Description:

Knowing the special moments experienced by others allows us to connect with them, if not even recognize ourselves in them by discovering that we have had similar experiences!

This activity aims to create new bonds or deepen existing ones by leveraging memories, special moments from the past symbolized by photographs and objects that we still keep. In this way, we contribute to creating a red thread uniting people’s individual memories by bringing out their similarities and differences in connection with collective memory.

Instructions:

How to perform the activity?

Follow the steps outlined below:

• Before the activity, invite your friends to meet or to have a videocall together. Tell them that they should all think about an item that is valuable for them and that reminds them of a special moment. They will need to bring such item along on the day of the meeting/videocall.
• On the day of the activity, if you organised a videocall, open the link and admit all the participants to it. Regardless of whether you are meeting virtually or face-to-face, follow the next steps. 
• During the activity, each one should say something special about them – something the other don’t know (it might be something funny or not, as you wish). This will help break the ice for the shyest! This will also create a positive and playful atmosphere. 
• Afterwards, you should give each participant a 10-minutes slot to describe their items and tell the story behind them. After each slot there should be a group discussion to share what the story has evoked in the memories of the participants and whether they can relate to it somehow.
• You should be the first to describe your memento in order to break the ice and begin the discussion. Also, make sure that everybody is being given the chance to share their thoughts, and that interventions occur in a smooth way, without overlapping.