Democracy Circle

An introducing method for the discussion of the concept of democracy. It focuses on the associations and experiences of the participants. Everybody positiones himself by answering the question: "What does democracy mean for me personally, what is my relation, am I critical or convinced from it?" Beyond the self-reflection people learn the different perspectives of the other participants.

In short

• 20 people
• 1 hour
• Prepared poster with the democracy circle, markers

Preparation

A poster with the word "DEMOCRACY" in the center and a circle around it.

Implementation

The facilitator asks to answering the question "What does democracy mean for me personally, what is my relation, am I far away from the center, near or very close to its center?" [5 minutes]

Participants answer, showing on the poster, where they'd like to locate themselves and place a individual symbol on the poster. They might explain their attitude.

Generally the facilitators and other participants are not allowed to give comments or to evaluate the statements. The method should be conducted quite fast [30 minutes]

Evaluation

The facilitator focuses on a short analysis of the tendencies in the the group and paraphrazes the reasons for the participants' decisions. [20 minutes]

Experience

A good step into the topic. Be aware that often a sceptical and critical attitude comes at first. Prevent to comment this or to intervene.

Alternatively you can chose other words than "democracy", like Europe, nation, involvement...