having this thought?……………………………………………………………
Second team: “We are not sure we are deserving.”
Internal thought associated: “We work hard, but someone else will probably get the promotion over us.”
Which will be the result/reaction of having this thought?……………………………………………………………
Third team: “We are not deserving.”
Internal thought associated: “There’s no way we getting a promotion. Our coworkers are smarter than me.
Which will be the result/reaction of having this thought?……………………………………………………………..
Step 3: We giving 10 minutes for each team to discuss, think and record their reactions in an A4 paper, which are connected directly with their emotions.
For example: Will you take the promotion if you have negative emotions?
These examples show that the thoughts we carry with us, everywhere we go, can have a profound impact on our feelings, our behavior, and the associated outcomes.
Step 4: Debriefing :
Q1: What you have learned from these examples to your own life?
Q2: Record 3 core beliefs from your own point of view.