Below are a sample presentation, resources, and links designed to give you the information you need to lead a workshop or presentation about farmworkers in your school, on your campus, or in your community.
Introductions / Icebreaker
Take the first few moments of your presentation to share who you are/ who your organization is, your experience with farmworkers, and what the main topic of the presentation will be. If your group is small enough, use an icebreaker to have people briefly introduce themselves so you can get a better idea of who is in the audience and to create a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing. Try the Spider Web Game.
Use participatory tools, reflections, paired discussion, and personal stories to engage the audience and start a dialogue about who farmworkers are and the conditions they face. We recommend choosing 1 or 2 of these participatory tools:
- Share your personal connection to farmworkers. Why are you interested in farmworker issues? What is the goal and how can you see change?
- Screen one of our featured documentaries or the Harvest of Dignity film where farmworkers tell their own stories. Or use our sample Powerpoint presentation to do a quick overview of who farmworkers are. After the film or slideshow, facilitate a discussion with guiding questions: What surprised you? What did you learn? Put yourself in a farmworker’s shoes. What would be the hardest thing about this life.
- Use the repollo/cabbage game to share facts from our farmworker fact sheets about the living and working conditions farmworkers face. Share a students’ reflection from doing outreach with farmworkers by reading one of our featured blog posts.
- Do a paired discussion- Have participants split into pairs and each share what they know about a topic (child labor, farmworker rights, pesticides, etc.) with their partner for 2-3 minutes. Pairs then share thoughts and information with the larger group.
Share ways audience members can take action
At the end of any presentation, be sure to offer about 3 ways the audience can take action. Just pick a few actions targeted to your audience so you don’t overwhelm people but offer multiple methods, from small to large commitment, to engage everyone in the room.
Here are some ideas for actions with SAF:
- Sign up on our listserve to keep updated about our work
- Support farmworker campaigns
- Volunteer for SAF
- Fundraise for SAF
- Donate to SAF
- Participate in National Farmworker Awareness Week
- Apply for one of our student programs
- Write a letter to your local newspaper or contact your legislator
Resources and Links
Check out all the resources on our website that can help with your presentation:
