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WORKSHOPS



Wayfinding is a series of creative workshops for promoting mental health and adaptation of displaced Ukrainian people. They are based on community psychology principles and a variety of creative methods. During their six sessions we jointly explore the ways of coping with stress, adapting to new environments and exploring ourselves and the city. We do it through talking, drawing, dancing, playing games, going on walks and organising self-support groups that continue to meet long after the end of the course.

Our workshops and other activities are always free.


Moving to a new country because of the war and trying to find your way in a foreign environment can be a massive challenge. For many displaced people it is also combined with the continuous efforts to help those who stayed back home. In this difficult situation between the two worlds, we want to provide you with psychological support and encouragement.

At our workshops, you can find a safe space to connect to yourself, remember how strong, talented and valuable you are, learn more strategies to cope with stress, stay motivated, and make new inspiring and meaningful connections in a group.

How to join



The next group will gather from 16 April till 21 May

in the Central Library of the Hague

and will cover the following topics:

1. Awareness of your identity and sources of supports: who am I? What do I rely on and which of my supports need to be strengthened?

2. Stress resistance: the art of pausing between stimulus and reaction. How to achieve it?

3. Trauma that happens outside, and then continues to live inside of us. How does trauma affect our body and mind? 

4. Healing through the body: developing body awareness.  

5. The city as a source of support: creative personal maps of a new city.

6. Looking to the future: coaching strategies. Creating self-support groups.

Dates of the sessions: 

Wednesday, April 16, 17:30-20:30
Wednesday, April 23 17:30-20:30
Wednesday, April 30 17:30-20:30
Wednesday, May 7 17:30-20:30
Wednesday, May 14 17:30-20:30
Wednesday, May 21 17:30-20:30

If you would like to join us please register vis the link below.

We will be very happy to meet you :) 


REGISTRATION




In the meantime you can join our Meet Ups that happen a few times in month.

See them here and come along. 



How to give these workshops



The workshops are currently given in the Netherlands and Lithuania, but we hope that this method can also be used by organisations and initiatives in other countries.

To share it with those who can be interested, like social workers, adult educators, creative professionals, community organisations, volunteers and other people working with displaced people from Ukraine and other countries we have put together the traning manual that can help you to give this course in your city, build a new supporting training on its basis or just use some bits and pieces that might be helpful in your work.  

You can find there the theoretical framework that informed the project, description of different tools that we use, as well as the discussion of non-formal educational methods and how they can be adapted to specific cultural and geographical contexts.

You can find there a detailed description of 8 different sessions that can form this traning, as well as presentations, handout materials and self-evaluation forms.


WORKSHOP MANUAL (UKR)


 WORKSHOP MANUAL (ENG)


WORKSHOP MANUAL (NLD) 


WORKSHOP MANUAL (LTU)




  

WORKSHOP MATERIALS



All our materials are free to use and can be easily adapted by adult educators working with displaced people from war zones.

Openly sharing this work, we kindly ask you to mention Wayfinding project as a source of information and inspiration, if you use this manual.

We will also be happy to be in touch about its application in different countries, organisations and initiatives, to see how helpful it can be to others.  

You can always contact us via email info@thickpresent.com

The project was initialy developed in 2023 by the Stichting Thich Present (NL), FENAN Consulting (NL) and Non-formal learning club “WE”/Neformalaus mokymosi klubas "MES" (LT) in the framework of Erasmus Plus program 2022-2-NL01-KA210-ADU-000094886. Organisations continue it independently.