Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
REPORT INTRODUCTORY COURSE
Basics of intercultural civic education
As part of the Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity project, Activity 3.1: "Didactic labs for schools” was initiated The partner school for the project was: Nicolae Teclu Technological High School, in Bucharest Workshops were held for 6 classrooms, grades IX, X, XI. The courses were held in January - February 2014, as follows:
Ziua
XB
IX A
XA
IX B
XC
IX A
14 January 2014
12:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 13:50
14:00 – 14:50
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15 January 2014
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12:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 13:50
14:00 – 14:50
22 January 2014
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12:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 13:50
14:00 – 14:50
11 February 2014
12:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 13:50
14:00 – 14:50
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12 February februarie 2014
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12:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 13:50
14:00 – 14:50
18 February 2014
12:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 13:50
14:00 – 14:50
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19 February 2014
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12:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 13:50
14:00 – 14:50
25 February 2014
12:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 13:50
14:00 – 14:50
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Each workshop lasted for 50 minutes and four meetings were scheduled for each class. Activities were held within the school premises (physics laboratory), as well as on the outside (school sport grounds); pupils were involved in various non-formal games.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
Purpose of workshops: Pupil initiation in assuming and consolidating values like respect, cultural diversity and non-discrimination.
Goal: Teaching basing notions for non-discriminatory behavior directed towards self, to group and community. The workshop aimed at inducting and developing basic notions of self respect and respect towards others; proper communication and group issue management. We also monitored the management of real, daily life situations, occurring at home or at school, so that all work/play strategies were anchored in real life. The training was focused on two main courses of actions directed by specialists: 1) Creative games and exercises directed at self development and self-awareness of personal actions influencing the group. 2) Experiential games and exercises directed at discovering discrimination and tolerance, social and cultural marginalization.
Theme content -
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Self-awareness and self-esteem
Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
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Self-integration within groups and communities Respect directed at others Effective communication Social discrimination Social marginalization
Activities and methods The course was based on interactive training methods, aiming at supporting the teaching and selfchanging process for attendees. The use of non-formal methods had a positive impact on pupils, who were at their first encounter with such methods. The games and dynamics were welcomed especially since all activities were held within the school precincts, an environment most often associated by youngsters with traditional rigors. The following training methods were used for the purposes of the workshop:
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Manual activities Drawing session Role plays Effective communication practices (presentations, group presentations, free debates on given topics, active listening and active repeating) Individual and group sessions
Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
An increased interest was shown to subjects under debate; the young pupils first attempted such an approach in an organized environment, in school. Although in secondary school most pupils were able to attend social and civic debates, the subjects were less related to rroma issues and implicitly to social discrimination of rroma people. The subject of this project was therefore unexpected both in terms of methods and thematic. Throughout the four meetings the debates started with explanations about terms like minority / majority, xenophobia, racism, tolerance, labeling, anti-Semitism, stereotypes, discrimination, dogma etc.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
The pupils were informed about such terms and were given examples, so that they understand the differences. Following the clarification of the terms and once the course of debate was set, the teaching process was continued based on exercising and enforcing games.
In the classes that worked there different nationalities students and students from minority Roma. To these topics presented were, on the one hand an opportunity for sharing personal experiences and on the other hand the expression of feelings and moods induced by posture minority group . From here came off the need for dialogue and debate topics such as: - Who are the Roma ( gypsies)? They come from and what is their country? - Why all Roma are considered as dangerous people, uneducated? - The image of a country depends on the image of minorities in that country? - What better bring Roma (and other minorities) for Romania? - For what reason are expelled Roma from other countries and sent back "home"?
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
Both Roma pupils and those of other nationalities, colleagues showed another facet of reality on belonging to a minority group. Discussed the traditions and cultural events that have these values recognized nationally and internationally by representatives minorities (athletes, singers, dancers, writers) who are less publicized locally, which that leaves only place preconceptions and labeling various minorities. During the meetings were given the answers to these questions in the discussions and debates leading up processing games. Games chosen for students ("Force circle", "exception" , Just like me", "Coral Island�, "Greetings", "Problems and Solutions") had the following objectives: - Consolidation Group - Accountability face the others, increasing tolerance - Finding ways to self help and support for others - Experiencing belonging to a majority group and minority existence in - To analyze the strategies they use to be accepted by the majority group - Awareness of the moments in which we like to be part of the majority or the minority - Awareness of youth about different groups in society - Encouraging empathy based on the experience of rejection or exclusion
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
Methods open to dialogue and freedom of expression have facilitated natural behaviors and mood throughout trainings.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
At the end of exercise , young people understand how stereotypical done by the media, how to describe images offered emotional influences , how to find ways to help in critical situations that are" exclusion mechanisms " to experience the situation of marginalization and state minority - majority identify different ways of interaction in the absence of common language.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
At the end of the workshops, students were given written and verbal feedback about the experiences they have lived during games and non formal activities.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
Results An overall result of the training That was the Expected Attendees received all information. Exercises non formal learning practice method is agreed by students and in most cases, even preferable. Young people could realize and internalize a number of notions of social and group dynamics. The need to define personal and group membership, manifested in the meetings. Students childbearing internal confrontations on the place and role in the community had the opportunity to reflect on the social dynamics in living. Thus, they concluded that recognition beyond their own needs and their social, living in a world of increasingly cosmopolitan, which urges the knowledge of others. Understanding the values, culture, customs and traditions other than their own, can help their integration into interest groups or facilitate dialogue between young people from different cultures. Another conclusion deriving from the discussions was to increase the space of action and manifestation of youth beyond school boundaries, neighborhood or country of origin. Young people understand that their future is tied to knowledge of these areas. Advantages and disadvantages of
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Conflicts, mass media and rights: a raising awareness campaign on Roma Culture and identity.
communion with other minorities or nationalities depends on how each manage this knowledge. All that a conclusion was expressed and the idea of using virtual space as a space of interaction between young people from different countries and cultures, which would generate new friends and know each other. Based on the experiences they have had during the four sessions, students learned new information about colleagues, but also about themselves in relation to the games attended and discussions initiated. Hence the need for continuity was off to fix their own ideas, but also to deep experiences in them. Also after attending the course, students have identified a number of problems that occur in the peer group: - Young people know only in the formal school. This prevents the contact with the life of everyone "at home". - Part of colleagues sitting in the province, so that interaction outside of school is hampered by distance. - Lack of intercultural programs for young people in school is reduced, thereby decreasing about topics discussed. - Limited financial possibilities of the family leading to decrease travel in other countries. - Young people have "inherited" a series of stereotypes and misconceptions, sent by family members, and they were never thought to check. - At this age, young need to define themselves and to develop personal, so interest in others is not necessarily a matter of reflection.
Attendance and group dynamic The group dynamics was different according to the interest shown to the subject of debates, as well as to the analytical capabilities of issues under debate. The meetings were attended by pupils interested in the subject and in continuing activities similar to the ones held as part of the project at this stage.
Recommendations -
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It is advisable that the learning process should continue as a practical application of the things taught as part of this instruction. It is also advisable to develop and introduce as part of the curricula some work tools to be constantly used in the educational process, for each of the age groups. It is advisable to train and prepare trainers for non-formal education which might add value to currently employed educational methods. It is advisable to increase the number of curricular activities by adding intercultural studies. It is advisable to have a close contact between trainers and teachers targeted at providing information and educational resources in order to preserve all notions acquired by the children as part of these sessions.
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