Basic sentences to say “Hello”, “Have a nice meal”, “Good night” etc. are written on a paperboard in the mother tongue of each participant. The board is put in the living room in order to encourage the multilingualism and to break down language barriers as much as possible.

One month before the training course begins, ask each EU delegation to send you 2 typical (and not too difficult) recipes from their country (1 main dish and 1 sweet, for 1 meal). Draw their attention on the fact that they have to choose ingredients that you can find at this season and in the venue (otherwise they should bring them when joining the training course). Invite them to present the dish and the potential stories or social rituals that go with it when serving the meal.

Singing and dancing help a lot in overcoming language barriers and connecting with each other. Few things are needed to initiate the movement. Just give participants free access to: - some acoustic music instruments (guitars, flutes, tambourines…); - lyrics books with tablatures; - a white board (to write additional songs); - a computer with an efficient sound system and playlists with music from various cultural areas. If needed, give the first impetus at the beginning of the training course. Spontaneous jam-sessions and dances will most probably occur in the following days, contributing strongly to the group dynamic.

In order to create better interconnection within the participants and to encourage caring for others among the group, you can call the “buddy”. A buddy is a participant that will take care of another participant. When needed, he/she will make an effort to be available to help his/her mate, for example to express feelings after a moving session, debrief, release tensions…. To create pairs, you can for example ask the participants to walk and move in the living room randomly while a song is playing. When the song stops, they have to go the nearest person and form pairs: their mate will be their “buddy” as long as the seminar goes.

“Today’s menu” refers to the program of a day. Every night or early morning, write the detailed schedule of the day on a paperboard. Use graphic facilitation and add a few drawings to illustrate the info. This will help the participants to get prepared and to feel responsible about time management. Therefore, the “menu” should always be accessible to the participants, for self-regulation and management.

Need some help to develop your drawing skills? Ask a friend or check theBikablo books !