Contents
Goals
- Explore and understand inequalities within societies.
- Self-reflection of privileges and power in own social groups and backgrounds
Remarks
Over the past decade, identity has become a key theme in youth work, especially in democratic and citizenship education. Linked to inequality and intersectionality, it requires a careful and critical approach.
The activity around the wheel of privilege and power can be used in training-for-trainers settings, as well as within learning paths for adults and young adults, and can be adapted for teenagers according to the goals and context of the learning process.
- This activity can be considered a starting point to collectively define the learning space, making explicit the power relations within it and working towards creating an environment that is inclusive, meaningful, and respectful for everyone. Addressing privilege before vulnerability serves a dual purpose: it prevents placing less privileged participants at the forefront because of their specific characteristics, and it acknowledges that beyond vulnerability, every person possesses resources and forms of privilege that can serve as starting points for empowerment.
- Reflecting on the journey of constructing who we are at this moment, taking into account past experiences, the contexts in which each person lives, and both the digital and analogue spheres where each individual expresses themselves, is seen by others, and is analysed and predicted by algorithms.
Facilitators of this activity should...
- have a solid background in diversity and inclusion, with appropriate knowledge and competences to manage group dynamics sensitively.
- have a basic understanding of how algorithms function in internet searches and on social platforms — particularly in relation to data collection, analysis, and use.
Before using the wheel in a learning context, take time to explore it yourself, reflecting on your own positioning among privilege and disadvantage. This personal reflection will help you better understand and interpret participants’ perceptions, reflections, and considerations.
Steps
Preparation
Print handouts in one copy per participant.
- Wheel of privilege: template
Introduction
The Wheel of Power and Privilege is today a well-known tool that helps to explore and understand inequalities within societies. Several versions of the wheel have been developed and reshaped according to different approaches. The most common representations of the tool, however, are based on a Western-centric perspective, mostly reflecting U.S.-based narratives. Nevertheless, it is possible to create new versions of the wheel adapted to the specific context in which the training takes place. Building the wheel together offers participants the opportunity to reflect on the dimensions of identity and privilege that are most relevant in their own context. The slices or categories of the wheel can vary in size, representing the perceived importance or influence of certain characteristics within that society.
1. Fill out the wheel
Position yourself in the different portions of the wheel according to what you perceive about yourself (We will share our wheel, so if you do not want to share some information about you avoid to mark your answers)
2. Reflect
- How did you feel while doing the activity? And how do you feel now, looking at your wheel?
- Were there any parts of your personal identity wheel that felt difficult to fill in? What made them challenging?
- Which aspects of your identity do you think about most often? Which ones come to mind less frequently?
- Which parts of your identity most influence how you see yourself?
- What parts of who you are do you feel comfortable sharing in different situations? Does that change between physical spaces compared to digital ones?
- Which parts do you think most influence how others see you? Does this perception shift between your offline and online presence?
- Are there aspects of your identity that you find harder to share with others? Why might that be?
- Why do you think it’s important to take time to reflect on our identities?
- What value do you see in doing an activity like this together, as a group?
In pairs, participants decide which questions they want to tackle and are invited to discuss about their experience and/or about the different dimensions of privilege as the understood them in the contexts. Each person must have the free willing of what to share, discuss and comment.
Invite participants to choose a person they know and feel comfortable expressing themselves with — someone with whom they can share their thoughts and reflections freely.
4. Plenary discussion
The plenary discussion is an essential moment for participants to make sense of the experience, connect personal reflections to collective insights, and critically question the role of power, privilege, and identity in both physical and digital spaces.
As a facilitator, your role is to create a respectful space where everyone feels free to share — but never pressured to do so. Encourage participants to speak from their own experience, listen actively to others, and notice both emotions and insights that arise.
You don’t need to use all the questions listed below. Select the ones that best fit the group’s level of awareness, the time available, and the flow of the discussion. Begin with personal and emotional reflections, then gradually move toward broader social and systemic questions, and finally toward a meta-reflection on the tool itself and its possible adaptations.
Initial Questions – Starting from Personal Experience
- How did you feel while doing the exercise on your own, and how did those feelings change when you started discussing your reflections with others?
- What parts of the activity felt easy or comfortable for you, and which parts were more challenging — either during the individual reflection or the group sharing?
- What stood out to you from your conversations in pairs?
- Did anything surprise you about your own reflections or what others shared?
The facilitator invites participants to share what they found relevant or interesting. Depending on the group’s level of awareness and the depth of their reflections, you can select some of the following questions for the debriefing discussion.
Exploring Privilege and Power
- When thinking about the different dimensions of the wheel, which forms of privilege felt most visible in your context? Which felt less visible or more hidden?
- How do power and privilege show up in your daily life — at work, at school, or in your community?
- Were there any dimensions of privilege that felt particularly context-specific (for example, that change between online and offline spaces, or across different cultures)?
Connecting Digital and Physical Identities
- How does your sense of privilege or vulnerability shift between physical and digital environments?
- Did the digital dimension of identity make you think differently about how people are seen, included, or excluded?
- How might algorithms or digital systems reinforce or challenge existing inequalities?
Questioning the Tool – Meta-Reflection on the Activity
- How did the wheel help you reflect on your own identity and position in society?
- Did you feel that some categories or dimensions were missing or less relevant in your context?
- What personal or collective insights are you taking away from this activity?
- How might this reflection influence the way you interact with others in your daily life or professional context?
- What new questions or curiosities are you leaving with after this experience?
Questions to trainers and facilitators (if target group)
- How can this activity be used responsibly and inclusively in different training or learning settings?
- If you were to adapt this tool for your community or organization, what would you change or add?
Possible extension
If the activity is part of a longer learning path and aligns with its overall objectives, it can be integrated as a reflection and observation follow up phase.
5. Personal Reflection
Invite participants to take some time in the following days to reflect on the Power and Privilege Wheel activity. They can note or think about situations in daily life where they notice privilege, inclusion, or exclusion — both offline and online.
6. Digital observation
Ask participants to observe how they express themselves in digital spaces (social media, messaging, online communities). Encourage them to reflect on which parts of their identity are more visible or hidden, and how algorithms might influence what they see or share.
7. Exchange and sharing
Invite participants to reconnect with their partner or share short reflections — written or visual — in the project’s digital space to continue the exchange and learning.
Variation: Re-elaborate the wheel
It is possible to elaborate the wheel with participants from the beginning of the activity or generate a new one afterward if there is time and the need to go deeper on the reflection of micro and macro social dynamics
Handbook: More than Go with the Flow
- A handbook on Digital Citizenship Education, created in the frame of the project DIYW-ROAD/Competendo. Digital Youth Work - rights-sensitive, open, accessible, democratic.
- Unless otherwise stated, authors and editors of the methods published in the project are Elisa Rapetti, Markus José Plasencia Kanzler, and Nils-Eyk Zimmermann
