Wellbeing Methods
Virtual Social Activities
Virtual social activities are a good option to increase engagement with people who live far away or are self-isolating.
Pros
- People enjoy taking part in activities
- Keeps everyone socially connected
- Low cost and easy to facilitate
Cons
- Access to internet and technologies needed
- Resolving support issues is challenging
Suitable for
- People with access to technology
- People with digital literacy or with the ability to learn with support
- People who want to socialise and try something new
Summary
This wouldn’t be possible without the contributions of Refugee Roots, TimePeace and The Boaz Trust.
Virtual social activities involve facilitating interactive activities online. Similar to social activity groups except done remotely, they can be centred around an interactive activity such as reading club, jam sessions, quizzes and art sessions.
Social activities help create a community for people seeking asylum and refugees when seeing each other in-person isn’t possible. Depending on the activity, staff/volunteers may send materials directly to participants. As they are held online, people will require access to digital technologies with fast internet, and knowledge on using communication platforms.
Requirements
Staff/Volunteer requirements
- Video or messaging groups
- Materials needed for activities to send out - e.g. books for reading, and art boxes including paint, pencils and crayons
Participant requirements
- Video or messaging groups
- Basic activity materials to participate in the group
- Access to good internet
Staff/Volunteer training
- Usually takes 1 person 1 hour to prepare
- 1 hour to deliver the session and record to share with participants
TIPS
Helpful resources
Helpful resources
- NEF 5 Ways to Wellbeing
- Pinterest for inspiration
Feedback
“Try to find some way to form connections and keep a sense of community; working on an activity together and delivering some social engagement can really benefit people’s wellbeing.”
Refugee Roots
“The aim was to keep people feeling connected and the sense of community alive during incredibly challenging times”
TimePeace
“We recommend speaking to your participants first. It is really important to listen to them and allow that to influence any proposals of activities you will offer.”
Refugee Roots
“Digital literacy and confidence coupled with lower levels of confidence in English has made it more challenging for some. But to resolve this we offer 1-2-1 support with onboarding as we believe putting the time into building someone's digital confidence is incredibly beneficial in the long term.”
TimePeace