Boat Building

• I listen to what other people have to say and respect it.
• I know examples of people with different skills and talents helping each other.
• I understand the difference between a problem and a conflict.
• I know people can live in harmony and without conflicts when they communicate and trust each other. 

• I am aware that there are many perspectives and listen to and respect those that are different from mine
• I practice dialogue with myself whenever I feel strong emotions about something I don't understand or disagree with
• I reflect on why I agree or disagree with others, and I am able to share my opinion in a respectful way
• I understand that actions of people can be perceived in different ways and cause misunderstandings
• I understand misunderstandings can potentially turn into conflicts between people and communities. 
• I reflect on my actions and check with others if they are misunderstood to prevent conflict
• I can identify different sides of a conflict and make an effort to listen to all of them to understand the causes
• I am able to identify signs of misunderstanding and conflict between community members
• I can propose ideas on how to prevent or address conflict situations according to the dialogue principles. 

• I maintain a continuous dialogue with myself to understand my thoughts, emotions and behaviour, in my relationship with others and with my community
• I reflect on my actions and engage in dialogue with others to find out if they are understood correctly to prevent conflict.
• I understand how dialogue helps reduce misunderstandings between people and prevents escalation into conflict
• I can explain the harmful effects of misunderstanding between people and its impact on local communities. 
• I am able to collaborate with others in finding ways to use dialogue to prevent or address conflicts in my community. 

Before starting this activity, ensure you have the materials, and the basin of water is prepared.

* If possible, have a prize for the winning team.

1. Split the participants into groups (maximum 5 people per team)
2. Share that the objective of the game is to build as many paper boats as possible in 10 minutes- there is a prize for the winning team
3. There are only two conditions which must be fulfilled for a boat to be counted:
   - It must float
   - It must be decorated.
4. Ask the participants if they have questions. The facilitator should ensure everyone is clear on the rules and aim of the game and then start. Encourage participants to try their best to work to accomplish the objective of the activity and take it as a challenge, the team that wins will have a prize.
5. Reinforce that - No more questions will be answered once the game begins.
6. To encourage conflict, the facilitator can help different teams or provide more or less materials throughout the task.
7. Set the 10-minute timer
8. When time is up, ask each team to bring their boats to the water and gather everyone around.
9. To check and score the boats, all other teams are responsible, the owners of the boats cannot say anything but listen to the team who are judging them. (The silence from the team being judged is very important)
10. The teams must check and agree if there is any boat that they feel does not match the two conditions set: it must float and it must be decorated. Encourage them to discard any boat they think does not match these.
11. Add up the score of how many boats they have successfully created. (The other team is going to start complaining but it is not their turn to say anything so they must stay quiet).
12. Repeat the process with the other teams and add up who made the most successful boats. This team is the winner.
13. Summarise and start the reflection based on the questions below.

Please refer to the Learning Objectives above for each age group when explaining, facilitating, and recapping this activity. Select the questions relevant to the age group and their objectives.

Under 11

Ask the group to consider….

• Was the game fair? Why not? Why is this important?
• How was the work in the team? Did you face any challenges?
• How did this activity make you feel?
• How difficult was it to stay quiet while the rest of the team was judging your work?
• How did you feel when judging the work of others?
• Can you identify conflict within your team and with the other teams?

Reflect back …

• Explain how dialogue can reduce the risk of misunderstanding between people
• Understand how this relates to their local community/family/ environment- how do they promote living in harmony with others?

Everybody is useful and nobody is useless.

• If the boat sinks, everybody sinks, if a project fails, everybody fails.
• The world is a boat! Everybody counts.
• Just because we are divided into groups does not mean we have to compete.

11-15, 15+

Ask the group to consider….

• Was the game fair? Why not? Why is this important?
• Who decides what a good boat is and what the standard of decoration is?
• Who sets the valid rule (who had the power?)
• How could the group have achieved more? Could they have all worked together? *No one said they had to stay in their team.
• Who says who is the winner and the loser according to what rule?
• How did this activity make you feel?
• How does it feel to try your best but be told it was not enough?
• How difficult was it to stay quiet while the rest of the team was judging your work?
• How did you feel when judging the work of others?
• Can you identify conflict within your team and with the other teams?
• How does this relate to parts of the world where there is conflict?

Reflect back…

• Understand that differences imply different needs and seeing things differently- how can this cause arguments or conflict?
• Discuss and identify threats of conflict/misunderstanding between peers
• Recognise how people are connected with each other and there is no escape/excuse from communicating and having dialogues with each other, whatever the distance
• How does this activity help you understand more to take action?
• How could you help others to be prepared to respond to conflicts/misunderstandings?

Everybody is useful and nobody is useless.

• If the boat sinks, everybody sinks, if a project fails, everybody fails.
• The world is a boat! Everybody counts.
• Just because we are divided into groups does not mean we have to compete.

As the adult leader, you should also encourage other reflection and questions based on your knowledge, experience and desired objectives