Before you start
- Print the responses to conflict resource (at least 1 per pair) or have a projector or screen you can show it on
- Flipchart paper and pens
- Small piece of paper per person (you could cut A4 sheets into 8 pieces)
- Biros or pencils (one per person)
What to do
Write on a flip chart sheet:
- AVOIDANCE
- DIFFUSION
- CONFRONTATION
Ask the participants what they understand these words to mean. Clarify the definitions using the following:
Avoidance: acting as though a conflict does not exist; e.g., when a friend stains a shirt you have lent her, and, rather than verbalizing your annoyance, you stay silent yet feel resentful
Confrontation: a direct response to conflict which can be violent or nonviolent; e.g., telling a friend you’re angry because he/she lost your notebook is a nonviolent confrontation; yelling or physical fighting in response to the same situation is a violent confrontation
Diffusion: delaying dealing with a conflict; e.g., being angry with someone but waiting until you cool off to express your anger
Explain the consequences and adaptability of each approach. Clearly, a nonviolent confrontation, and some forms of avoidance and diffusion are deliberate acts of peace.
Give out copies of the responses to conflict resource or project it/display it on a screen.
Next, describe a conflict similar to the following:
Fran and Alice are classmates. Fran worked hard on a sculpture in art class. Alice, without asking, picked it up to look at it, and it fell and smashed.
Using the words, “avoidance,” “diffusion” and “confrontation,” ask the young people to think about how they would be likely to respond and how this would fit into the chart. Ask them:
- What are some ways that Fran and Alice can avoid a conflict?
- What might Fran say?
- What might Alice say?
- What are some diffusion techniques?
- What are some violent or nonviolent confrontation techniques? Which approach would be a deliberate act of peace?
You could get young people to role play scenarios and then discuss them if you have time.
Finally, give out pens and small pieces of paper. Ask the Pioneers to write down the most important thing they have learned from this activity. Collect the pieces of paper, shuffle them and give them out randomly. Go round the circle getting each person to read out the comment on the paper they are holding.