Browse exercises

Divide the participants into groups of five people.

Tell the participants about this case study:

Your family has two studio apartments in the basement that you and your brother share. Your brother, however, has just moved to Australia to study and your parents have decided that his part of the studio will now be rented out. You and the tenant get separate rooms and bathrooms but you have adjoining rooms with each other.

After advertising in the newspaper, you receive seven responses. Now you are to select the person that is to move in with you.

Give the participants handout A and tell them to read the e-mails alone. Give the participants 5 minutes (max 10 minutes). It will allow them to reflect alone.

Then divide the participants into groups of 4-5. Tell the participants to rank the e-mails. This part should take 10-15 minutes max.

One participant from each group will then present his/her group's ranking and explain their decision. The facilitator writes the rankings up on the blackboard.

Then tell the participants that everyone from the e-mail applications will now come to see the studio apartment and they will receive additional information about those who have responded to the ad. The participants now have a chance to reconsider the applicants again. Give them handout B. Give participants five minutes to rank the applicants again. Each group should agree on a ranking and present it to the other groups. Write the results of the rankings on the blackboard. 

Group discussion. What did each group discuss/do? the facilitator can highlight points of interest or discuss choices that the groups made.

• How did you manage to agree?

• What was most important to your / their choice?

• Did the new information change that priority?

• Were there any applicants you wouldn’t have selected to view the studio?

• What are the consequences of the choices you've made?

• What is discrimination?

• Do you have examples of discrimination in society today?

• Do you have examples of discrimination in religious communities?

• Where do these attitudes come from?

• Is it your own opinion, or is it something you've heard from others?

• Did their religious affiliation play a role in your decision?

Thank everyone for their participation, summarize what was learned.

Some prejudices are unavoidable, everyone has them, and there is nothing wrong with this. However, it is important to be aware of one’s own prejudices and be ready to challenge and overcome them.