ECCAY RESOURCES

The ECCAY resources can help professionals to use in practice the solution focused knowledge they have just acquired.

Exercise nr. 18

Build together

Minimum number of participants	Average time length	Individual setting	Group setting	Special Equipment	Unit	Online	Challenges/ competition
4 and more	1 h min.	no	yes	A paper board or board -Post-it notes in different colours - Pencils	1,3,4,6	no	no

This exercise allows to start a collective work where everyone can find his place. Each member of the group will bring elements to create a dynamic movement in the group and co- construct the start of the group's life.

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Aim / Benefits

To create rules of life to manage the good functioning of the group with the spirit of building, organizing and finding their own solutions for young people at risk of exclusion.
To regulate the space of freedom of each one to work together and find his own place.
To learn to function collectively in self-management and in collaboration with the other participants.

UNIT(s) related

UNIT 1- UNIT 3 –UNIT 4 UNIT 6

Why
UNIT 1 This exercise is an introduction to the Solution Focused approach in the spirit of ECCAY as it facilitates the development of a solution oriented mindset
UNIT 3 It highlights the relationships of people and actions that build a collective
UNIT 4 It mobilizes the collective to build a group and to implement it in the spirit of the solution- focused approach and to foster cooperation.
UNIT 6 It enables participants to make their ecosystem work and mobilize it positively.

How to do the exercise

Step 1

Preparation:
The facilitator presents to the group the process to follow to co-construct the collective work
On a board, he draws a large circle that can represent the Earth and the participants must each bring 3 sheets of different colours according to the instructions given.

The choice of drawing the earth, an imaginary planet, as a support to collect the post it's is the way to accompany the exercise in a pleasant and playful way.

Step 2

Each participant receives 3 post it:

for example: one yellow, one blue, one green but you could choose 3 other colours.

Step 3:

The facilitator indicates for example:

on the yellow paper you indicate what you like the most in the life of a group
on the blue paper you indicate what you do not like in the life of a group
on the green paper you indicate why you wanted to participate in this group

Step 4:
Each participant comes to stick the 3 post it on the Earth or the imaginary planet by mixing them. The objective is to allow everyone to bring their contribution to the same place in a spirit of positive co-construction. A colourful and positive image appears on the board with the different coloured post it.

Step 5
The facilitator takes up all the proposals of each one without any judgment, without any remark . He reads all the post it to all the participants while starting with the blue which indicates what the participants do not like, then the yellow for what the participants like.
Lastly, the green colour is used to express the participation of each participant in the group.

Final step / Conclusion:
Review the proposals, rank them with the group, and have them validated by the group.
The classification will be done first by grouping what the participants do not want to see in the group. Then the different themes on what they like in the life of the group, so the positive side that will allow to co-build in the spirit of the solution focus approach also based on what led them to wish to participate in this collective experience.
To conclude, the participants propose to retain the elements that will allow them to start the collective experience.
Everyone was able to express themselves and then build together the start of the group's work. Everyone was able to participate and discuss this new collective experience.

Debrief

It is important to take stock of what has worked in the spirit of the solution-focused approach, especially in the positive construction of a group.
What benefits did you find in participating in this group?
What were your impressions after participating in the start-up of this group? What ideas do you have for organizing your group?
If the exercise worked well, participants generally feel more comfortable and are pleased to have been able to contribute.

Specific materials

A paper board or board
Post-it notes in different colours
Pencils

Tips and Tricks

Some participants may have difficulty expressing what is asked in writing because of writing difficulties, even if there is nothing written on some sheets

In this case, you can give participants the opportunity to complete the exercise orally during group discussions.

On-line version

It seems difficult to do this exercise online because the main objective is to create a dynamic in the group. It is an exercise to get to know each other; doing it in person allows for direct and spontaneous exchanges.

Bibliography - Sitography

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