tory paez

Background: Even though our community is made up of approximately 2,000 people, many people don't know each other if they don't live in the same community, aren't related or don't work together around community initiatives. We had a large community meeting that included individuals related to tourism, as well as members of other local organizations (e.g. the local development association, local fishing association). The University of Costa Rica was also observing the meeting to determine ways they could help support the work of the collective. In order to set a positive tone for the meeting and introduce all members to one another, we asked each attendee to: "Describe Isla de Chira in one word." We then used these words as foundational themes as we targeted our conversations around projects. For example, "naturaleza" (nature), "cultura" (culture), and "oportunidad" (opportunity) were words used by many. Many of our projects over the course of two years focused around these larger ideas. 

 

Purpose: To introduce individuals of a large group to one another around a common theme or topic

 

Audience: Isla de Chira community members (tourism-related organizations and others); University of Costa Rica representatives

 

Materials:

• Sign-in sheet 

• Whiteboard

• Sticky notes

• Pens

 

Lesson Learned: Be cognizant of time and how much people will speak to a particular question. With a larger group, the idea is to have this be a relatively quick ice breaker. We took longer on this activity than planned, but it ended up building a lot of camaraderie among attendees, which was extremely beneficial in the end.