Sometime in early February, Mignon (FunDza’s Executive Director) shared a Creative Facilitation workshop with us and asked who would be interested in going. Being fully aware that the workshop would be over a weekend, we (Dorothy, Sonja and myself) signed up with some excitement. It would be great to tap into our creative selves again as we had been swallowed whole by our laptops over the months. We all felt as though we were not creative enough, so learning something new surely couldn’t hurt.
As the weeks rolled by, the excitement turned to anxiety and anxiety to annoyance. Who designs a workshop over a weekend – both the Saturday and the Sunday? And why on earth did we sign up for this? We could be sleeping in, there’s so much to do around the house, etc. But the workshop was booked and paid for, we had to go. Being a literary organisation that worked with youth, we needed some new ideas both for our personal use as writers, and to bring to the table when we run our creative writing workshops.
Saturday March 25 finally arrived. We were up bright and early, but grumbling our annoyance all the while. As we drove to the workshop in Dorothy’s car, we reflected that this was what it must feel like for our participants when we do workshops and why sometimes the turnout isn’t great. Getting up early on a weekend is hard for some of us and being there at 8am was just ludicrous. We started joking about the roles/characters we would assume based on what we’ve seen from our participants in our workshops – the passive participant who never shares or seems disinterested, the mean and grumpy participant who puts everything down as a joke or a waste of time, and the in-between participant who wants to fit in with his/her friends but wants to engage in the exercises too.
When we arrived at the venue we were directed to a table that had colour paper, scissors, glitter and glues and all sorts of crafty-artsy stuff. Here, people were designing their name tags in any shape or form that inspired them. We got to work too, fighting over the glitter and trying to make the biggest sparkle! We were kids all over again and it was awesome. After an ice-breaker and introductions, the workshop was underway.
They had the chairs arranged in a circle so we could all see one another. There was a lot of song of dance and it didn’t matter how you did it, so long as you did and enjoyed it. The games were designed to unlock creativity and to find it in everything. We played a song and dance game where we got to learn other people’s names. In a circle of six people you had to sing their names until it became a mantra and then they swapped groups and you had to learn new names. This was great as by the end of the day we felt as though we had known each other forever.
We were reminded again of what the participants feel when they walk into our space. How intimidating or safe those spaces are is up to us. The facilitators themselves didn’t look that intimidating as some were still trainee facilitators. In all the activities there was time for personal reflection and group participation – everyone was involved. At the end of each day we had to reflect and share on what we learnt and what we would take away to use in our spaces from there. For me, the ice-breakers I will definitely use. The name tags are a great steal, I would just have to add 15 minutes to my workshop time. I will also try and be more understanding of my participants, and think about how they feel when it comes to sharing tasks and speaking in front of others.
It was a little weird being the one facilitated – I’m usually on the other side of the table. I understood now why sometimes with school kids, it seemed easy to assume the adult role: “I’m here to teach you something and you will learn – while having fun.” This method sometimes doesn’t help to reach those shy ones who struggle to share their thoughts publicly. This is where creating a safe space becomes vital – nobody should be left behind. And also I will now be more open to learn from them and take back some verbal/written feedback for my personal growth.
The next Creative Facilitation workshop is in September and I’m definitely signing up. This workshop has helped boost my energy and my creative genius is wide awake!