There are many ways to improve communication. Lifestyle Barcelona together with Madiba Incentives proposed a – multinational IT a very good offer – a 2-day-event with icebreaking and incentives activities. The first day the event was held in what is widely referred to as “a unique open-air museum” in Barcelona called “Pueblo Espanol” (Spanish Village) while the second day was held at the Olympic Canal, a part of the Olympic Village, built for Olympic Games in 1992.
The first day event theme was “Catalan Tradition” which perfectly matched with the location of “Pueblo Español”. At the beginning, the group was all warmly welcomed by the animators at the entrance, who presented the museum and then moved the group on to the Town Hall, where the actual session took place. The group of 50 participants were divided into 2 teams, each team had to build their own human tower, called a “Castell” in Catalan. Building human towers is a Catalan tradition performed at many festivals here in Catalonia.
No proper Castell building is possible without “Faja”, a black tissue belt of 5 meters length, which supports the back of a participant and reduces the risk of any accidents. The tower was built in two phases: first, the “pinya” the base of the tower followed by the subsequent levels that were created by participants climbing onto the shoulders of those beneath them. But don´t worry, of course everything was kept under the professional guidance of the numerous Human Tower coordinators´. Only the professionals are able to climb to a height of any risk.
Each team had to choose a team leader – usually it was the most dynamic person in the group. Team leaders divided the tasks among their members according to ability, physical build and character. For example slight, short and brave people would likely be chosen to climb up one level as opposed to form part of the base for obvious reasons!Tower building is a very fragile process and has to be done carefully and everyone needs take responsibility for their role in the team.
But don´t forget what is essential in this activity – management and foremost, teamwork. That´s why this activity is a great and unconventional way of proper team-building and facilitation skills. This activity is also a very good icebreaker. Even though the people are from one company they are spread across international branches and hence they did not all know each other. During this activity participants need to be very close to each other and cooperate in order to achieve their common aim.
The winning team is the one who finishes building their tower first. This is the competitive element of the activity but after building two separate towers, both teams united and built one tower together. This was a very amusing activity which merged the two teams and gave them the opportunity to contribute to a common goal. Throughout the whole activity, musicians played traditional Catalan music giving the whole event a fun and festive feeling all the way through to the final celebration ceremony.
The second part of the event was the performance of the traditional Catalan dance called “Sardanas”. The animators demonstrated the steps of this dance and provided the group with traditional costumes: “Faja” for men and a traditional cap for women. All dressed up and full of the traditional spirit they began to dance. The basic rule for this dance is to form a circle by holding hands and then rhythmically perform the steps together. This activity was also a great icebreaker as dancing together hand in hand participants completely forgot about their office status… your boss is your dance partner now - fun!
The second day was dedicated to “Mini Olympics. It took place at the Canal Olympics, built for the Olympic Games of 1992. The group was divided into eight teams. Each group had 20 minutes for 1 out of 4 competitions: archery, rowing, pedal karts and the traditionally called “Puente competition”. The latter competition required participants to walk along wooden planks, set upon large barrels and get from one point to another without their feet touching the ground. After completing one competition each team rotated until all of them had completed each competition. Believe me, it was very amusing to see colleagues rowing madly or competing with the boss in pedal karts!
At the end of the competition, the teams were awarded with medals of gold, silver and bronze. Some team members confessed that although they didn´t win anything Mini Olympics was an amazing activity to get to know their colleagues. Through fun and enjoyment they developed teamwork and cooperation. The event set in the real Olympic Games environment gave more authenticity to the event and definitely, motivated them to do their best to win!
Lifestyle Barcelona: Enjoyment through fun and professionalism!!
Popularity: 5% [?]
Grandstands: 12 euros
Stands: 5 euros
Reserved: (1) VIP (2) Media (3) Athletes