Sculpting Relationship

From Peacebuilding

Contents 1 Aim: 2 Time: 3 Materials: 4 Procedure: 5 Note: 6 Source: 7 Headline text

Aim:

Encourage participants to think about power dynamics

Time:

At least 1 hour

Materials:

• Flip charts

• Markers

• If possible a mat or piece of cloth to lie on the floor

Procedure:

I) Ask for three volunteers. Say they’ll be asked to “sculpt” an image that the others will be asked to comment on.

II) Ask the first person to lie down flat on the floor on his or her back (illustrated below). Ask the second person to place his or her foot on the first person’s stomach. Ask the third person to stand on a chair behind the second person and put his or her hands on the second person’s shoulders.

• • • INSERT IMAGE***

III) Ask the plenary:

• What does this sculpture represent?

• What is it about?

• Who is who in the sculpture?

• (To the three volunteers) How does it feel to be in your position?

• (To the three volunteers) How do you perceive your power in relation to the others?

Facilitate discussion. Help participants explore power relationships. Try to shift the discussion to real life.

IV) Ask the plenary:

• How would you arrange the sculpture to represent what you want it to look like?

Have participants re-arrange the sculpture and discuss. Repeat the procedure as necessary.

V) Ask the plenary:

• To represent the situation in your country/area/community, how would you arrange the sculpture?

Have participants re-arrange the sculpture and discuss.

• How would you like it to be?

Have participants re-arrange the sculpture and discuss.

Note:

This is a great exercise for combining interaction with discussion and can be used instead of an energiser. Asking for volunteers helps ensure that you only get people involved who want to participate. It’s a good idea to select the most physically fit volunteers because they’ll be required to hold the sculpture positions for a while. Be aware of the cultural context of your participants – putting a foot on someone’s stomach may be culturally inappropriate, or be affected by gender. There’s a certain level of risk if you use a very immediate structure, e.g. families, since it may raise points of tension within the group.

Source:

Fast, Larissa, Neufeldt, Reina, et al., Caritas: A Peacebuilding Training Manual, Vatican City: Caritas Internationalis, 2002, p.72, http://www.caritas.org.

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