Topic 2 Participatory Techniques
If the PM are a path that, under a certain approach, will allow us to reach a certain horizon of personal, group and social transformation, the participatory techniques are those instruments that are used in the defined processes and sequences and are applied to respond to the purposes of PM: acquire knowledge always starting from practice, that is, from what people know, from lived experiences, and from the feelings that many situations originate, as well as from the problems and difficulties of our environment.
All the techniques have a variable and flexible application, and can be adapted depending on the type of group, the needs, the moment in which it is found, how the work is established, the objectives set, etc. With its correct application:
- Previous knowledge and personal skills are recognized and valued, they are collectivized and, in this way, the group is enriched.
- They will facilitate a certain distance from the object of study, they will allow different views and break common sense to critically problematize.
- People get going, loosen up, facilitate language and communication…many times from humour, drama, exaggeration of some aspects, surprise…The techniques are provocative, not entertaining.
- Collective processes of discussion and reflection are developed.
- These processes will involve an educational experience and common awareness, which inevitably entails the development of the group, and the creation of a common point of reference, with which the group can be more directly involved in new practices: all we are participants in the elaboration, and therefore, also in its political, cultural, social,… implications.
