Archival Memories

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Exchange background stories in pairs using an early personal photo or recalled memory.

Use it when: Use as a conversational icebreaker at the start of a workshop or team session when participants have personal devices.

Skip it when: Skip when participants do not have phones, when personal device use is restricted, or when the group needs an impersonal task.

Group arrangement: Pairs; if there is an odd number of people, form one trio.

Timing: UWT suggested 10-minute structure based on the Playmeo paired sharing mechanic.

Materials and tools

• One smartphone or personal digital device per participant (optional fallback: paper and pen)
• One countdown timer visible to the facilitator

Before participants arrive

1. Confirm participants have their phones available or offer pen and blank index cards as an alternative.

Say this to open

Take out your phone and open your photo library. Scroll back toward the earliest photo you can comfortably find. It could be from ten years ago, last year, or whenever you got this phone. If you prefer, choose any early saved picture or simply recall an early memory. You will pair up and tell the story of what was happening when that picture was taken.

How to run it

1. Select image 2 minutes

   Participants open their photo apps and locate an early picture they are willing to discuss. Anyone without a phone or without photos chooses an early personal memory or sketches a quick scene on paper. Example: someone finds a photo of a flat tire from five years ago or a picture of their first pet.

2. Share first story 3 minutes

   Divide the room into pairs. If there is an odd number, create one trio. Partner A shows their picture or describes their chosen memory. Partner A speaks for up to two minutes while Partner B listens. Partner B may ask one clarifying question.

3. Share second story 3 minutes

   Call time and signal the switch. Partner B shows their picture or describes their chosen memory. Partner B speaks for two minutes while Partner A listens. In a trio, divide the remaining time so all three speak.

4. Brief reflection 2 minutes

   Reconvene the full group. Invite two or three volunteers to share what surprised them about looking back at an old picture, without exposing private details.

Debrief questions

• What surprised you about how far back your digital gallery actually went?
• How did seeing or describing an old snapshot shift your perspective today?

Finished output: Each participant shares one story with a partner or chooses to listen.

Remote

Form breakout rooms with two people per room for six minutes. Participants hold up their phone to their webcam, share their screen, or simply describe the image aloud.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with in-person partners. Pair remote participants with remote partners in video breakout rooms so camera sharing works equally for both groups.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may show any picture they choose, describe a memory without showing a screen, or sketch an image on scrap paper.
• Anyone may pass on sharing personal details and instead describe an impersonal image, such as a screenshot or document photo.

If the session gets stuck

A participant got a new phone yesterday and only has three photos.

Invite them to share the story of the first photo on the new device or recall an older photo from memory.

A participant does not want to expose their personal camera roll.

Remind them they do not need to show the screen; they can verbally describe any early event or object they remember.

Terms used here

• Photo gallery: The built-in image library or camera roll application on a smartphone or mobile device.