Participation

Start with a vision, and identify the steps to make it happen:

  1. Present students with a future scenario for their area that demonstrates sustainable water management. Ask students in groups to analyse the gap between the present situation and the given scenario and think of possible steps and ways to move from the present towards the vision. Then ask them to think about how to put their ideas into action by identifying objectives, stakeholders to be dealt with, hindering/fostering elements (laws, political setting, socio-economic conditions, …) and further structural elements that could be used or would have to be dealt with.
  2. Groups share ideas and compare and discuss.
  3. In plenary, the teacher draws conclusions from ideas presented and points out things to take into account when operationalizing a vision for the future.

Group activity: Role-play. Set up a gender discrimination scenario in a working context, e.g. school staff, editorial staff, medical analysis lab…
Students adopt different roles and discuss how they can contribute to the solution of the gender discrimination problem.

Class project. Set up a partnership with another school from the Global South in which you raise funds to support a student and/or teacher exchange. This will allow students from both schools to experience a different setting. It is important to emphasise that learning occurs in both directions and to avoid any stereotyping of rich/poor settings. To avoid the travel element, meetings via a video platform can be arranged based on questions raised by students on both sides of the partnership with each class conducting research and preparing presentations in answer to questions.

For further advice on school linking see this pdf document.

A series of photos of people from various regions are presented to students. Students are asked to classify the photos according to the quality of life of these people (food, home, education, health, job, human rights etc.). They discuss the differences of peoples’ life quality and wellbeing and propose ways that people individually and collectively can help other people in need.

Students plan, for example, “A day against discrimination” and include a series of actions in their school and in their community for promoting inclusion and acceptance of all.

General idea: Analyse sustainable business board games and make their own games. Creating games in teamwork facilitates engagement with the topic and community thinking.

Game-example: 3rd World Farmer

Developing World Farmer is survival role-playing online game which gives a striking, first-hand insight into extreme rural poverty, and the hardships and challenges faced by the millions of starving, struggling farmers and families of developing nations. In the game, the player manages an African farm and is soon confronted with the difficult choices that poverty and conflict can cause.

Benefits:
Experience everyday developing world hardship in a safe environment. Learn about obstacles of the poor, which, in turn, will spark reflection and discussion about solutions to those problems. Make positive social changes, such as building networks and organizations that help people in developing world countries, and sparking interest in similar topics throughout developing countries.

Students investigate to find out the least wealthy countries in the world and reasons for that poverty.

Students explore which of these is the most appealing, trustworthy, effective and what support programmes are there in their country that are involved in these countries.

Students explore whether it is possible to get in touch with a representative of those programmes and arrange a meeting/talk.

Students decide on a programme that they feel is effective and then decide how they can support it.

Useful sites:

Short description

Select a situation known to the group and decide on the core problem. What are the effects of this problem? What are the other problems which contribute to the core problem? (NB Avoid writing down a lack of solutions as problems, rather state the problem itself that needs to be solved, e.g. rather than writing “Lack of awareness on effects of dumping”, say, “Townspeople dump waste in street.”) Build up the ‘tree’ from the core problem in the middle with causes below and effects above:

Add more cards to extend the tree as the discussion develops. Draw a line around a certain part of the tree in order to define a manageable project.

Rules of engagement

This technique enables all stakeholders to participate in a sophisticated discussion of causes and effects.

NB To turn this into a hierarchy of project objectives, simply turn each card around and write a positive version of the ‘problem’ that was written there.

Short description

In groups, students are given the following activity or similar. You are the leader. Within your group, someone needs to be a wolf, be a rabbit, represent a cabbage. The other two are the boat. The task is to get the wolf, rabbit and cabbage to the other end of the room without them getting wet, but you can only take one thing in the boat at a time.

Note: if the wolf and the rabbit are together without you, the wolf will eat the rabbit. If the rabbit and the cabbage are together without you, the rabbit will eat the cabbage. Remember, only one thing can go in the boat at a time.

In plenary discuss ways that the leaders approached the task e.g. top down, or bottom up, collaboratively?

Short description

Each group is given the following and are asked to show the participation of those involved in some way on a flipchart.

“Ali Wandaha had been very ill for a number of weeks so it was not a great surprise when he passed away late one Thursday evening. Nevertheless, the loss of her son was a devastating blow to Ali’s mother, the widow Mariamu. Her cries were heard throughout the night and a number of neighbours came to join her in the lament.

The next day, according to custom, Ali would be buried in the family compound and a feast would be provided for the mourners. At first light a neighbour’s boy was sent to Wafula, the coffin-maker who had already prepared the casket for Ali’s burial. A few of the neighbouring women assisted her in preparing the food while boys and girls were sent to spread the news to family and friends throughout the parish and outlying villages. By mid-day one or two of the women had taken on the role of comforting Mariamu who was almost incapable with grief.

A large number of people gathered for the funeral, an old Sheikh was called in to officiate while many of the village men, young and old, took a hand in bearing the coffin to the grave site.

Three of Ali’s relations sent messages that they were unable to attend the funeral but sent money to help cover the expenses, one uncle did not send anything but a message. Some people arrived late and left as soon as the food had been served and eaten while others remained to assist in the clearing up. Many of the women who had cooked helped to clean up after the guests had gone home.

Two women remained with Mariamu throughout the following night.”

Groups share and discuss their representations of participation.

In the discussion be sure to draw out different qualities (and purposes) of participation as well differing quantities or degrees of participation.