How can a network help you

Objectives

This activity aims to create awareness of the importance of having a network of people in your life, and knowledgde about how you can expand you actual network. It promotes knowledge and awareness of the importance of having a network of diverse people in your life can have a profound impact on your chances of becoming an active citizen in society.

Material

Prints of attached sheets or blank sheets and pencils

Preparation

Prepare the introduction according to the groups’ language level. It would also be helpful if the teacher demonstrates the activity for the whole group first by drawing her/his own network.

Instructions

The teacher introduces the activity by explaining how we can define or understand the term ‘network’; All of us have a network, it is constantly changing, and there can be a huge contrast between a person’s former network and the network existing today in the new society. The network can be private, social or professional. It is all about relations and connections to other people, and it can have a deep impact on your chances of getting integrated in society.

Each student is given a blank paper and starts by writing their name in the middle of it. They then draw a circle around their name and adds names of the individuals he/she is closest related to in his life (ex wife, brother, mother, kids). He/she then draws another circle around the first circle and writes names of the different persons that he often is in contact with, meets, sees or talks to during a regular week that he has quite a close relationship with. Ex teacher, colleague, neighbour, friend.

He continues with making new circles – each showing other relations from close, to not too close, but still of importance to his life.

The last, outer circle could be «Wanted people in my network». In this circle it can be hard to write concrete names of people, so it can be more in general, ex «someone who has better language skills than I», «a person who has been living here for a long time», «someone that works with IT» etc.

The teacher will need to assist the students along the way by giving examples, explaining and asking questions to help them continue.

As a summarize, it can be useful to think together about the following questions;

• How has you network changed over the last years?
• Why do we need a network?
• What can we do to expand out network?

Variant

Conversation circle:

Every participant is asked to think of one specific person (from their network) that has contributed in some way to something positive and important in his/her life. Let everybody get the chance to tell the group about this person, how he/she came into their life and why he/she made a difference in their life.