GAMEChange transformatory facilitation does not aim to teach perfect tools or political correctness. It aims to
“Inspire a dynamic and sustainable movement of champions of change. Bringing together thousands of people from all backgrounds, empowered to bring about a better and more sustainable world. “
‘Fun with a Serious Purpose’
Changing life is like learning to dance.
First we need to feel the basic underlying rhythm – the principles of respect, inclusion, equality and empowerment for all. and start with the appreciation of the positive and a belief in the possibility of change.
Next we need to learn and regularly practise particular routines learned from others who have been dancing for some time to really experience the benefits and changes so that the rhythm becomes automatic.
Then we can really be creative with our own dance in step with the dances of others – fit, energetic and creative in creating a wider movement for change.
The dance is exciting and open for anyone. Anyone and everyone can do this.
But it is also important to follow the ethical principles and the basic rhythm steps before trying to go free-style. The skill is to know when we have understood the rhythm enough to guide our detailed practice with confidence and when we need to go back to listen more carefully to the rhythm again.
DO NOT mistake practice routines from printed manuals for the underlying subconscious rhythm gained from active experience. Training of Trainer trickle-down does not create an inspired collective dance.
DO NOT: become over-concerned with ‘correctness of tools’. Focus first on gaining experience and confidence and understanding your own experience to get the natural rhythm.
DO NOT not to take short cuts in reflection on your own experience just to save time. That leads to confusion and the dance becomes stiff and just another boring routine. That way we will get easily tripped up, often bump into others and our whole dance becomes chaos.
Learning the dance is a lifelong process getting ever stronger through integrating inspiration from the rhythm, disciplined practice and creativity of your own dance. And to really watch, share inspiration and dance in harmony with others.
GAMEChange facilitation uses fun processes so that concepts of equal rights and social justice and belief in potential of change are progressively internalised by ALL participants as ‘natural rhythm change’ for their lives.
As workshop time is always short, these fun processes are specifically focused to deepen learning of the pictorial tools and participatory skills. They are never just energisers.
The key task of GAMEChange facilitation is to inspire and constantly reinforce an excitement and enthusiasm for change – the new rhythm. As an exciting process of self-empowerment and exploration, a process of breaking barriers that prevent men as well as women of different ages and from different backgrounds from achieving their full human potential.
This means participants having ‘fun outside the comfort zone’ – replacing top-down mechanical school-type teaching with being ‘creative (and subversive) with culture’. Questioning conventions and prejudices and breaking down barriers between people from different backgrounds. So that everyone can open up to new ideas and experiences.
Every session or meeting should include a range of different elements to make them lively and inspire further change and action learning.
Visual communication and drawing
Drawing is not just ‘pretty pictures for illiterates’, but a means of visual communication to clarify and communicate very complex concepts. Using drawings means that people who cannot read and write, as well as embattled CEOs of global companies and government officials, are able to put their experience and ideas on paper and communicate clearly to each other.
Visual communication skills are progressively refined through participatory games like ‘guessing charades’ integrated into the facilitation of the diagram tools.
Dance Songs
Songs and dance subvert existing cultural stereotypes and reinforce and communicate the tools.
Groups of participants work together as a participatory exercise to produce a series of songs, often with dance, and ‘song competitions’ are held to decide the best songs for each process. These songs and dances then become an integral part of group meetings and dissemination. The aim is not a polished karaoke-style individual performance to raise awareness, but to directly engage ALL participants in identifying and rehearsing changes. There are no professional actors or singers, no one leads and everyone participates. people will take back home and sing in the shower to reinforce change.
Transformatory drama
Participatory role plays and theatre are used to directly engage participants in identifying and rehearsing changes, and new ways in which women and men can relate to each other, and new ways of addressing inequality. Role plays are an important part of developing confidence to change, examining peer sharing strategies and ‘significant changes’ impact assessment looking at past, current and future scenarios. The aim of transformatory drama is not polished performance theatre by ‘good actors’, but EVERYONE BEING AN ACTOR, STRENGTHENING THEIR VOICE AND EXPLORING CHANGE.
crystals from chaos:
workshop facilitation
‘Crystals from chaos‘: role of the facilitator
The facilitator has to give voice, power and responsibility for learning to participants, but also know when to intervene and build on what emerges in order to reinforce the rhythm change and underlying principles.
Facilitators at all levels – within the community as well as organisation staff and external consultants – need to develop listening and observation skills and experience in distinctive participatory facilitation techniques and processes adapted to specific mixes of participants.
GAMEChange transformatory facilitation aims to help people to:
- vision how their lives, families and communities could be in a more gender equitable world
- identify achievable steps to change that they can implement immediately and also over the longer term
- develop partipatory, listening and leadership skills
- build confidence and creativity in visual communication, songs and theatre
- form new friendship networks within which women and men treat each other as equal human beings.
- develop facilitation skills to become champions of change in their households and communities
‘Experts’ supporting the process first use the methodology to develop their own self-awareness, transform their own ‘life rhythm’. They need to appreciate the potential power of the process themselves before they can inspire others to change. They become ‘perpetual students’. That means continuing to practice and listening and learning from other champions from all backgrounds in a collective movement for change.
The first Catalyst workshops in particular need to be fun and inspiring. From the very beginning they need to be the ‘hook’ that motivates people to continue and work to become champions. By the end of the workshop people should be determined to to continue their own progress towards their visions through ‘living diagrams’. Participants progressively develop confidence, leadership and listening skills to share what they have learned with others. There is no need at this point to obsess and overwhelm anyone with complex ‘correct’ tool details.
Different participants will start at different levels of experience, formal education and other skills. It is the task of the lead facilitator to help both those who start with least experience to work together and get as far as they can, and to also work with those who want to run fast and go into as much depth as possible. And ensure these two extremes can then come together with those in the middle as a supportive team when they get back home – face to face and/or on-line through eg mobile phone.
Subsequent skills strengthening workshops can then build on this base and diversity to progressively deepen visions, analysis and planning skills. They also strengthen participatory facilitation skills for sharing within communities and also champion co-facilitation of programme replication to new areas.
General Facilitation Principles
Workshops are not like TOTs or school where participants sit and listen.
‘Facipulation’ from the Back
The facilitator should sit at the back for 90% of the time. They put a seat at the front with all pens and materials and explain that the GAMEChange facilitation is different – the facilitator does not hold the pen so that very quickly participants will be able to facilitate themselves. The facilitator ‘facipulates’ the process (facilitate/manipulate). They steer the discussion through listening to participants and encouraging them to speak. Good facilitation manages to arrive at a point where most of the important issues come from participants themselves. The facilitator then asks a few pointed questions at the end and/or gives a few key facts and information point.
If facilitator interventions are very light but focused on filling in gaps, participants are more likely to listen and remember what they say. Participants are also more confident to facilitate similar activities without external support when they go back home.
‘Facipulation’ requires practice and experience – and often a leap of faith to let things take their course. It is sometimes harder for those accustomed to leading other participatory awareness-raising and training techniques. It requires intense observation of the participatory process, and use of some key techniques to increase participation.
Equal participation: Listening as important as talking
In group discussions everyone’s voice much be heard. No one person should lead group facilitation. Every person should draw. Every person should come to the front to speak. Every person should listen. Lead facilitators should ensure that no one person is dominating, people encourage those who are quiet, or hidden at the back come forward. Introduce some sort of tool in group discussions such as a stick or a banana to represent a microphone. It is only the person holding this tool who is allowed to talk.
No Political Correctness
No one should feel they cannot ask questions or say things which they feel. Unless participants feel they can express all opinions, even those that are uncomfortable, they cannot address them. If issues or views are very sensitive and likely to cause offence, the facilitator should divide participants into ‘soulmate groups’ to enable those from similar backgrounds and with similar views to ‘let off steam’. Then they work out how to articulate these views to others in a real spirit of wanting to understand, without offence or undermining the free expression of others. It is possible to leave the most difficult ‘in the drawer for later’ if they detract from the spirit of moving forward on consensus – with a date for further discussion.
Participants practise facilitation skills
Facilitation practice for participants is an integral part of the facilitation and workshop schedule. This includes:
- participatory diagrams and quantification in group activities to practice visual communication skills and speaking in front of others
- facilitation role plays to practise the tools as well as sharing
- sharing each evening with family if the workshop in in the community
- sharing the tools with local government and other stakeholders on a onto to one basis and presentation of diagrams
- a community day or series of days at the end where each participant invites 10 other people from their networks and facilitates these people to draw their visions and vision journey. To disseminate the change messages, start the community upscaling and set up support networks.
Workshop Process
Workshops start with participant discussions
Workshops should start by participants talking to each other, not [presentations by the organisation, local leaders or facilitator. The facilitator should explain that GAMEChange methodology is different – first we listen and then adapt as far as possible to participant needs – or to clarify that some needs will need to be addressed in another workshop.
Ask local leaders and other stakeholders to come on the final day, not the first day. Then they will have something to really see from what participants have been doing. And their input and support will be very welcome at that point.
Prepare the Room
Decorate the room with good examples of diagrams and drawings relevant to the training from other processes. If this is the first country process then make a panel of printouts of high resolution photographs from this website. If possible play songs and/or video from another GAMEChange process as people arrive and/or in breaks (eg through the You Tube downloads from this site)
Arrange the seating to prioritise group discussion and feedback on flipcharts by each group. Leave a central space in the middle for songs and drama. Ideally participants will stand and move around for group sessions, and go to the group flipcharts for plenaries.
Pairwise discussion
Start each session/day with a participatory pairwise recapitulation of the previous session, or questions on perceptions and expectations of the meeting while others are arriving.
Feedback from the back
Minority participants should go first in all feedback (e.g. men first if they are poor and fewer in number) to show respect for those who are likely to be less confident and to promote inclusion.
Applause and respect
Appreciate everyone’s contribution at all times through a culturally relevant form of applause following each presentation.
Make sure everyone has contributed
At the end of each stage give anyone who has not yet spoken or drawn on the diagram the ‘microphone’ or pen and encourage them to comment/draw on the diagram. Those who speak least in the group should be the ones to feed back to the plenary, supported by the others.
Use photography and video to document the workshop process and dynamics. The facilitator can do this if they are facilitating from the back. Just before the final day participants select their favourite diagram and they get a photograph as a participation certificate. Comparing both choices and the quality of the diagrams enables an objective assessment of how far EVERY participant has been inspired and able to vision, analyse, plan and share. It also enables the workshop to end on an uplifting song or event, rather than a tired and untransparent participatory feedback – though it is also possible to cia pictorial questionnaire could be circulated as well as a pictorial mood chart through the workshop.
improving Workshop facilitation
Building a change movement means participant ownership and confidence in their own visioning, analysis and action plans, understand the importance of ongoing reflection and tracking to improve progress and have the simple tool steps in their notebooks to share with others.
Drawings are also the basis for monitoring and assessing empowerment changes. Specific guidance on types of information documentation depends on the tool and purpose of the documentation.
- to inspire and enable ALL participants to continue innovating with the tools to better achieve their visions, and able to facilitate similar activities for others when they get back home.
- on ‘active learning’ and participatory leadership for participants.
- ‘active listening and observation’ by the facilitators in order to decide how best to ‘spark and fertilise crystal growth’ through minimal but focused contributions.
Empowerment Checklist
This should not be just a policing questionnaire, but identify issues that arose with any particular set of participants or context factors to bear in mind going forward:
- Do all diagrams include a vision and start with the positive?
- Do all diagrams include action points that champions can implement? Are there some actions they will implement as soon as they get home?
- Does everyone have the basic steps of each tool in the back of their notebooks?
- Is the importance of tracking progress clear? Do people understand how to do this? Have people decided how often and when they will check progress on the diagram?
- Did everyone participate? Was everyone respected? Did power relations change? Did new voices speak? Did everyone listen?
- Does everyone feel inspired to become a leader of change for others around them when they leave? Do they have confidence, speaking and listening skills? Do they have a peer sharing plan?
- Was the lead facilitator able to ‘facipulate from the back? Did they speak more than 10% of the time? Did they hold the pen? Were they able to leave the room and/or focus on documentation letting participants facilitate? At what points did they come to the front when they could have facilitated participant voices from the back? At what points was more active facilitation needed? Are there ways in which that could also have been done in a participatory way?
Evaluation through photography documentation
All GAMEChange trainings and workshops aim to develop the drawing and communication skills of ALL participants.
This means having a reliable feedback from everyone to see who is running ahead, and who may be having some difficulty. The best way of doing this is to take photographs of each participant with their drawing, then comparing the complexity of the analysis on the drawing, as well as whether the by follow the basic diagram steps.
Documentation of the visual outputs from workshops, trainings and peer exchanges are mostly through photographs and video – staff and/or people from the community can do this on a mobile phone. With peoples’ permission, these can also be shared for networking through social network platforms. They are also part of the champion certification process.
Group diagrams should be photographed with and without written post-it notes where relevant. Ideally plenaries are videoed so that qualitative information can be added later.
A Catalyst process in Ethiopia used photographs of participants showing their favourite tool drawing on a certificate of attainment. It also used photos of all the drawings in their notebooks to assess how effective the training had been for ALL participants. Photographs taken during the break gave an opportunity also for short discussion of any challenges they faced for the facilitator to take into account in future.
Toolkit resources
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Conventional TOT approaches using GAMEChange diagram tools can have a deep and sustained effect on direct participants coming to workshops and a few of the people around, then spread through paid replication. But numbers of people reached are generally small, unless there is a big budget and momentum decreases after a couple of years as original champions move on to get employment, run growing businesses full-time. Organisation staff also often move on.
Empowerment skills for life planning, increasing happiness and wealth in their families and communities and contribute to equitable and sustainable development where equal human rights of all people are an integral and no longer questioned element. And including particularly those currently most disadvantaged: women, young, old, poor, people with no formal education, minority or marginalised social groups.