World Café
This is an exercise where discussions and exchanges are structured to take place around more tables – for instance, 3 to 5 tables for a group of 20 participants. Every...
Where I Live
Make a large “carpet” by connecting the flipchart papers with masking tape (so they don’t move around). It should be large enough so that the participants can gather round it...
Where I Come From
Everyone has a few minutes to think about the place they come from (however they understand it – city/country/region) and the things they like about it. Then, sitting in a...
Venn Diagrams (Sets)
Materials: Papers with Venn diagrams (sets) Everyone receives a handout with as many Venn diagrams (three ellipses that intersect, see picture) as there are participants. Write the name of one...
Training Motivation
Going around in a circle, each person answers the questions: Why did you decide to attend this training? What attracted you and motivated you?
Three Events that Affected My Engagement
A timeline is drawn on the board or flipchart representing three periods: before the war; during the war; after the war. For each of the three periods, each participant writes...
This Picture Speaks about Me
The collection of postcards and photographs is placed in the centre of the circle. Everyone has a few minutes to look through them and pick one that speaks about them...
Rotating Threes
Groups of three chairs are set up to make a circle (see illustration). Participants that make up the group of three are divided into person A, person B and person...
Questions and Dilemmas I Am Trying to Solve
Flipchart papers are placed on the floor. The participants write their questions and/or dilemmas on them (relevant to the topic of the training). After ten minutes or so, someone from...
Plenary Presentations with Started Sentences
Everyone sits in a circle. The started sentences are displayed so everyone can see them. One by one, each person introduces themselves in plenary and completes the started sentences: ͳ...
Places that are Important to Me (The Map)
A map of the former Yugoslavia, Europe or the world (it can be a geographic map, road map or just contours drawn on flipchart paper) is put up on the...
Participants’ Expectations
Hand out the different coloured post-its. Give the participants a few minutes to write down their answers to the following questions: - What do I expect from this training? -...
My Path Up to Here
On a blank sheet of paper, everyone draws an arrow that illustrates the course of their life, “my path up to here”, and marks important events on this timeline. Time...
My Name Means
Each person in the circle says their name and what it means.
My Name
Each person in the circle says their name and tells a story about it: what it means, how it was given to them, who gave it to them etc.
Let Me Introduce You
The participants split into pairs. Everyone tells their partner some information about themselves. The other person listens carefully and tries to commit this information to memory. They then switch roles....
Let Me Introduce Myself
Everyone takes a sheet of paper. They write their name in the middle. Then they write: in the upper left corner: how I feel at the moment in the upper...
Left and Right Hand Signatures
Exercise description Paper and pencils are distributed to the participants and they are asked to sign their name. Then they are supposed to use one word to describe how it...
Introductions in Pairs
Everyone stands in a circle. The trainer tells the participants to find a partner with whom they believe they have the most in common and then sets a topic for...
Introduction and Getting to Know Each Other
This is the first workshop of the training. It should give everyone a chance to briefly introduce themselves. Then the agenda and working method should be presented, along with basic...
How the war marked my life
Materials: Chairs The hot seats method Use the hot seats method. The task is to use the item they have selected and brought along to tell their story about...
Hot Seats
The chairs are arranged into a horseshoe. Three chairs are set apart as “hot seats” so that everyone sitting in the horseshoe can see them well (see illustration). The only...
Exploring Expectations: Tree of Expectations
Distribute the post-its. Give the participants a few minutes to write down their answers to the following questions: ͳ What would I like to see happen in this training? (on...
Exploring Expectations: Travel Bag
The participants draw a travel bag on the paper. They divide it into two equal parts. In one part they list What I brought to this training and in the...
Concentric Circles of Introduction
The chairs are set up in two concentric circles, so that each chair in one circle faces a chair in the other (see illustration). The number of chairs is equal...