Soft Power - In Communities

PLAY PUBLIC: engaging, creating and transforming the world around you.

Play Public is an amalgamation of two curriculum subjects – PHSE and CITIZENSHIP

It was written for schools but it can be easily adapted for any age group - many of the issues addressed have different explanations today than they may have had ten or even five years ago.

Play Public responds to ordinary questions teenagers - or anyone new to the civic space might ask –

a sample of which might be:

How do I make something happen in this country?
What is society – is my family in it?
Who looks after the people who can't look after themselves?
How does the government work – what's it got to do with me?
Am I good enough to do anything useful?
How do I get to be a leader?

A POWER PLAY

Given that the underlying question is “how does stuff happen?” PLAY PUBLIC begins with an understanding of -

What power is An introduction to the different ways of power – hard (force), soft (attraction) and smart (balanced) power
Where does it come from? An overview of authority - dependence (children), independence (adolescents) and inter-dependence (adults)
Who has the power? Looking at relationship: between parents and children, politicians and voters, celebrities and fans, media and readers.

B HARD SKILLS – How to do stuff / what action to take

A broad range of skills adding up to competence, including:

Making connections – to public services, like-minded people, the media, council, politicians, banks, anyone!
Growing networks – how to get attention, build groups, make friends, gain influence
Be an activist – join a party, write a blog, get the vote out, leafleting
Management – what does it take to be in charge? What is a boss, what is a leader?
Managing conflict – how to be a successful mediator
Campaigning – what is a pressure group and how do I join?
Caring – how to look after others, where to meet people who need help
Charity work – more than just selling stuff in shops
Re-cycling – how, where, when, why?
Talking in public – speeches, presentations, asking questions

C SOFT SKILLS – How to be in the world

A broad range of skills adding up to confidence including:

Self awareness – what do I sound like to other people, how do I react to things?
Clarity – can I make decisions?
Empathy – can I imagine what other people are feeling?
Emotional intelligence – can I tell what is going on underneath the surface?
Anger management – can I let anger be useful rather than destructive?
Motivation – can I get myself going, make myself do even difficult stuff?
Relating – can I work well in a team without being the leader?
Patience – can I wait for the effects of the causes I make?

D PLAYING PUBLIC

A series of role playing events which allow participants to experience some of the challenges of being 'out there' in public life

Mock Cabinet: be a minister of a government department for a day / week / term
Mock Mum / Dad: run your home for a week
Mock Campaign: designing, planning and executing
Mock Homeless: Living on the streets for one day and one night (supervised)
Mock Net: starting from nothing, build a network that blogs, tweets and flash mobs