This exercise aims to enable participants explore the norms about ‘personal space’ in their own and other cultures.

Procedure

1. Participants are asked to form monocultural groups and in those groups to consider the cultural norms about personal space in their own culture. They are invited to do this by considering each of the following sets of people in the suggested scenarios. For each pair in each scenario they should consider the following question - In your culture what are the norms regarding physical closeness or distance?
   
   People
   
   • Two men
   • Two women
   • Woman and man
   • Older and younger person
   
   Scenarios
   
   • On the street
   • In a bus
   • Queuing at a bank/post office
   • In normal conversation
2. Participants are then invited to form mixed cultural groups of 4 and to share with each other what their various norms are regarding each set of people in each scenario.
3. Each group is then asked to choose 2-3 examples from their sharing, perhaps norms that were particularly different or interesting in some way, to present to the rest of the group.
4. All return to the large group and each small group makes its presentation.
5. Finally, some time is given for any comments participants may wish to make before the session ends.

Time: 1 hour
Materials: Flipchart, markers.