Samoan Circle

{{Term|SAMOAN CIRCLE|Training tool similar to fishbowl but leaderless useful to help a group of people to deal with controversial issues. As with Fishbowl process, participants form two concentric circles; only the ones sitting in the inner circle are allowed to speak, while the rest of the group listens and observes. Attendees composing the inner circle have the task to expose all the different perspectives on the main topic and, therefore, there should be one or two representatives for each point of view present in the group. However, at any time participants from the external circle can join the inner one, simply taking an available seat or standing up behind a chair and waiting for the person sitting on it moving on the external circle. Since the discussion is not guided by a leader, a facilitator should explain the attendees the rules of the process before beginning the session. Samoan Circle can be used to:

• Encourage active participation in discussing a controversial issue while avoiding polarization;
• Develop different perspectives on a specific topic;
• Enhance the knowledge of participants about the main theme (they have to listen to all different points of view);
• Build relationship and community capacity in the group;
• Promote respect of the other. ^[1]

Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found