Action-Based Prototype x YIP Sweden
2020 - ongoing
Remote-first/ Presencial in Ytterjärna, Sweden
Facilitation | Community Nurturing | Program Development
Inner Dialogue
Action Dialogue
Highlights
YIP, the International Youth Initiative Program, is social entrepreneurship training for young adults who want to create positive social change in the world. They spend ten months learning about the world, each other, and themselves through a curriculum that engages the head, heart, and will.
Since 2020 The Dialogue Lab has facilitated a 1 to 2 week workshops putting into practice Dialogue skills and the MESA methodology, with the goal of bringing to light diverse project skills from the participants.. As a result, the participants created a prototype for an annual gathering, be it the Initiative Forum, an annual event organised by YIP for changemakers to come together in Sweden, or the Light Festival, a community event to celebrate light while entering winter.
The Challenge
The International Youth Initiative Program, YIP, offers a holistic educational program that promotes an expanded global and personal awareness aiming to strengthen young people’s capacity to take initiative in the face of current global challenges. 20-40 participants, between 18 and 28 years old, from all over the world, live, learn and work together for 10 months.
During its program, YIP participants are given an opportunity to dive into different topic areas. Within each of the seven-course blocks is a series of one-week-long courses in the morning and afternoon activities that balance intellectual, socio-emotional, and practical knowledge.
The Dialogue Lab was commissioned by YIP to take part in the mentor-led practices, creating workshops to foster an understanding of the importance of community, learn how to make decisions as a group, harnessing the power of the collective, while also working across differences.
Developing skills in leadership, facilitation, hosting conversations, and visioning
During the compressed timeframe of 1-week, we decided to create a 5 steps program focused on introducing the participants to collaborative methodologies. The final goal was to come up with a tangible prototype for the Initiative Forum. It consisted in:
Introducing the concept of rapid prototyping and the framework of the MESA method: Developed by a group of Brazilian creatives, the MESA method is an approach to rapid problem-solving, where applying a 5-day sprint participants are able to deliver a tangible prototype at the end of day 5.
Interactive workshops and mission definition: A key element of the Youth Initiative Program is to work hands-on towards a purpose. The first step was to identify two leaders in the group, to represent the collective throughout the process, and create small teams through a conscious process, where individuals with different and complementary skills would come together. Once this had been tackled, we defined intentions and purpose to have a clear North Star throughout the week.
Rituals for changing behaviour: Managing conflicts and redirecting practices to make the most of the sprint was also part of the program. This way, participants were immersed in leadership skills and how to step consciously into the full potential of themselves and the collective.
Prototypes demonstrating solutions: During the course of the week, through dialogue and testing crazy wild ideas, each group came up with a different piece of the action-based prototype for the Initiative Forum, finished in every aspect.
Presentation to the public: As a collective culmination of the week, the results were shared publicly by each of the teams and as a whole group, infusing confidence in the participants and preparing them to step into professional presentations of their projects and ideas.
The Results: a community event created by and for (not only) young individuals committed with change
The work produced during the week came to life in the YIP’s Initiative Forum. It gathered hundreds of individuals from around the world, who connected through workshops, lectures, artistic creation, dancing, music, storytelling, crafts, tasty food, and sharing ideas over coffee.
In addition, we supported the participants in realising their interpersonal skills and putting them into practice, introduced them to a rapid prototyping framework, and helped them deepen their listening, leadership, envisioning and practical abilities, learning through action and reflection.
Currently, The Dialogue Lab continues collaborating with the Youth Initiative Program, returning for its 4th time in 2023.
