Learning and training activity Gödöllő, Hungary, 19-21 June 2023
The project continued its training series from June 19th to 21st, 2023, following the initial sessions held last year in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. This series in Gödöllő, Hungary, presented a unique opportunity for our partner associations' Playback Theatre troupes to deepen their expertise in ecopsychology, nature connection, land art, and sociodrama.
16 members from two associations participated in this training at the Gödöllő Arboretum. The hands-on application of the methodologies allowed participants to deepen their knowledge and gain practical experience in the field. The training offered an excellent opportunity for exchange of experiences and professional development.
Training Overview
Day 1: Sociodrama - Role and Responsibility in Nature Conservation
The training blended sociodrama techniques with environmental conservation topics. This approach allowed participants to actively engage in role-playing scenarios that mirrored real-world conservation challenges, providing a practical understanding of the complexities involved in environmental stewardship.
Participants explored their roles in nature conservation, engaged in role reversal exercises, and discussed future integration of their learnings into project.
Incorporing Playback Theatre into sociodrama sessions, has providing a dynamic platform for participants to explore and understand their roles and responsibilities in nature conservation.
Participants used Playback Theatre to enact scenarios related to nature conservation, offering a reflective and empathetic approach to understanding different organizational roles and challenges.
The session concluded with actionable insights and commitments.
Day 2: Participatory Walk and Land Art at Gödöllő Arboretum
This training day encouraged a deep, personal connection with nature, fostering respect and understanding of the nature. Participants learned to create art in harmony with nature, ensuring minimal impact while expressing their nature narratives artistically.
Participatory Walk:
The walk in the Gödöllő Arboretum included sensory engagement exercises and ecological understanding activities, deepening the participants' connection with nature.
Land Art Creation:
This session emphasized creating land art harmoniously with nature, including guided meditation, observation with intent, and individual artistic process, culminating in a reflection on their work.
The Playback Theatre, allow participants to artistically express their experiences from the participatory walk and land art creation and served as a medium for participants to share and dramatize their unique moments and observations from their interaction with nature, enhancing the depth and emotional connection of their experiences.
Day 3: Mentorship for Multiplication Event
The mentoring day focused on refining and consolidating the skills and knowledge acquired in the previous sessions. This day was dedicated to ensuring participants were fully prepared to implement the "Interview with the Earth" program effectively.
Started with the "Mentor's Compass" activity for goal-setting and sharing aspirations for the day.
Participants divided into groups based on their roles in upcoming events, receiving tailored guidance from mentors.
Groups collaboratively planned their sessions, discussing structure, activities, and potential challenges, with mentors providing insights and suggestions.
Practice sessions were held to apply learnings, followed by constructive feedback from mentors and peers.
Playback Theatre integration was used for reflective sharing of the mentoring journey, connecting learning experiences with environmental themes.
Concluded with participants sharing insights and making personal commitments to their roles, symbolized by hanging commitments on a "Commitment Tree."
The mentoring day was instrumental in equipping participants with the skills and confidence needed for effective participation in future "Interview with the Earth" events, enhancing their readiness for environmental conservation initiatives.
Photo: LTTA HU 2023
"Interview with the Earth" Multiplication Event in Gödöllő, June 22-24, 2023
This engaging and insightful series, conducted over three days, included six workshops (ws), each integrating the unique aspects of land art, ecopsychology, sociodrama, and the crucial role of Playback Theatre.
Day 1: Land Art and Playback Theatre (June 22nd)
Morning and Afternoon Sessions at Gödöllő Arboretum
Focused on land art, the sessions sparked extraordinary enthusiasm among participants. They immersed themselves in nature-inspired arts, creating their own artworks in the serene setting of the Arboretum.
These creative sessions were complemented by experiential processing through playback theatre, deepening the understanding and emotional connection to nature.
Day 2: Participatory Walk and Playback Theatre (June 23rd)
Morning and Afternoon Sessions at Gödöllő Arboretum
The day was dedicated to an eco-psychology approach, with participatory walks allowing participants to gain firsthand experience of connecting with nature.
The walks' experiences were integrated and reflected upon through playback theatre performances, reinforcing the human-nature bond.
Day 3: Sociodrama Workshop and Performance (June 24th)
Morning Session at Gödöllő Civil House:
The workshop focused on active engagement with environmental issues through sociodrama, encouraging collaborative problem-solving and idea generation among participants.
Afternoon: Ökopszi Playback Company Performance:
The event culminated with a performance by the Ökopszi Playback Company at the Gödöllő Civil House. This performance was a fitting conclusion to the event, encapsulating the themes and learnings of the preceding days.
The "Interview with the Earth" event in Gödöllő was a comprehensive and enriching experience, marked by the successful integration of natural art, ecopsychology, sociodrama, and Playback Theatre. The six workshops across three days facilitated deep environmental engagement, personal reflection, and community building. Playback Theatre's role was particularly noteworthy, as it provided a dynamic medium for participants to explore and express their connections with nature and the environment.
This event series has reinforced our commitment to promoting environmentally conscious and sustainable lifestyles. We are inspired by the participants' enthusiasm and look forward to continuing our work in fostering a sustainable future, strengthened by the power of art, drama, and community collaboration.
Joint Training Lab and Supervision, 25 June 2023, Gödöllő, Hungary
This session was crucial in reflecting on and refining the professional roles and collaborative dynamics established during the implementation of the "Interview with the Earth" programs.
The core of the supervision session was to discuss and address professional issues that arose during the mentorship and event facilitation phases. This provided an invaluable opportunity for participants to clarify, polish, and strengthen their roles in the "Interview with the Earth" programs. Participants shared insights and experiences, highlighting both the challenges and successes of working together. This led to a deeper understanding of how to enhance teamwork and cooperative efforts in future projects. The session employed reflective practice techniques, enabling participants to critically examine their experiences and learn from them. This approach was instrumental in identifying areas for improvement and personal growth.
Constructive feedback played a significant role in the session. Participants engaged in open and honest discussions, providing and receiving feedback that was crucial for their professional development.
By revisiting specific scenarios and experiences from the mentorship and event stages, participants engaged in experiential learning, further consolidating their skills and understanding.
Photo: Multi HU 2023
For days, deep, mindset-shaping work was done in the circles of the Sepsis Playback Theatre, the Ecopsychological Playback Theatre, the Panta Rhei Association and the Ecopsychological Association.
20-22 June 2022 – Ecoscientific training days
16 people from the partner associations participated in a three-day international training course in Sfântu Gheorghe. The training covered the topic of environmental awareness, using complex theoretical and practical approaches from the fields of sociodrama, ecopsychology, playback theatre and land art.
The aim of the learning sessions was to identify, through the sharing and transfer of partners' methods, how they facilitate a conscious connection with nature and how they can organise and implement sensitising and thought inspiring events on this topic.
At the same time, the members of our playback theatre companies are professionals in the fields of social services, environmental protection and education, so they can use the knowledge they acquire in their activities in the field outside the association.
Prior to the training, a survey was carried out to identify the training needs of the participants, with the aim of making the training content as specific as possible for the participants in terms of its future usefulness.
The focus of the first joint training day was on sensitisation and fine-tuning through an ecopsychological approach.
The training was based on the elements of practical learning in a participatory walk. During the participatory walk, encounters with peers and with nature took place following different focuses. The process involved learning about the organisms found on the field, learning about the systemic functioning of nature, of which we humans are only one component. In this system, everything has a well-defined place and a role that is crucial for its balanced and integrated functioning.
The second day was devoted to the theoretical and practical framework of sociodrama.
Together with the participants, we reflected on environmental issues that are important to us, which concern environmental awareness and protection in the context of our immediate or wider environment, from a micro and macro-environmental perspective.
The identification and formulation of topics of interest to the group was done in pairs and then in small group meetings, where group members could individually formulate what they were concerned about within the topic. They then connected with each other along the themes that emerged in the small groups, thereby gaining insight and a sense of how their individual interests met with common concerns. The following ideas emerged from the groups:
Everything is connected, we are just part of the whole
- The Source
- Another dimension
- Harmonious connection
- Between lilies
- Beyond space & time, can we work together?
- Appreciation
- What we think of each other
To further explore these ideas, we used the sociodramatic stage, where the main themes that emerged were: decision, indecision, opportunity, perspective, active engagement, taking responsibility, hitting walls, perseverance, looking for opportunities to work together.
That was what 'action' was then:
"I have faith, alternatives, possibility, a broad perspective, I can lovingly engage in dialogue with indecision - if necessary. I have resources, creativity and freedom."
On the third day of the training, the land art activities and the creations were aimed at recognizing and embracing universality, experiencing unity with the environment.
Participants' feedback:
"During the training I had the opportunity to expand my playback professional knowledge that will help me when working with nature-related topics. I gained valuable experience in playback in a natural environment. I also had the opportunity to try out sociodrama leadership, a method and some of its elements that can be useful in my work with groups and professional teams in the future."
"Skills in working with others, including working with mentors, and in combining other methods (Land art, Sociodrama) with my professional activities. An appreciation of the colourful palette - newly realised - of the relationship between humans and nature."
"Personal: what I had felt before, but did not have a concrete form, has become more conscious, so I can keep it more in mind in my daily life, take it into account in my decisions. "Professional": in children's camps and schools, I can incorporate it into my existing sensitizing and educational work, expanding the line of blind guides, broadening it towards the Earth, nature and the relationship with others."
"I am completely satisfied, as I have been able to try out new methods and ask many professional questions. The atmosphere was so trusting that I felt free to try out my new knowledge. This is a clear advantage in my professional and personal life."
"I am satisfied. I didn't know what to expect as it was my first time on a programme like this, but I feel I gained a lot of experience and practical knowledge. Benefits - When planning my walks, sessions and workshops: I will be more confident in my planning and will have a richer and wider range of programmes to offer. In learning - I will continue to learn with a broader vision and a more open attitude."
23-25 June 2022 – "Interview with the Earth" integrated and interactive event
(multiplication event of the project)
As an important milestone of the project, the multiplication event "Interview with the Earth" was successfully held in Romania, in Sfântu Gheorghe.
It was launched after the completion of the applied community playback theatre training (20-22 June 2022), and was implemented between 23-25 June 2022. Within this framework, the partner associations held a 3-day series of events based on applied community playback theatre, in which the themes of environmental protection and environmental awareness were addressed on each day through sessions based on Ecopsychological, Sociodramatic and Land art activities. The sessions were led by professionals from the associations participating in the training and the process was mentored and supervised by project staff, professionals and trainers in each field.
In addition to getting a general idea of the possibilities of different approaches to activities in the field of environmental awareness, the multiplication event gave participants the opportunity to actively try out what they had learned in the training, under the mentorship of the trainers who delivered the training.
This event was an outstanding and exciting part of the project, as it provided participants with opportunities for experiential learning alongside the safety mentoring.
On the first day of the event series, 2 groups participated in guided participatory walks, from which they returned with a subtle attunement to the experience of nature connection.
The difficult theme of alienation from nature, passing away and being "trapped" came up during the nature walks.
Throughout the project, we had the opportunity to process these experiences and drifting feelings through playback theatre group performances.
On the second day of the multiplication event of our project, nature was present as our partner. She always creates perfection. We created and experienced the joy of being and connecting through creation. Connecting through creation strengthened our sense of belonging.
On the third day, we looked for questions to ask the Earth and tried to hear what the Earth would answer, within the theoretical and practical framework of sociodrama. Through individual and small group self-reflection, we became aware of what it is that we do to pollute our Earth out of convenience. We met-confronted and prepared our individual and collective resources and tools for creating conscious active participation in the environment protection.
Feedback from participants:
"In the long term, the only chance we have for a good quality of life is to see ourselves as a united community, as a "family" (I don't mean human society, but our home, the Earth as a whole), where we try to reach agreements that take into account the interests and needs of all parties involved."
"Nature is our home, being connected to it brings us closer to ourselves."
"Our emotional experiences are universal, processing them together is a cathartic experience"
"When we listen more deeply, worlds open up before us"
" I enjoyed the playback theatre experience the most. It was completely new to me. I found it very effective in processing experiences."
"The three most important ideas: the energy of the natural environment, the importance of being at one with nature, the joy of creation."
"I participated in all three days of the event, which was useful for me because I tuned in and connected with nature in the walk, I became one with nature in the land art activities and on the third day we used sociodrama to raise awareness of our own role and our work to connect sustainably with nature."
Feedback from mentored leaders:
"When we had to design and deliver the programme based on what we had learned and experienced on the previous days, combined with our previous knowledge and our own personalities. There was easy and there was difficult, there was fun and creative, our mentors were very helpful - and this part was the point where the knowledge from the previous days was brought together and tested 'in real life'. It was both an adventure and a learning experience."
"During the sociodrama dissemination, I had the opportunity to try out what I had learned in a mentored process, where I was able to practice leading in pairs. In the mentored process I experienced professional security and had the opportunity to try out ideas that were inspired by the training days. Supervision gave me the opportunity to bring my inner blockages to the surface and unblock them with the help of the group."
2022 June 26 – Supervision
Post-learning and multiplication supervision was for trainee leaders and mentors.
It was an opportunity for both trainee leaders and mentors to gain insights and answers to questions related to their professional role in the multiplication event.
Feedback:
"Supervision gave me the opportunity to explore my inner blockages and unblock them with the help of the group. I particularly liked the fact that we worked with psychodramatic play, which was professionally linked to the methodology of sociodrama, so that it became a integrated whole with psychodrama at the individual level and sociodrama at the group level."
"An important part of the training for me was the supervision day, where I got answers to many of my unanswered questions."
