This activity is a game in which a series of sentences on different human rights topics are put in a jar and then discussed

Young people

10-15 people

A big room with chairs

Chairs
A jar/hat/bowl
Pieces of paper with sentences

The aim of the activity is to make youngsters develop their skills and abilities on speaking in public in favor or against some topic in an assertive and non-violent way and to listen to others speeches. It will also help them practice their skills on formulating arguments.

Step 1.
Prepare a set of sentences and write them on small pieces of paper and then put all of them in a jar/hat/bowl.

Step 2.
Prepare 2 or 3 chairs, according to the number of people participating at the activity, and put these chairs on one side of the room, these will be the speakers’ chairs.

Step 3.
Only people seated in those chairs are allowed to speak; one of them has to blindly pick up a piece of paper from the jar and read it out loud and then the 2-3 persons in the speakers’ chairs start discussion about this topic, trying to convince the audience of their own position expressing their own thoughts and opinions on the picked-up sentence, trying to placing the argument in social and political contexts.

Step 4.
While the speakers are speaking about the picked topic, the other participants can speak only if they go to one of the 3 speakers, tap in his/her shoulder and sits in his/her place, replacing him/her as speaker. These changes can be done several times, the important thing is that the replacement can be done only when the person speaking has finished.
Tips for the trainer As trainer, it is important to facilitate the discussion; after a few rounds, a volunteer from the participants can play the facilitator role.
Encourage the ones who have not spoken yet to speak;
Examples of sentences:
- Being gay is a choice
- Women should stay home nursing and cleaning
- Dads cannot have paternity leave
- It is not natural to want to change sex
- Men who cry are weak
- Abortion is homicide
- Climate change does not exist
Less controversial sentences can be chosen according to the group composition.

Any other comment on the Methodology Activity adapted from PRIDE project - Toolkit for trainers in non-formal education and activists promoting rights, inclusion, diversity and education