#70 Democratic experience at the disco

Can you imagine a political education event in which the disco becomes a seminar room? It may sound unusual, but we have an idea. It's inspired by the great project "B:ALL INCLUSIVE" by anDemos e. V., which uses basketball as a medium to teach democratic principles in a playful way.

Our idea? Small exercises are interspersed between music sets and a party atmosphere to bring basic democratic values such as participation, pluralism or tolerance to life. After a short warm-up, the participants are asked to get together and fill a piece of paper with a term that relates to other basic democratic values (e.g. freedom, respect, equal rights, protection of minorities, etc.). The participants briefly discuss what these values mean to them and agree together on three "dance rules" that symbolize the drawn terms. For example, "respect" could mean that everyone keeps a certain distance, while "freedom" allows you to perform your own dance moves. The music starts and everyone dances according to the established rules. After a few minutes, the music stops. The participants reflect on what it was like for them to dance according to the rules they set themselves. Did they feel free or restricted? Was it easy or difficult to follow the rules and still express their own individuality?

This basic idea can be varied and incorporated between free dance phases. In another round, for example, the participants could be asked to break a rule unspoken. They then reflect on it: Did this feel like "freedom" or did it have a disruptive effect on the participants? Another option could be to give only certain participants the opportunity to set rules and then label them as legitimate or illegitimate. How is the breaking of rules now perceived by the group? Or what if deliberately breaking the rules only has no consequences for a specific, pre-defined group?

The possibilities are endless. Perhaps try out the idea internally with your team at the next summer party, birthday or Christmas party. Not only can you familiarize yourself with the method and develop it further with the concentrated team intelligence, but you can also reflect on your own concepts of democracy in the team.

For further inspiration, take a look at the great "Handbuch für Demokratietraining im Basketball" from anDemos e. V.