Future Narratives – The stories that bring us closer – Lab 2

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Lab 2, Parts A & B, 29/11 & 15/12 2021 , 23/1/2022

In Greece, the second lab took place online and was divided into three parts. During the first part of the lab, participants shared personal stories by responding to questions that motivated them to speak by feeling comfortable and connected to each other. 

The first activity we did was to divide the group into pairs and ask them to share their story with each other as we did for the first session of the training course in Sevilla, Spain. Then, when they went back to the plenary, they had to present each other. We gave them enough time to talk and when they came back we did a debriefing for this activity on how it was, if it was easy to share, to listen, to present the other, to hear the other telling their own stories. 

According to some participants, in the beginning, it felt a bit uncomfortable but this is something that depends on who you are talking to. In general, it takes time to feel comfortable with a person you do not know well. For other participants, it was ok to share since they had previous experience in sharing and they really liked it. For some participants, it was weird to listen to another person telling their stories. We tend to focus on the things we want to share and promote about ourselves. When we tell our stories, we become more aware of them. It was also noted by the participants that when they listened to the other person telling their stories, it felt nice because they understood that, although for them something might have been a common thing, for somebody else it was something special.

Then, since we were not a large group of people, we decided to go round and ask more specific questions inspired by Chené Swart’s webinar that took place in the Future Narratives training in Spain. As was expected, the participants started sharing more stories and more personal things. They were opening up and they were much more willing to contribute to the discussion. There was no more awkwardness but a warm discussion on their life struggles, dreams and the things that matter to them. 

In the second part, participants share personal t-shirt ideas that represent their personality and who they are in pairs. Afterwards, they were invited to individually consider a moment in their life they want more of, inspired by Chené Swart’s webinar we had in Spain. The aim of this activity was to identify the important things in life, the things that matter to them the most. After a few minutes of self-reflection, they went back to their pairs and shared (voluntarily) their moments. To close the second meeting, each of the participants shared their (new) t-shirt idea with the group. 

Finally, in the third part of the lab, participants shared more specific stories of their lives. It was interesting to see that sometimes such stories are forgotten or are located very deep down in our minds. When we meet new people, talk about ourselves, we tend to talk about very standard things and probably forget important parts of our lives that make us who we are. The aim of this exercise was to help participants recall life moments that might be important to them and reflect on their interests and hopes for the future. 

We take this opportunity to welcome you to take a look at these following statements and respond to them for your own self-reflection: 

1. I tell a story about what I wanted to be as a 6-year-old

2. I tell a story about a special evening I had with my friends 

3. I tell a story about the day I made a new friend

4. I tell a story about the day I travelled abroad for the first time

5. I tell a story about the day I met a famous person

6. I tell a story about the day I had a disagreement with somebody

7. I tell a story in which something very strange happened to me

8. I tell a story about a day something unexpected happened to me

9. I tell a story about the time I felt powerful

10. I tell a story about a person who changed my life

11. I tell a story when I did something completely crazy (and why I should do it again)

12. I tell a story about the happiest day of my life

13. I tell a story about my passion

14. I tell a story about where I see myself in 10 years

For more information, contact Amerissa Giannouli.