Planet Planning; A Social Analysis Exercise
Key message
Understanding the personal, interpersonal and universal needs of individuals, and appreciating the actions and activities required to provide for these needs, is key to understanding our role in society and how we can work together to ensure all needs are met. This exercise aims to raise the social and societal awareness of participants as a preventative measure to radicalisation.
Key words:understanding core values, understanding needs, social awareness
Summary
This exercise encourages participants to look at their own needs and the universal needs we all possess and are constantly trying to fulfil. Participants are encouraged to explore the effectiveness of different behaviours people employ to have those needs met in society.
LessKey message
Understanding the personal, interpersonal and universal needs of individuals, and appreciating the actions and activities required to provide for these needs, is key to understanding our role in society and how we can work together to ensure all needs are met. This exercise aims to raise the social and societal awareness of participants as a preventative measure to radicalisation.
Key words:understanding core values, understanding needs, social awareness
Summary
This exercise encourages participants to look at their own needs and the universal needs we all possess and are constantly trying to fulfil. Participants are encouraged to explore the effectiveness of different behaviours people employ to have those needs met in society.
Key message
Understanding the personal, interpersonal and universal needs of individuals, and appreciating the actions and activities required to provide for these needs, is key to understanding our role in society and how we can work together to ensure all needs are met. This exercise aims to raise the social and societal awareness of participants as a preventative measure to radicalisation.
Key words:understanding core values, understanding needs, social awareness
Summary
This exercise encourages participants to look at their own needs and the universal needs we all possess and are constantly trying to fulfil. Participants are encouraged to explore the effectiveness of different behaviours people employ to have those needs met in society.
- Module
- Prevention
- Duration
- 1 hour
- Group size
- medium
- large
- Group age
- 12 - 15
- 16 - 19
- 20 - 24
Exercise Category: Activities / Exercises
CC - Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Purpose
- To identify what the group believes to be the core needs of people in today’s society
- To broadly look at how as a community we attempt to respond to these needs and if our behaviour is effective at meeting our needs and getting us what we want (without hurting others)
Participants
Suitable for use with a wide variety of groups; non-gender specific
Description
Step 1: The facilitator tells the participants that they have just arrived on a new planet and are starting from scratch. The question is posed ‘What are the needs that might surface?’ and the group are asked to respond to the question based on their own life experience and knowledge.
The facilitator captures what emerges through this brainstorming exercise on flipchart.
Step 2: The main group is broken up into small working groups and participants are asked to arrange the ‘needs’ under seven core headings (dedicate a flipchart sheet to each one)
- Survival
- Social
- Political
- Environmental
- Economic
- Cultural
- Religious/Spiritual
*Add in any additional ones that may not have been identified through the brainstorming exercise
Step 3: As a group, agree on and then organise your list of seven into a hierarchy, stating which ones you feel are most/least important. Articulate why you have rated some needs as being more significant than others.What institutions/organisations/structures (if any) need to be developed in response to these identified needs?
Step 4: Each group presents their lists and says a little about the choices they had to make as a group. The facilitator then initiates a discussion about how participants found the exercise and asks the group a series of questions.
Materials needed
Flipchart, Markers
Methodology
Small working groups, Large group discussion
Advice for Trainer
To engage the group in a discussion in Step 4, the facilitator should pose the following questions:
- How does your planet compare to the world we are currently living in?
- As a society do we sometimes hurt others in an attempt to gratify our own needs, if so what form can this take?
- What happens when people’s needs are consistently not met?
- For those engaged in radicalisation, what needs are they attempting to meet? Is it effective for them?
- If so…in what way? and if not, why not?
Source / Literature
Original material developed for the purpose of the YCARe project