Methodologies
This page brings together all the methodologies included in this toolkit. They are organized into three formats — Supporting Exercises, Core Exercises, and Extended Workshops — each designed for a different level of depth, time, and facilitation experience.
How to use different formats?
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Supporting exercises are short, low-threshold activities designed to help groups feel safer, more connected, and emotionally regulated. They do not aim to explore topics in depth, but rather to support participants before, during, or after more demanding sessions.
These exercises can be used:
at the beginning of a meeting to gently build connection and presence,
between activities to restore focus and balance,
or at the end of a session to support grounding and closure.
Supporting exercises are especially useful when working with newly formed groups, in intercultural or multilingual settings, or with participants affected by stress, displacement, or uncertainty.
All supporting exercises follow trauma-informed principles: participation is voluntary, observation is a valid form of participation, personal sharing is never required, and facilitators are encouraged to prioritize choice, pacing, and safety over outcomes.
Facilitators are invited to select, shorten, adapt, or omit these exercises based on the group's needs and the context of the session.
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Extended Workshops in this toolkit are designed as deep, process-based learning formats rather than standalone activities or exercises. They work with participants' lived experiences, emotions, values, and meaning-making, and therefore require time, trust, and ethical facilitation.
Each extended workshop follows a clear internal arc — from orientation and emotional safety, through a core experiential process, to reflection, grounding, and integration. These formats are especially relevant in contexts of displacement, conflict, trauma, or social tension, where learning cannot be rushed and psychological safety is essential.
Extended workshops cannot be meaningfully shortened or fragmented; they are intended to hold space for transformation, collective sense-making, and embodied learning, with attention to aftercare and participants' wellbeing.