Our workshops fall into three main categories: (i) youth workshops, (ii) community workshops and (iii) community arts workshops. Please contact [email protected] if you’re interested in bringing a workshop to your community.
YOUTH WORKSHOPS
Youth workshops are for ages 13 to 25. They can be brought to various venues.
1) The Youth Change Maker Workshop [2 hours]
This workshop invites young people to rethink gender roles and stereotypes and equips them will the tools to be ‘Change Makers’ in their own communities. Through a combination of case studies, activities and interactive discussions, they will examine their own experiences with gender norms and expectations, and the changes they hope to create around them.
Outcomes:
- Unpack the social and cultural attitudes that perpetuate gender-based bullying, violence and shame
- Understand the different forms of gender-based violence that affect youth (physical, social, emotional, sexual, etc) and the impact they have
- Learn how they can step in, as bystanders, and provide peer support
- Explore how they can combat sexist attitudes around them, forge healthier gender relations and create safer spaces in simple, everyday ways
2) Diversity & Inclusion [2 hours]
This workshop uses personal stories and a mixture of small-group and big-group activities to help participants develop empathy and sensitivity to discover the strengths and meet the challenges of a diverse society.
Outcomes:
- Understand different aspects of identity (race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, culture, disability, etc) and how they intersect and overlap
- Build one’s cultural competency and sensitivity to different individuals and their needs, e.g. cultural norms and practices, inequalities, etc.
- Refine peer culture to create more inclusive environments where everyone, regardless of their differences, feels safe, equal and can develop a sense of belonging as well as a confident voice.
3) Comprehensive Sex Education: Navigating Relationships [1.5 – 3 hours]
The first component of this workshop aims to educate participants on a number of basic topics related to sex and relationships such as contraception, and also explores content on media literacy, forms of intimacy and consent. It is a combination of discussions, games, role-plays and factual information presented using PowerPoint and videos. This first component can be done as a 1-hour workshop by itself as well.
The second and related component of the workshop invites young people to reflect on and determine what a healthy relationship looks like and how they can go about building healthy relationships in their own lives. This second component can be done as a 1 – 1.5-hour workshop. Done together, the two components build on each other and provide a more comprehensive sex education course. They can be done in two sessions (about 1.5 hours each) for optimum effectiveness.
This course can be customised for students in secondary schools, ITEs, junior colleges, polytechnics, universities, shelters and special homes. The maximum number of participants per workshop is 40. We usually recommend that the groups be divided according to gender, as segregation in this case helps create safer spaces for discussion.
Outcomes:
- Educate participants about basic topics related to sex and relationships, such as contraception
- Recognise the different aspects of a healthy relationship and identify concrete ways to develop them
- Practise healthy modes of communication
- Learn how to create a safe space for sharing, and how to manage conflict, rejection and differing expectations
- Identify the signs and complexities of an abusive relationship, and how to seek help
4) Peer Support & Acting Listening Skills [2 hours]
This workshop gives participants the tools and practice in being an effective listener, empowering them to better support the people they care about. The workshop will look at peer support in the context of abusive relationships and sexual harassment/assault.
Outcomes:
- Learn the skill and importance of “active listening”
- Know what not to say when someone is in a difficult situation
- Understand the difference between giving advice and providing options
- Practise constructive ways of responding in different scenarios
5) Unfollowing Beauty Standards [1.5 hours]
This 1.5-hour workshop looks at:
- Body insecurity as analysed through the environment around us and how the definitions of beauty and confidence are constructed
- Media and society’s proclivity towards “pretty” and its effects on how one is treated by people around them and how they themselves feel.
- Factors affecting body self consciousness
- Reaffirmation of one’s worth and abilities and suggestions on how to change one’s outlook of themselves
- Learning self-acceptance
6) Creating a Culture of Consent Workshop (Tertiary) [1.5 – 3 hours]
The first component of this workshop builds participants’ understanding about consent, relationships and boundaries. Through a mix of presentation, discussion, case studies/scenario activities, and practical group activities, participants learn how to create a culture of consent and a safe space within their campus and personal lives.
Specific topics include: definitions of consent, how consent looks like, ways to give and seek consent, ways to say ‘no’, why it might be difficult to say ‘no’, types of intimacy and relationships, equal relationships and boundaries. This first component can be done in a 1.5 to 2-hour session.
The second component of this workshop aims to build participants’ practical understanding about consent by discussing peer support, sexual assault/violence prevention (by creating a culture of consent) and intervention. Specific topics include: understanding the different types of sexual assault, its prevalence and causes (e.g. victim blaming), methods of prevention, ways to intervene safely, ways to provide peer support. Through a mix of presentation, discussion, videos and scenario activities, this interactive session will equip participants with the knowledge and practical skills to create a safe space within their community and personal lives. This second component can be done in a 1.5 to 2-hour session.
This workshop can be customised to include one or both components. Done together, the two components will build on each other to provide a comprehensive picture and understanding of the power of consent in social settings. We would suggest a 2-day session for optimum effectiveness (i.e. a 1.5 to 2-hour session per day), and that each class size consist of no more than 35 to 40 students.
COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
Community workshops are for the general public.
1) Change Maker Workshop [2 hours]
The Change Maker Workshop is a novel forum where participants explore the reality of violence against women in the community and discuss the everyday attitudes and practices that enable and excuse this violence. Through open and constructive discussion in a safe space, they discover possibilities and areas where they can make change – as individuals, and as a collective.
Over the course of this 2-hour workshop, participants will have the opportunity to analyse case studies, learn more about the legal and cultural environment surrounding gender violence in Singapore and revisit gender stereotypes and their negative impact on individuals and communities. They will also be able to define their role in the movement for change.
Through a mix of presentation, in-depth discussion, as well as group and individual activities, the workshop provides an intimate experience through which participants can engage with the issue of violence at a conceptual and empathetic level.
At the end of the workshop, participants will be equipped with a strong understanding of violence prevention and intervention, allowing them to be effective and confident advocates for a gender-equal and non-violent society.
2) Creating a Culture of Consent Workshop
The first component of this workshop builds participants’ understanding about consent, relationships and boundaries. Through a mix of presentation, discussion, case studies/scenario activities, and practical group activities, participants learn how to create a culture of consent and a safe space within their campus and personal lives.
Specific topics include: definitions of consent, how consent looks like, ways to give and seek consent, ways to say ‘no’, why it might be difficult to say ‘no’, types of intimacy and relationships, equal relationships and boundaries. This first component can be done in a 1.5 to 2-hour session.
The second component of this workshop aims to build participants’ practical understanding about consent by discussing peer support, sexual assault prevention (by creating a culture of consent) and intervention. Specific topics include: understanding the different types of sexual assault, its prevalence and causes (e.g. victim blaming), methods of prevention, ways to intervene safely, ways to provide peer support. Through a mix of presentation, discussion, videos and scenario activities, this interactive session will equip participants with the knowledge and practical skills to create a safe space within their community and personal lives. This second component can be done in a 1.5 to 2-hour session.
This workshop can be customised to include one or both components. Done together, the two components will build on each other to provide a comprehensive picture and understanding of the power of consent in social settings. We would suggest a 2-day session for an optimum effectiveness (i.e. a 1.5 to 2-hour session per day).
COMMUNITY ARTS WORKSHOPS
Organised in collaboration with Etiquette SG, these art workshops are designed to address issues of gender-based violence, engage participants in efforts to unpick these notions of gender, and encourage them to uncover experiences of their own bodies.
1) Ceramic Arts Workshop (In the Making) [4 x 2 hours]
This is a four-session, 2-hour ceramic arts workshop through which participants gain the skills and the space to uncover and express their identities through conversation, personal reflection and the art of ceramics.
Session 1: Introduction of concepts and issues surrounding identity, including gender, sharing of personal experiences, discussion of social concerns, and the creation of a personalised ceramic bowl that will be used in the following week’s session.
Session 2: Prompt-based exercises designed to help continue conversations that were initiated in the previous week. Conversations will occur over a communal meal served to the participants by the facilitators, in the bowls that were made the week before.
Session 3: The creation of a personalised ceramic tile, designed to encompass the participants’ feelings, thoughts, hopes and fears about the issues that have been discussed.
Session 4: Glazing (colouring) of the ceramic tiles that were created the week before, a sum-up discussion about what has been covered.
2) Muralling Workshop [4 x 2 hours]
This is a four-session, 2-hour muralling workshop through which participants gain the skills and the space to uncover and express their identities through conversation, personal reflection and the art of muralling.
Session 1: Introduction of concepts and issues surrounding identity, including gender, sharing of personal experiences, discussion of social concerns, and the brainstorming of words and images that participants would like to use in their mural.
Session 2: Prompt-based exercises designed to help continue conversations that were initiated in the previous week, and the creation of the designs that participants would like to sponge onto the mural.
Session 3: The creation of a personalised stencils of the participants’ designs and preparing the wall for muralling the following session
Session 4: Introduction to the materials used for muralling and the painting of the wall
3) Creative Writing Workshop (Body/Language) [4 x 2 hours]
This is a four-session, 2-hour creative writing workshop that aims to start creative and critical conversations about issues of gender-based violence.
Session 1: Introduction of concepts and issues surrounding gender violence, sharing of personal experiences and discussion of social concerns
Session 2: Introduction of creative writing techniques and forms
Session 3: Working in small groups of 2-3 people to produce short performances on any relevant theme that resonates with the group.
Session 4: Sharing and performing of creative pieces with the class.