Comhairle na nÓg Annual Organisers’ Training

Facilitation training

What is Comhairle na nÓg?

Comhairle na nÓg are child and youth councils in the 34 Local Authority areas of the country. They were set up to give children and young people (under the voting age of 18) a voice in the development of local services and policies. All Local Authorities have regular meetings of the Comhairle na nÓg, which link with adult decision-making bodies.

Comhairlí na nÓg were established under the National Children’s Strategy (2000), which is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Each Comhairle na nÓg gets young people’s voices heard in two ways: working on young people’s topics; and acting as a consultative forum.

Working on young people’s topics

This involves:

- Getting the views of other young people

- Doing background research & developing surveys

- Meeting with local decision makers

- Producing promotional materials

One of the most important aspects of Comhairle na nÓg is that is allows young people to select and work on topics of importance to young people locally. Examples of the topics selected by young people include: mental health services for young people, facilities for young people, how young people are treated by the adult world and homophobic bullying.

The work of the Comhairle na nÓg on these topics includes: getting the views of other young people, doing background research, meeting with local decision-makers, developing surveys, organising meetings, making videos, producing leaflets or posters, developing online materials and other activities. Through this work, the Comhairle na nÓg members try to make an impact or change to improve the lives of young people.

Consultative forum

This involves:

- Conferring with local agencies & policy makers on the development of relevant services and policies.

- Taking part in public consultations.

Another major aspect of the work of the Comhairle na nÓg is being a consultative forum, for adult decision-makers in the locality. Many local agencies consult with their Comhairle na nÓg to get the views of young people on the development of relevant services and policies, such as heritage plans, play and recreation policies, policing plans, giving feedback on youth-friendly questionnaires, giving feedback on the location or type of new sports facility to be established in the area. Comhairle na nÓg are also often asked for submissions on local policies or to take part in public consultations.

How is Comhairle na nÓg funded?

Comhairle na nÓg is funded by a number of agencies. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund provides money to local authorities to run effective Comhairle na nÓg. Local authorities also provide funding and resources for Comhairle na nÓg, as well as other organisations at local level.

How is Comhairle na nÓg supported?

As well as funding the 34 Comhairle na nÓg, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) also funds three regional Participation Officers, who provide advice, resources and training to all 34 Comhairle na nÓg Co-ordinators.

Each Comhairle na nÓg has a coordinator. The Comhairle na nÓg Coordinator is the key organiser of Comhairle na nÓg. He or she is supported by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs Participation Officers, local colleagues and members of the Steering Committee.

Comhairle na nÓg Steering Committees help the Comhairle na nÓg to achieve their desired impact and change. Steering Committee members usually include a local authority representative, the Comhairle na nÓg Coordinator, local youth service representatives, the VEC Youth Officer and other relevant individuals and organisations.

Types of facilitated sessions in Comhairle na nÓg

Comhairle meetings: sometimes you will need to facilitate full group chats, particularly at the beginning and end of the day. In between, the easiest and most manageable way to progress work is to split the group into sub-groups/buzz groups and give them tasks to complete within a particular time. The role of the facilitator here is to check in with the groups but mostly the groups are self-facilitating. For any feedback session it is important to facilitate the discussion to keep it on topic, and to avoid repetition.

Steering Group meeting (with adults and young people): the facilitator of this meeting is usually either the Chairperson or the coordinator. The main aim is to broker the discussion between the adults present and the young people. The challenges of steering group meetings include getting the adults to commit to taking on tasks for the Comhairle, getting the young people to communicate to the decision makers what exactly they need from the committee. For the chairperson/coordinator it can help if you build in a “next steps”/”key actions before the next meeting” section into the agenda.

AGM workshops: It is advisable to do a two page brief of what the role of the facilitator is at the AGM for all facilitators helping on the day. The workshops/consultations are usually quite short and snappy so it is essential for the facilitators to be able to move things along but also to know the purpose of the AGM, what Comhairle na nÓg is and what outputs they are supposed to have by end of session eg. a recommendation, top two ideas, etc.

Name Games

Firstly at your meeting or workshop it is critical to start off the session with introductions. Here are a number of ways to do that in an informal and fun way (note: doing one of these exercises at your Steering Committee can really help break the ice and make both the young people and the adults present feel more comfortable)

Partners

Split the group up into pairs. Give them a few minutes to interview each other (name, where they are from, what would be the first thing they would buy if they won the lotto) and then have them introduce one another to the group. This allows two people to get to know each other quickly and form a friendship. It's often easier for people to talk about others than themselves.

The Adjective Game

The simplest name game is to ask everyone to introduce themselves giving the following instruction: "O.k. everybody, we are going to play a little game to introduce ourselves, you need to listen as you will have to repeat the names of everybody who has gone before you. You need to introduce yourself like this, say a word to describe yourself that starts with the same letter as your first name. So, I'll start, I'm 'Magical Matt'" the next person then says, I'm Magnificent Mary and he's Magical Matt, the next person says I'm Neat Nancy, she's Magnificent Mary, he's Magical Matt, and so on.

Ask the person to your right to begin the game.

Motion Name Game

Have everyone stand in a circle. Anyone can begin the game by saying his/her name and demonstrating a [physical] motion to go with it. When the person is done, the entire group repeats the name and the motion. Then, the second person (on either side of the first) introduces him/herself and does a motion. The entire group repeats that name/motion and then the first name/motion. This will continue until each person has given their name and done their motion, and the entire group has repeated everyone’s name and motions.

Ice-breaking / team building Games / energisers

Human Bingo – For this game everyone needs a Bingo sheet and a pen. The aim of the game is to get the group talking to each other by finding people who have done the different things on the Bingo sheet. Here is a sample:

Someone who can speak French / Someone who plays guitar / Someone who likes to cook / Someone who is a rugby fan / Someone who likes One Direction
Someone who has been on a plane / Someone who likes history / Someone who can sing / Someone with an interesting story / Someone new to Comhairle na nÓg
Someone who can dance / Someone who plays hurling / Someone who likes to read / Someone who watches the Simpsons / Someone who tells you a joke

Start the motion

Ask all young people to form a circle. Ask for a volunteer. The volunteer will be the “detective”. Ask the volunteer to step out of the room for a few seconds. While they are gone, nominate someone else to be the person to start the motion. That person gets to change the motion whenever they like but the objective is for the detective not to find out who they are. When everyone is clear about what is going on everyone starts to clap and the detective comes back into the centre of the circle. They get two chances to pick the person who they think is the detective.

Human knot

Ask everyone to stand in a circle. Everyone has to put their right hand in to the centre and grab the hand of anyone else in the group (except for someone beside them). Repeat for the left hand (making sure they grab someone else’s hand the second time). Then they have to try and get back into the original full circle.

General post

Very easy and effective game to get people moving. Everyone sits in chairs in a circle. The facilitator starts the game in the centre of the circle. The facilitator explains that the person in the centre can choose an item of clothing or something relevant to the group. Whoever is wearing that item of clothing has to stand up and change chairs. The last person standing is then in the centre. If a young person can’t think of anything else to say, they can say “general post” which means that everyone has to stand and change seats.

Sample Facilitation Questions:

Tip: when facilitating a group, to avoid the risk of leading the discussion, use open-ended questions as much as possible

Remember to discuss topics in the general - for example could open with

“We are discussing the topic of ------generally in regard to the actions that young people could take rather than your own (or your friends/families) personal experience of it”. Be mindful that topics can be emotive and bring up issues for young people. If something personal does crop up restate the above, as a facilitator you may need to keep bringing the discussion back. Call on team leader if need assistance or if young person needs some space outside of group.

Important: Allow silence so young people have a chance to think about the topic and questions as they are asked.

-  Some sample facilitation questions are below (adapt as appropriate, add/delete).

-  Share with the group what your school / youth group is doing about…

-  Where is it at now? Why does it happen this way?

-  In a perfect world how would this be? What gets in the way of …

-  What frustrates you about it? What is the one thing young people could change?

-  Do others feel the same/different views?

-  What do we need to change? Can this be done in a year…?

-  Will it cost…. Where could resources come from?

-  Would you need help /who /how when /where…..

-  How is this different from what has been tried before?

-  How could young people make this work?

-  How could you test that idea for…

-  What do you think you need to do in order for that to happen?

-  Where could you get help / advice…

Facilitation Tips

Before the facilitated meeting/workshop:

Visualise the workshop/meeting, work out how you will

- respond to difficult questions,

- keep young people engaged and encourage participation,

- make sure everyone is heard and

- make sure everyone is treated with respect.

At the meeting/workshop:

• Establish and maintain a high energy level. This engages the group by getting their attention, gaining their interest, and keeping it fun.

• Facilitate objectively - Try to avoid giving your personal opinions and stick to facts if you must provide an input. Your job is to get the young people to identify their own solutions and recommendations. They should do most of the talking. Prompt and challenge them, they will do it themselves if you let them – it is their day.

• Practice active listening skills – engage with speakers, listen attentively and ask probing questions. Clarify if you are unsure of their point but do so in a sensitive way.

• Value the young people’s ideas - convey warmth to young people, use smiles, praises, and gestures, even to ideas that might not seem to be on topic or very good. Remember negativity kills creativity.

• Be inclusive – watch who’s contributing and who isn’t, ask those not contributing for their ideas, if they won’t speak, ask them to ‘show’ agreement. *

• Be aware that some issues may upset group members or cause them to share negative experience – be prepared if a young person reacts to a sensitive topic such as bullying by becoming upset, or discusses personal difficulties. It is never appropriate or acceptable for the facilitator to discuss or deal with a young person’s personal experience in the group setting. Gently and sensitively steer the young person away from discussing their personal experience with the group. Reminders at start and as appropriate during discussions that you are discussing issue generally will help keep them on track.