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Charades!
Credits Last Updated 2017-06
Trainings are often quite intensive, providing a lot of information to absorb in a relatively short time. This exercise is tool that you can use to test participants’ knowledge and comprehension while simultaneously offering a fun and relaxing environment for de-stressing.
This session was developed for, and should be attributed to, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting resource “Cyberwomen: Holistic Digital Security Training Curriculum for Women Human Rights Defenders” under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International CC BY-SA 4.0 License
Materials to Prepare:
- Digital Safety Tool Figures
- Tape or clothespins
- Music to play in the background
Trainer’s Note
In case some participants have trouble guessing their digital security tool figure, and others have already completed the exercise in their pairs, those who have finished can help others guess which figure they’ve been given.
Running the Exercise:
Step 1 | Have participants all stand in a line, with their backs facing you – using tape or a clothespin, fix one of the Digital Safety Tool Figures onto the back of each participant. Make sure that nobody sees which figure has been given to them!
Step 2 | Once finished, ask participants to arrange themselves in a large empty space in the room (or to create one by removing chairs or desks). Explain to them that the figure on each of their backs represents a concept or tool that they have discussed during the training.
Step 3 | Put on some music – participants should now move freely throughout the space. They can stretch out, dance, walk, or otherwise move about however they wish (but they must remain in motion). Explain that when you stop playing the music, everybody must also stop and remain in place.
Step 4 | Stop the music and ask each participant to partner with the person they find themselves closest to. One participant must show her back to the other person, who will then attempt to communicate – using only gestures or body expressions – the word or concept that is on their back. Once the participant guesses correctly, they will now switch places with their partner and repeat the process - the exercise ends once everyone has guessed correctly which digital security tool figure is on their back.