As part of the FRIDAS project, psychologist Latica Mladina led an engaging workshop session with participants from Primavera Rugby, Ragbi Klub Zagreb, Menorca Rugby Club, the Bulgarian Rugby Federation, and Romanes Wheelchair Rugby.
The morning began with activities designed to foster trust and mutual understanding.
Among these was a blindfolded exercise in which participants had the opportunity to get to know each other without using sight, relying instead on listening, voice, and spatial awareness to interact with one another and their surroundings.
Participants were then divided into mixed groups, encouraging interaction between teams from different countries. One of the activities involved creating a “secret handshake” without speaking, allowing participants to explore non-verbal communication through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. This was followed by a collaborative exercise in which groups were asked to build a tower using objects found in their environment.
During this activity, each participant was given a label placed on their back indicating how they should be treated by the others, without knowing what was written on it. This created spontaneous group dynamics that led, at the end of the exercise, to meaningful moments of discussion and reflection on stereotypes, behaviors, and the way we perceive others.
A particularly important part of the workshop focused on the theme of prejudice. Through shared reflections, participants explored how people are often labeled and treated based on stereotypes, highlighting the importance of awareness, empathy, and active listening.
The session concluded with a collective activity involving both players and coaches, based on a series of questions and personal responses. This moment opened up an honest dialogue on inclusion, disability, and group dynamics, emphasizing how essential it is to approach others with openness, authenticity, and a willingness to engage.