Preparation
Plan to make the charter at the very beginning of the group or class formation.
Provide space and writing surfaces for everyone to see and follow.
Provide a blank surface for writing the final version.
Appoint two people/students to be scribes.
Step one: Writing the charter
Involve all the people or students concerned, and encourage active participation: everyone listens to everyone else’s proposals, no one makes fun of anyone, and the atmosphere is good. Respect speaking time: everyone raises their hand and waits to be given the floor.
Start with practical aspects: punctuality, cleanliness, politeness, limits, sharing knowledge, etc.
Then invite proposals focusing on human values: respect, consideration, benevolence, empathy, openness, welcome, inclusion, help, cooperation, solidarity, etc. The aim here is to regulate attitudes and behavior.
Then encourage suggestions for peace skills (know-how): dialogue, listening, peace reflexes, reconciliation, etc.
Stimulate creativity: then invite suggestions that are less common, but useful to the group.
Step 2: Positive reformulation
This step can be done in small groups of 3-5 people or students.
Ask the groups to rephrase everything in a positive way: replace Don’t do… with Do…, or even We are going to do….
Step 3: Version to be displayed during the year
Have your final charter carefully rewritten for display during the year
Highlight practices, values, skills, creative points, now that they’ve been positively formulated.
During the year
Whenever a situation arises that requires the use of the Charter, do so in a participatory way, asking the group to indicate what needs to be respected for the group to function properly.
Use the new situations to add new proposals with the help of the group.
Organize variations: for outings, for welcoming or leaving a person, in the event of an accident, etc. In this way, the rules will be accompanied by positive charters. In this way, the rules will be accompanied by positive charters.
To lighten the mood, invite the group to create a humorous charter.