In a book store in Randers, Denmark, I made a paper crane workshop.
While teaching people to fold it, we talked about common ground, hopes, fears, and who they could identify with and who they couldn´t. The only commitment for the participators was to teach another person how to fold the crane.
While folding, a certain intimacy occured, and I and my students found ourselves in a fruitful dialogue with confessions from both sides of the table. Sometimes though, discussions came up, and I experienced participants starting to discuss with each other (ie. Globalization, immigration etc) and develop new thoughts.
After each ”session”, the participants wrote some notes from the talks on the wings of the birds, and gave them to me as a ”teachers fee”.
The paper crane should in itself make a small, common ground when more and more people know how to fold it. In exchange, many participants tought me how to fold frogs, flowers etc. and I gave them a papercrane in return.