IMPLEMENTATION
"DIGITAL EMPATHY" took place in Pissouri, Cyprus from the 1st to the 8th of September 2022 and was implemented by the ACPELIA organization. The stakeholders were Nikolas, Evangelia, Erma and Marina.
2nd of October 2022
GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER
During the morning sessions, we held some team-building activities in order to get to know each other. We first did a short activity, in which participants had to say some interesting facts about themselves depending on how much toilet paper they cut. The second activity was an activity about creating our own envelopes. In this activity, participants were walking in the room with a piece of paper with their names and a circle (face). As they were walking with their papers each time and when the trainer said "stop", it was simultaneously suggested to draw a specific feature of the face of the participant whose name was on the paper (e.g., eyebrows, eyes, lips). We continued until we had drawn the whole face. In this way, we had a portrait of each participant which had been drawn by various other participants. Afterwards, we put them up on the wall with an envelope underneath which was used to place some "presents'' and nice words for each person.
EXPECTATIONS, FEARS, CONTRIBUTIONS: We asked participants to write in papers their expectations, their fears and their contribution to the training. Afterwards, they were divided into three groups. Each group had to create a poster either with expectations, fears or contributions and present it to us.
During the afternoon sessions, participants had the opportunity to explore our hosting village; Pissouri. They had to complete 12 tasks by walking all over the village. See the implementation of this activity here: https://digem-8.webnode.co.uk/tasks-in-pissouri/
3rd of October 2022
SECOND DAY
CREATING OUR OWN JOURNALS & PRESENTATION:
During the first session of the second day of our Project, participants designed their own journals in order to have a place for taking notes. We then led a presentation about the key digital features (e.g., accessibility, functionality, brand identity, etc.). By setting the foundations for the sessions to come, participants were able to retrospectively recall information during the next days. We discussed the importance of accessibility, especially when creating a website or an app. We also discussed the importance of the brand identity of a project or a business you create. Brand identity includes the main values of your project/business, the colour palette, the logo/s, your brand philosophy, etc. We have also explained how important empathy is for assessing the needs of your consumers. In this regard, one is able to categorize, but also find his target audience, and adapt the prices, etc.
TRADITIONAL TOOLS VS DIGITAL TOOLS
In the activity "Traditional tools vs Digital tools," we attached "YES," "NO", and "MAYBE" on the floor. When we read a statement, such as for example, whether working from home is not a normal job, participants had to take a side depending on what they believe. Accordingly, everybody had the opportunity to raise his/her voice and also learn from others in an important manner.
JOURNALING SESSION
In the afternoon, we continued with a journaling Session, in which participants got exposed to some tasks (e.g., identify the reason for doing everything you do in your life, identify the five core values of your character, etc.). Journaling is quite important for understanding oneself. By, for example, identifying the reason for doing everything you do in life, you gain a sense of purpose without the danger of falling into nihilism, finding everything purposeless and without meaning. On a similar wise, identifying the core values of our character helps us align what we do with our values. For example, it is quite important if we value honesty to not fall into diplomacy but into transparency and genuineness. This is inseparably linked with our ability to understand others and recognize other people's attributes in us. By understanding our own selves, we can better understand other people or at least understand that we will never understand them.
In the last Session, we had an outside activity (Take a Step forward), in which participants had to put themselves in a particular role and "walk" in his shoes. It has been followed by a poster about the emotions experienced in groups. The activity ended with a small workshop about equality; how we are all the same but at the same time different. Although we differ in terms of our biological constitution, our experiences and different inputs, we are made of the same "ingredients," we see the world through the same physical outlook, and we have common experiences. In this regard, we all have the same value as human beings.
4th of October 2022
THIRD DAY
On the third day, participants have been divided into groups. During the first part of this activity, they had to draw with pencils the framework of their potential business website (i.e., particularly their Home-Page). In this regard, they had to put creativity and innovation, but at the same time take into account functionality and accessibility features. After they drew their wireframing, they had to design the main components of their homepage (e.g., fill it with articles, titles, or logos). In this regard, they had to particularize the structural framework they drew. They had one hour for this task. The posters in which they did the wireframing - content of their website (i.e., homepage), they had to briefly present it.
FREE TIME IN LIMASSOL
In the afternoon of the third day, we got to explore the archaeological remains of Kourion - which was one of the island's most important city-kingdoms in antiquity. The city-kingdom was built on the hills of the area and overlooked and controlled the fertile valley of the river Kouris. According to archaeological finds, evidence suggests that Kourion was associated with the Greek legend of Argos of Peloponnese, and that its inhabitants believed they were descendants of Argean immigrants. The once-flourishing kingdom was eventually destroyed in a severe earthquake in 365 AD.
The magnificent Greco-Roman theatre - the site's centrepiece - was built in the 2nd century BC and extended in the 2nd century AD. The theatre has been restored and is now used for open-air musical and theatrical performances - mainly during the summer months - making it one of the most popular settings for high-calibre cultural events.
After the exhibition in the archaeological place of Kourion, we went into the centre of Limassol, where participants could explore the area, get some rest, and get to know each other better. The multifunctional seaside Park; Molos, which is at the centre of Limassol is considered one of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean basin. Currently, Molos Limassol is a wide promenade framed on both sides with delicate palm trees, where part of the boardwalk is made in the form of small pools. On the Seaside are several wooden piers, which are also places for walking.
5th of October 2022
FOURTH DAY
In the morning sessions of the Fourth Day, we started with a brief brainstorming in trying to analyze a person's perspective on a narrow topic. In this regard, we were trying to fill the Empathy Map of how a person feels, thinks, acts, and says. We then continued by giving particular concepts to every intercultural group of three persons. Participants then had been given an Empathy Map to discuss. Accordingly, they had to put themselves in the position of a particular consumer in order to understand based on what this person says or based on how he acts, how this person feels or thinks. In the second morning session, the same groups of three remained, and participants had to prepare a roleplaying scenario, in which person A is the customer, person B is the employer, and person C is the observer.
LEGO ACTIVITY
In this activity, participants got divided into three groups. Each received the same amount of lego pieces. Each person from each group received a statement. The interesting thing about this activity is that each person had a particular task; yet nobody could speak and communicate the task he had to do to the rest of the group. At the end of this activity, we led a short discussion about how the necessity of communication in whatever we do. In any business, project, or job in this world, you necessarily have to communicate with a particular team; if nobody knows where you are located and what role you play in the team (i.e., if you are, for example, the leader), then everything becomes much more difficult, communication becomes very difficult to achieve, and the overall outcome is much more dissatisfying.
ART THERAPY
In the last session of the fourth day, we started with a guided meditation in order for participants to relax and free themselves from any stress, anxiety, or fears. We then asked participants to express their feelings authentically without thinking on a piece of paper. We did a small reflection about how important it is to not be perfectionists and be conscious of everything we do, being guided by our subconscious mind, leaving, in this way, ourselves free. Participants then have been given a piece of paper (i.e., filling out the house paper), where they had to write down how they feel, their core values, etc.
6th of October 2022
FIFTH DAY
7th of October 2022
SIXTH DAY
WORKSHOP FROM THE SOCIAL INNOVATION CENTER
In the morning sessions of the final day, we had three guests from the Social Innovation Center. In the beginning, a game with straws was implemented, in which participants were divided into 4 groups. Each group had to try to create the largest "tower" of straws with the elements they have been given. The tower should not rely on anything and it had to be able to stay stable for a couple of minutes. After the game, our guests talked to them about starting up their own businesses and what they need to do it. Participants have been divided into ten groups and they had twenty minutes to create a poster depending on the concept their group received (e.g., business modelling, marketing principles, building and managing a team of success, etc.).
THE CHILD'S FEAR
In the afternoon session, we hold a reflection activity on our fears. Participants had to think of their childhood fears. They had to consider whether they have been disappeared or transformed into something else. Then, they had to write their current fears into post notes anonymously. This has been followed by a short visualization for participants to relax and "throw away" their fears. Each participant could get a thrown post note from the floor and read it. In this regard, we were able to analyze the adult fears, we all may have and held a discussion of our common fears. We could relate how fears are evolutionary, how they all rely on our survival instincts, as fears we had as children when everything looked "bigger" and "scarier" and was "threatening" our survival has either remained as a "fear instinct" or transformed into something else.
YOUTHPASS, FOLLOW UP & EVALUATION
In the last session of the last day, participants were able to help us by giving us feedback through an overall evaluation form. We later continued by giving their youth passes in a creative way.
