Author: Christopher Malapitan

Christopher Malapitan is an independent creative facilitator and trainer based in Brussels. With many years of experience working in creative industries, he supports communities and teams to create impactful and meaningful work; as well as explore and unlock what drives them. From design thinking to collaborative arts-based approaches, he applies a unique blend of innovative processes and practises to his facilitation work and training sessions. www.chrismalapitan.com

Ukulele Lessons for Beginners

workshop

Ready to strum your first chords in a warm, welcoming setting?

Join our beginner ukulele workshop! I will be hosting the workshop in the comfort of my home in Brussels. With a maximum of 5 participants, you’ll enjoy personalized guidance, joyful learning, and a friendly atmosphere. Whether you’re picking up the ukulele for the first time or revisiting it, this group lesson promises fun, music, and connection.

No experience needed—just bring your curiosity (and a uke if you have one)!

By the end of the class you will be able to:

Tune your ukulele
Play 4 chords: C, G, F, Am
Play a simple strumming pattern
Change between chords while staying in rhythm
Play a simple song in the group
Understand chord charts so you can learn other songs on your own

— AGENDA —

18:00 – Arrive at location. (Location is nearby Brussels Beer Project Port Sud in Anderlecht, Brussels. Exact location will be shared via email 24 hours before the lesson) Drinks and snacks will be made available.
18:30 – Lesson start
20:00 – Lesson end

Dates available

Lessons take place in Anderlecht, Brussels
DATES:
Tuesday 23 September
Tuesday 21 October
Tuesday 18 November

Reserve your seat here

FAQ

I do not own a ukulele. Can you provide me with one for the lesson?
Yes, we can provide you with a ukulele for the lesson. Just let us know before the lesson.

Do I need any prior musical experience?
No you do not. The ukulele is known to be the easiest instrument to learn.

How long is the lesson and where exactly is it held?
The lesson is 90 minutes and will be held at the trainers home (Anderlecht, Brussels).

Is having long nails difficult when playing the ukulele?
Yes, having long nails can make it difficult to play the ukulele, especially on the fretting hand, as they can interfere with proper finger placement and chord formation, potentially leading to buzzes and inaccurate notes. It advisable to keep fingernails as short as possible.

What should I bring to the lesson?
Aside from a ukulele, maybe a notebook, water bottle, and enthusiasm!

The Power of Play: What a Ukulele Workshop Taught Me About Openness and Connection

team building, ukulele team building, workshop

Last week at the Imagination Club I had the opportunity to test a workshop titled, “Strumming Curiousity: Embracing Change with the Ukulele”. Fourteen participants took part in ukulele based activities to connect to their inner thoughts as well as connect to others.

This is what some of them said after the workshop:

“Making music is fun.”

“It is so natural to be creative.”

“That was so playful and safe.”

Here are my observations and reflections:

1. I was impressed with everyone’s openness and flexibility to just go for it.

It was amazing to witness how willing participants were to embrace the unfamiliar. Everyone approached the ukulele activities with an open mind, ready to experiment and learn. This eagerness to explore without fear of mistakes is a powerful reminder that curiosity thrives in a supportive environment. When we remove the pressure of perfection, we open the door to discovery and growth.

2. Everyone safely entered into the play space (potential space) where everyone explored the unknown together.

There was a collective sense of trust that made it possible for everyone to step into a space of creativity and spontaneity. This “potential space” is where play, imagination, and connection intersect, allowing people to push beyond their comfort zones in a safe and encouraging way. Seeing the group navigate uncertainty together—whether through tapping the body of the ukulele, plucking a string or two or improvising melodies—reinforced how play can be a powerful tool for collaboration and innovation.

3. Music nourishes our capacity for connection.

The shared experience of making music created an immediate bond among participants. Music bypasses words and taps into a more instinctive, emotional way of communicating. Whether through synchronized strumming, rhythm, or simply sharing laughter over a missed note, the workshop highlighted how music fosters trust, empathy, and a sense of belonging. This reminds me that in both personal and professional spaces, engaging in creative expression together can deepen connections in ways that traditional team-building exercises often can’t.

I’m looking forward to applying my learnings to improve the next time I run the ukulele team building workshop.

Thank you Jeffrey & Andy and all the folks who joined in and shared their valuable feedback.

Contact me if you’re interested to boost trust and connection in your team through the power of music.

THANK YOU TOGETHER – End of year team reflection activity

Activity, team building

Here is a fun guessing activity you can play with your team called THANK YOU TOGETHER.

Reflecting on gratitude at the end of the year is a powerful practice for teams, fostering a positive culture and reinforcing bonds.

Setup: Invite the team to sit around a large table. Everyone grabs a sticky note and a pen. Bring out some drinks & snacks too.

Instructions: Everyone has three minutes to create a visual (no words) on a single sticky note that best represents their answer to a question. There are three rounds of questions. At the end of each round, one by one, each person shares their visual while everyone tries to guess what it is.

Questions:

1- One thing about this team that you are most proud of this year?

2- What was the biggest lesson for you this year about our team?

3- What positive moments/experiences brought us the most joy as a team this year?

Encouraging open dialogue around these questions can deepen connections within the team and inspire a positive outlook for the upcoming year.

BONUS question: What is one thing you’d like to continue practicing with the team next year?

Curious Islands card game

networking, team building, team building

Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to connect with the people you work with from the place of imagination?

Welcome to the Curious Islands!

We believe you can spark curiosity and meaningful connection in a safe and fun way!

It is with our utmost pleasure and excitement that we are inviting you to test our new, team-connection card game, The Curious Islands!

In this game you get to create your very own, true to yourself, magical island. Rich with all the features you desire. You will also learn about other islands and your fellow islanders.

The goal of this game is simple. Build, explore and connect your islands. What hidden gems will you discover within the people you will meet along the way?

“(After playing the game I feel) open, relaxed, at ease, familiar. I learned about people through how they related to activities as much if not more than by what they said. Just getting people talking opens connections and some familiarity.”

This game, self-explanatory and not needing facilitation, is designed to foster psychological safety and connection and spark curiosity for further conversations and explorations between participants.

Who is the game for?

The game is for groups of people who know each other or who are just forming. The tone is set by the depth of connection. It is for extroverts, introverts and ambiverts. The game is set up to be experienced while being physically present in a location.

What do you need for the game?

a comfortable quiet space
a flat space for the cards
4-12 participants (16+ of age)
1-2 hours of your time
curiosity

Curious to learn more and schedule a session? Click here

We are looking forward to meeting you and your group!

Game developed by Christopher Malapitan and Kasia Skuratowicz

5 Basic Visual Elements

learning

If you are ready to learn to create 5 Basic Visual Elements to level up your note taking or flip charts, then grab a paper and pen and follow along with the video below to help enhance your learning and group work.

In this video you’ll learn to create:

FRAMES: grouping/separating ideas or highlighting a set of ideas
ARROWS: shows a process or how ideas are connected
PEOPLE: brings life or reflects emotions
ICONS: helps compress and identify ideas quickly
TYPE: creative type highlighting certain ideas

Have fun and share your learnings.

Visual Goal Canvas

experiential learning, learning, workshop

A chance meeting with Clinical Psychologist, Dr. David Pearson sparked an idea. He explained the approach behind the design of an assessment tool (DLSAS) he had co-authored – 5 questions to help teachers assess students’ core life skills. Impressed with the simple approach, it inspired the design of a learning tool. I was looking for a creative way to introduce my students to some visual thinking concepts. After many iterations, I came up with the Visual Goal Canvas.

There are at least 7 components to consider when setting any goal:

What, Why, Who, Where, How, How Much and When.

It’s not sufficient to focus on only one of the components. Mapping all components on a pre-structured canvas offers a quick overview of the entire journey of your goal.

This is the Visual Goal Canvas – a tool to help visually map a goal across 7 components in a single image.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the 7 components:

WHAT is your goal? What do you hope to achieve? What are you aiming for? What is your one hope?
WHY do you wish to achieve your goal? What is the purpose? Why is it worth your time and energy? Why do this one thing and not something else?
WHO do you need to achieve your goal? Who manages the journey? Who else might you need on board?
WHERE will you start? What resources/skills/network/partnerships do you have in place?
HOW will you reach your goal? What are some of the activities/tasks that will help you get there? How will you stay on track?
HOW MUCH: What is the size of your goal? How many parts is your goal made up of? How might you prioritise these parts?
WHEN do you hope to achieve your goal? What is your time-frame? What might be some of the important checkpoints along your journey?

By exercising visual thinking with storytelling strategies and tools the Visual Goal Canvas can be used to help motivate and guide you or a group towards a goal.

I can easily feel overwhelmed when I try to get new projects off the ground. I get lots of ideas but I can easily lose sight of the big picture. The Visual Goal Canvas helps me organise my ideas and map out the steps to meet my goals. It helped me launch my newsletter. And now I am using it to plan out my next steps for a book!”

Gwyn Wansbrough

Breakthrough Facilitation

Some questions to ask when developing your Visual Goal Canvas for personal use or for a group:

What challenges might we come across on our journey?
What might we need to support our journey?
What is missing in our journey?
What habits might we need to create/adjust/let go of?
How do we make sure we are learning along our journey?
How might you celebrate your wins?

Click on the image to download the VISUAL GOAL CANVAS

5 Ways to Stay Balanced during Online Sessions

experiential learning, online session

“Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” —Rumi

I found out the hard way that it is no easy task to run an online session. The COVID19 crisis has challenged us in many ways while shifting all our conversations and interactions online. How do I keep it together? Will participants get bored and leave my session? What if I mess up? I gathered together my top 5 key learnings from the various online sessions I’ve experienced lately. I hope they answer some questions you might have about running your online sessions and helps you stay balanced and present during these challenging times.

#1 Be Fully Present

Being fully present is a tough one for me. Before a session it helps to do a bit of “grounding” work. I enjoy breathing exercises the most as it helps clear the mind. Deep inhales, then very long exhales. Taking a moment every now and then in a session to consciously breathe keeps me grounded too. Bonus if you incorporate body movement. Simple stretching, either seated or standing gets everyone feeling present. I find keeping a calm mind is vital. You’ll never know what might pop up. I had an unforeseen technical issue once. I designed a 90 minute session around 3 breakout rooms. Breakout rooms are useful for splitting a large group into smaller groups for deeper learning experiences. For some odd reason the breakout room option was not working so I had to continue without. Can’t keep over 350 participants waiting. I welcomed the technical glitch. Breathe. Calm. Focused. (To be honest, the session turned out better than I had imagined)

#2 Give Space

I try very hard to speak as little as possible. What is the minimum instructions that needs to be shared to get participants engaged? My online sessions tend to be action oriented full of fun activities but I notice I talk too much. (Chris, please shut up and let them get on with it!) During the last online session I ran, at some point participants had to take a moment to reflect on what they had created. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take out my ukulele and strum a few calming chords to get them into a relaxed state. It helped me shut up and it helped them focus. Silence also works. It gives space to allow digesting and processing time. It’s a great tool that I always have to remind myself to use. Silence. Slow down.

#3 Small Celebrations

This is a new one for me and I find it so useful. Creating moments of mini celebrations keeps the spirits up. Keeps it light. Learning together is a lot of fun, so small celebrations creates a sense of “we’re in this together”. We’re all uplifting each other. We get to see and hear each other. One of my favourite mini-celebration is inviting participants to wave their hands like a bird if they’re ready to “fly” to the next part of the activity. The typical one is “Give me a thumbs-up if you’re ready” but that’s so 1980s! Coming up with small novel ways (even for just a moment) to invite the imagination or even the body to move is a great way to keep everyone in the flow. It’s like small fun check-ins.

#4 Stay Curious

I’m always amazed with what participants share. I’m so inspired with their generosity and courage to share their thoughts and feedback. So yes, sometimes I do wish I was a participant instead. Most of my questions come from a place of curiosity. I’m so curious to see the participants perspective. What emotions are arising? What is it that they see? What are they finding challenging? I get caught in the performance mode, but then I have to remind myself to get into a learning mode too. For that I’ve got to stay genuinely curious about their learning as this will help my learning. It’s a learning party!

#5 Authentic Voice

This is going to sound cheesy. Tone of voice is super important when you run an online session. Speaking in a digital space is very different to speaking in a physical space. In a digital space we’re missing the room acoustics and ambient sounds. It doesn’t feel “real”. I get it, we’re trying our best to mimic reality. Sherry Turkle said it best in her book ‘Reclaiming conversation: the power of talk in a digital age’,

Digital promotes a transactional language

The closest we’re going to having an authentic connection is if we speak with an authentic voice. A voice that connects. (Here comes the cheesy bit) I like to speak to participants as-if they were all my brothers and sisters. I find that it activates a friendly voice. And most importantly it invites a sense of care in my voice. I guess what I’m trying to say is that when I’m speaking to my family I’m actually speaking from my heart. I’m trying my best to be as authentic as possible. (Cheesy bit over)

Conclusion

One of the hardest things to let go is our inner perfectionist. We all want to deliver the best online experience and have participants leave the session with a smile on their faces. I like to test my sessions with trusted and supportive friends who would give me constructive feedback. It would also give me the opportunity to shed any fears I may have. And there are plenty of fears. I had to learn to trust the process and trust my participants to make the best decisions for themselves. They own their learnings and not me. And above all, we’ve got to learn to be kinder to our self. After all this is all a learning experience and we’re all in it together.

What strategies do you use to stay balanced during online sessions?

PENCIL WALKING

creativity lab, online session

To help support everyone cope with the challenges of living in confinement with the COVID-19 crisis, I created a series of online webinars titled “PENCIL WALKING” – creative mindful activities aimed to help calm the mind. Since we’re confined to our homes, Calmness is a superpower because it’s the best cure to anxiety helping us remain resilient. Everyday for one week (13-17 April) from 6-6:30pm I guided participants through straight forward & fun activities helping them access a state of relaxed focus.

Every session underwent a 3 part structure.

First we a started with a short guided breathing exercise to help calm the mind.

Second, I guided everyone to follow a focused drawing activity.

Then finally, everyone was invited to take a moment to reflect and harvest some of their learnings from the experience. This allowed them to recognise and appreciate their inner strengths.

Approach

I used mindfulness-based art therapy (inspired by Dr. Laury Rappaport) as an approach to improve our understanding of our inner self and emotions. Creativity as the gateway to the inner self. Engaging in a creative process of making art as a way to explore the inner self. With a focus on self-care, personal growth, and wellbeing, the benefits of this approach helps lower distress levels and improve quality of life.

List of activities:

Session 1: Take my pencil for a walk – We will bring our full awareness to the movement of the pencil on the page by connecting it to our breathing.

Session 2: Around the park with my pencil – By focusing on a single object we will travel across its silhouette.

Session 3: Pencil hears a sound – We will explore how we might visualise different sounds.

Session 4: Finding balance with my pencil – We will create charming images by drawing simple structured patterns.

Session 5: My pencil leads the way – We will travel through imaginary bumpy and twisting paths.

What some of the participants had to say about their experience:

All sessions were happily supported by our dear friend Bruno Selun from Kumquat Consult who shared his Zoom channel with us. Thank you for saving us Bruno! And thank you to Anuschka Ruge for her enthusiastic support.

Please sign up to our Creativity lab meetup to join in our activities

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance
– Aristotle

Creativity Lab

creativity lab, experiential learning, networking, team building, team building

I created the Brussels Creativity Lab in beginning of 2020 because like any skill, creativity needs practice too. The monthly meetup is open to anyone interested in exploring new possibilities, questioning assumptions and discovering their creativity.

It is very important to establish a safe and supportive environment to foster learning in a collaborative way. To be able to encounter one another and learn from our varied expertise. Creativity thrives on diversity.

The first edition of the meetup (29.1.2020) was titled, “Seven Deadly Sins of Creativity” – through a series of collaborative activities we explored various barriers preventing us from connecting to our creativity and how might we overcome them. By moving beyond barriers of our creativity we enable unimaginable possibilities to emerge.

At the start of the session participants were invited to activate their explorer’s mindset:

to invite curiosity
to expect resistance and push forward
make connections
be flexible and open to possibilities
share stories of our understanding of the world

The Approach

Drawing inspiration from Logotherapy by Victor Frankl , participants were encouraged to approach all activities with “paradoxical intention” which is to demonstrate the opposite of what you are aiming to achieve.

So instead of trying to find a “way out” which typically suppresses a barrier, with a paradoxical intention approach, we exaggerate the barrier to a point of irony making it look seem ridiculous thus reducing it’s “power” over us. Using humour helps reverse our attitude towards it. Therefore resistance is reduced or disappears.

Activities

I created a deck of 39 cards with a single barrier on each card such as ego, fear of rejection, impatience, distraction, conformity, complacency, and over thinking, to name a few. Before each activity participants received a single card, then were invited to take part in a creative activity such as:

Generate 5 tips to promote the barrier
Create a personification of the barrier
In your group create a human sculpture representing the barrier
Create a unique dance move of your barrier. Everyone replicates the move

The meetup continues to nurture and grow creative behaviour within ourselves and with others. Join in the fun, tap into your creativity and meet some awesome folks.

We are creative beings, our lives become our work of art
– Julia Cameron

Taking stock of team achievements

Activity, team building

TAKE STOCK OF TEAM ACHIEVEMENTS

Duration 30-45 min
Number of persons 10-15 persons

Description
The best way to end the year on a high note is to take time with the team to reflect on the past year and to celebrate your achievements and progress. Taking stock helps build team confidence and brings some insights to take on the next step of the journey.

Goals
The goal of this fun activity is to share appreciation about the team achievements.

Materials and preparation

sticky-notes
thick coloured markers
ballpoint pens
A4 paper
A3 paper
coloured oil-pastels

Instructions

Have the team seated in a circle with all the materials nearby.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
On sticky-notes invite everyone to write 1-3 personal highlights from the year they will treasure. One highlight per sticky-note. They could write one word, a short phrase or doodle. (3 minutes)
Invite the team to go round one-by-one and share one or two personal highlights.
Next, on sticky-notes invite everyone to write 1-3 team highlights from the year they will treasure. One highlight per sticky-note. They could write one word, a short phrase or doodle. (3 minutes)
Invite the team to go round one-by-one and share one or two team highlights.
LEARNINGS
Pass a sheet of A4 paper and pen to each team member and invite them to a free writing activity. Explain that free writing is a technique, when we say ‘Go’ you begin writing and continue uninterrupted until we say ‘Stop.’ The idea is to keep your pen moving the entire time. Spelling nor punctuation matters. Your entire writing piece might be one long sentence, or you might have all kinds of short phrases. No crossing out or rewriting. Just let the thoughts flow and captured them on your paper. Remind the team that the writing will stay private and that we will only share learnings later.
Prompt #1: What did I learn about myself this past year? (3 minutes)
Prompt #2: What did I learn about my team this past year? (3 minutes)
When time is up ask them to read their writings silently and underline one or two learnings they would like to share with the team.
Invite the team to go around the circle and share something they learned either about themselves or the team.
GRATITUDE
Invite everyone to get into a comfortable position and close their eyes. If they are not comfortable closing their eyes invite them to focus their gaze somewhere in the room. Ask them to take a couple of deep breathes. Reflecting on the past year, have them think about what they are most grateful for. What worked well for them? Who do they feel appreciative of for their contribution to their life? Picture this person or moment you are most grateful for. Stay with this moment. Feel the gratitude as it fills up your chest. (long pause) Take a couple of deep breathes. Begin to stretch your fingers and your toes, stretch your arms and your legs, and when you are ready, open your eyes.
Pass a sheet of A3 paper to everyone and ask them to grab a few oil-pastels and invite them to draw a picture that represents your gratitude. The picture can be literal—showing recognisable objects—or it can be abstract—just colours—or it can be a combination. It’s up to you. Use your imagination. This is not an arts test. Feel free to play some soft instrumental music in the background.
Give them around 5 minutes to complete their drawing.
Invite the team to go around the circle and share their picture and their gratitude story.
LEAVING BEHIND
Next, ask everyone, what would they like to say goodbye to? What have they outgrown? What would they like to gently bring to a close? Invite everyone to write some ideas down on sticky notes then share in the circle.
TAKING WITH ME
Then finally, what would they like to take with them into the new year? What is the one word that would be the guiding focus for their new year? Invite everyone to write their one word in a creative way on an A4 sheet of paper. Share in the circle. Celebrate these words by pinning them up on a board that is visible in the office.

Background
Inspired by the work of Kevin Eikenberry and Louise Thompson