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“The river of life” methodology

Organisation

Mobilizing Expertise

Methodology

Artistic method using Autobiographical mapping “The River of Life methodology”

Type of activity / modality

Exercise, Activity / In presence

Summary

This RIVER OF LIFE activity is designed to help us reflect on who we are and explore where we come from and what our story in life is. The river is a metaphor, a symbol of our life, used as a tool to depict our personal journey by using art.

A river can sometimes flow slower, other times it can flow faster, and there are always obstacles in the flow of a river. The aim is to highlight the key elements that have contributed to shaping the River of Life so far. This method allows us to describe not only the current juncture of our lives, but also the historical twists and turns and experiences of the path we took to reach this stage of life. The rivers of life can also extend beyond our present reality and can be used to show our expectations and aspirations for the future.

Theme

Educational activities based on art-therapy for social inclusion through art&craft, autobiographical storytelling techniques and digital storytelling to support migrant women in self-awareness and empowerment projects, both in-person and remote. This kit describes how to prepare activities and materials, offers evaluation and self-assessment models of activities and outcomes, making it easier to use this tool and to replicate proposed activities.

Participants

In this activity, we aim for participants older than 18 and willing to use art as an educational and narrative storytelling technique.

Objective

  • To encourage participants to use art and music to tell and create stories,
  • To be able to create an oral presentation using visuals,
  • Supporting creativity through art and storytelling

Materials

Flipcharts
Coloring pencils (crayons, markers, dry paints, etc.)
Glue
Small stationery ornaments
Small Stickers (Symbols etc.) to feed creativity
Photos,
Music for relaxation and inspiration, creativity and imagination.

Preparation

In the preparation phase, to prepare the participant’s mind to the River of Life activity, the facilitator by saying: “A good speech that takes us on a journey in our minds, that excites, inspires and motivates us is through the art of storytelling. The art of storytelling can be done using many different materials such as puppets, cards, objects, etc. It can also be done without a visual tool. In today’s activity, we will tell our story by using art.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Thinking

Ask participants to think about the course of their lives. Ask them also to take into consideration the moment or course of their life on how it will look in the next 5 years.

 Help them think with the following questions:

  • What shape would their life take if it were a river?
  • Where do bends and turns happen when their situation or perspective changes? Are the transitions smooth or abrupt?
  • Are there rocks or debris – obstacles or life-changing moments – falling into their rivers?
  • Are there points where it flows strongly and purposefully, or does it slow a drop?

Step 2: Shaping

Give the participants a large piece of paper – it should be blank. Ask them to draw the rivers of life according to the thinking questions. Provide the participants with all the necessary materials (paint, pencils, etc.) to make the drawing.Indicate that the rivers they will create will remain as memories after the activity.

Tell them to label their approximate age and/or date along with the flow of their river.

Ask them to identify various important events in their lives that have shaped their story – the rocks in the river or the places where the river changed its course.

If they were to segment their life journey, where would the divisions occur? Tell them to name each part of the rivers of life.

Step 3: Redirect

Ask participants to think of the people accompanying them on this river journey. Tell them to write down these important relationships or losses in the appropriate places on the rivers of life. If they want, they can also write their feelings and thoughts related to these relationships.

  • What relationships were most important at different moments in their lives?
  • Who developed them the most, how and why?
  • Have there been significant relationship losses along the way?
  • What were the most important groups or communities of people on their journey?

Step 4: Contextualization

Ask participants to reflect on their life’s journey and trajectory. They should place life events in appropriate places in their diagrams using words and/or symbols.

  • Are there significant moments of pain and suffering or happiness and joy that shape the flow of the rivers of life?
  • What was happening in the world locally, regionally or globally that could affect the flow of the rivers of life?

Step 5: Evaluation

They should pay attention to what is important to their life.

  • What values, promises, reasons, or principles are most important to them at a particular point in their lives?
  • What goals, if any, were their primary energies directed towards? Or, figuratively speaking, what goals and endings helped shape the flow of the waters of life at a particular time in their experience?
  • After the event is over, ask volunteers to present to the others their own River of Life.

When they have finished depicting their river of life, ask them to review the whole diagram. Do their symbols and words depict how they think and feel throughout their lives? Are there some important elements left out? They can make changes if necessary. Remind them that no diagram can capture all the shapes of their lives. When they have finished their river of life, tell them that if they wish, they can show their rivers to the whole group and share their turning points.

At the end of the activity, ask your participants how they felt, what they learned and what conclusions they could draw from this activity. As this activity summarizes people’s life history, experiences and heritage, ‘’River’’ can be used as a guide throughout their personal and professional development. They will begin to evaluate where they belong and how they can make a difference as a person. They will be empowered, motivated and aware of the uniqueness of their stories.

Evaluation

Future me Mini River: Now that you have drawn your river, think about how your river should look in the future. Then, try to answer the following questions:

  1. What factors outside of you will shape your river and how can you deal with them?
  2. What would be your reaction to the difficulties or joys you are likely to encounter in your future river?
  3. What do you hope will happen in your river in the future?
  4. How will people from the outside world affect your river?

Tips – Safety

***Some participants may be sensitive and experience emotional outbursts while preparing for this activity and talking about their feelings. Keeping this in mind, you can be prepared and create a support mechanism.

Group size

This activity is better suited for small groups between 5-8 people as the participants will present their river to the other participants, more time will be required when the participant number increases.

Complexity

The complexity factor shows how demanding an exercise could be for facilitators in terms of preparation, time and delivering. In general it gives you an idea of how much preparation, logistics and training experience is needed to deliver that exercise successfully. Rating ranges from 1 to 3:

  1. Neither a lot of material, nor preparation or experience needed; e.g.: only one ball, any playing space would suit, game explanation and  rules are rather simple.
  2. You need more time and materials to prepare the activity, you also need greater expertise in delivering it; e.g.: you might need a lot of materials, you need a specific kind of venue,  the activity explanation is rather complicated.
  3. A lot of preparation and/or material is needed, you need at least two facilitators to deliver the activity, which is  a pretty complicated one; e.g. you need many different kinds of materials plus further  objects you might not have at hand in the chosen venue, you need at least one facilitator who is familiar with that activity,  and you cannot involve any kind of target groups, as  participants must have specific prerequisites, such as, for example, abstract thinking.

Time

1.5 hours – 2 hours

Further suggestions for the implementation of the activity

Creating Haiku Poem

Hiku is a traditional Japanese poetry genre. It is considered the shortest type of poetry in the world. It usually has a three-line structure with 5-7-5 syllables. When writing Hiku, seasons, nature and emotions can be mentioned or a concrete and instantaneous situation or event can be  described.The rules of a Haiku poem:

  • there are no more than 17 syllables.
  • Haiku is composed of only 3 lines.
  • Typically, every first line of Haiku has 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables, and the third has 5 syllables

Now, we will use Haiku poem to say our thought about our future. Let us create a Haiku poem representing your past, present and future “River” or a strong statement for your thoughts of the future. Try to follow the above-mentioned rules of this type of poem.

In this section you will find the official translations of the activities in Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Greek when they will be ready

In this section you will find the official translations of the activities in Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Greek when they will be ready

In this section you will find the official translations of the activities in Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Greek when they will be ready

In this section you will find the official translations of the activities in Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Greek when they will be ready

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