Diversity in heArts: Political Ch. 6

Like many Young People, of politicS

Maria Paula Duran

NOTES FROM MARÍA PAULA DURÁN

The day I turned 18, my granddad passed away and I suddenly became afraid of losing him in a different way.

I was afraid I was going to forget him. Forget his face, his most iconic things. Therefore, I decided to start a photography project where I would photograph his things and everything I knew that was related to him.

Arts has always been important to me. When I was in high school, I used to draw and paint a lot. I didn’t know anything about photography at that time. Then, I got in university and I started my major in Arts. I always liked to express things through art. And that’s what I do nowadays, inspire and move people through art, particularly photography. We live in a world that is saturated by “bad and sad things”, we hear them and read them everywhere, but art allows us to understand reality on a different way.

It lets us understand what is happening through

emotions, feelings & memories in a fast and approachable way. Therefore, art always has a message, everything in a picture plays a role to sort of deliver a message. And that is politics.

When I started this path in my life, like many young people out there, I was afraid of politics. Afraid, because it felt so big and complex. I realized, however, that it’s not. There is politics in everything, and art allowed me to express my political opinion and concerns.

I want to encourage you to use the different tools that art gives you to raise your voice literally and metaphorically, so we can be many young people out there shaping and building a better country and a better world. You don’t have to be a politician, a senator or a president to change our reality.

- María Paula Durán

Diego Pozo – CISV Mexico

DID YOU KNOW?

1

Bolivia holds the highest turnover of governments.

Since their independence from Spain in 1825, Bolivia has had almost 200 governments. [1]

2

The system of democracy was introduced 2 500 years ago in Athens, Greece. [2]

3

India is the world’s largest democracy with more than 700 million registered voters. [3]

4

The oldest existing governing body operates in Althing, Iceland. It was established in 930 AD.[4]

[1]

Didyouknow.org. (2010). Fast facts on politics.

Retrieved from: https://didyouknow.org/fastfacts/politics/

[2]

Didyouknow.org. (2010). Fast facts on politics.

Retrieved from: https://didyouknow.org/fastfacts/politics/

5

In 1893, New Zealand became the first permanent and independent country to pass suffrage laws – securing all women the right to vote. [5]

6

The intersection of arts and political activism are two fields defined by a shared focus of creating engagement that shifts boundaries, changes relationships and creates new paradigms. [6]

7

Artivism developed in recent years as antiwar and anti-globalization protests emerged. In many cases, artivists attempt to push political agendas by the means of art, but raising social, environmental, and technical awareness is also common.

Examples of mediums are film and music, street art, spoken word, subvertising and protesting. [7]

[3]

Didyouknow.org. (2010). Fast facts on politics.

Retrieved from: https://didyouknow.org/fastfacts/politics/

[4]

Didyouknow.org. (2010). Fast facts on politics.

Retrieved from: https://didyouknow.org/fastfacts/politics/

[5]

Pariona, A. (2017). First 15 Countries to Grant Women’s Suffrage.

Retrieved from: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/first-15countries-to- grant-women- s-suffrage.html

[6]

Blum, A. (2016). Art and Politics: The Power of Creativity and Activism Across the Globe. Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/annette-blum/artand-politicsthe- power_b_9511384.html

[7]

Ensler, E. (2011). Politics, Power and Passion.

Retrieved from:https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/02/opinion/magazine-global- agenda-big-question.html

“LET’S TALK ABOUT POLITICS” Time, Group size & Age: (15 participants, 1- 1 ½ hrs, 14+ year-olds)

MATERIALS: Papers, a bowl, pens for everyone, a big room.

DO: o The facilitator asks the participants to place themselves on an imaginary line from the political right on one side, to the political left on the other side. The participants are not allowed to talk to each other but need to cooperate to create a line.

Two or more people cannot be on the same spot.

o The facilitator then divides the participants in groups (depending on the size – approximately 8 people in each group),according to where they are placed on the scale (start with the 8 standing furthest to the left and move towards the right). This is how the “parties” are founded.

o When the parties have been formed, the facilitator asks why the participants placed themselves where they did. The facilitator will then give the groups a statement that is polarizing the groups. The statement is to be decided by the facilitator. One example: Our country should accept more refugees.

You can compliment the activity by watching our video < Bringing the streets to politics >

o When the facilitator chooses a statement, she/he should prepare some basic information about the topic. For this example, it is necessary to know.

o What is a refugee? (A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence (UNHCR)) o Some information about the refugee situation in specific countries (If you choose countries in advance). o Give the groups space and room to discuss. The parties have to come up with a statement to summarize the group’s opinions on the topic. It should be as concrete as possible. The group needs to agree on a statement, and one person from each group will present it to the other groups.

o After all the groups have presented their statement, there will be a break where the groups can challenge the other groups statements and try to convince the other groups that their standpoint or policy is the best one. The groups will then get some minutes to discuss whether they want to change their standpoint, and then they will present their statement for the

o When all the groups have presented, they shall do an official voting and vote for the standpoint they think is best. One vote based on a common group decision, where one person from each group will present the groups vote out loud, and one individual vote that will be anonymous. The facilitator should hand out pieces of paper and pens and collect all the papers with votes in a bowl. The result of the individual vote is to be presented for everyone by the facilitator.

Debrief o How did you feel at the end of the activity? o What did it feel like to be placed on the line – how comfortable where you when you placed yourself on the line and in your party? o How difficult was it difficult to agree on a statement in your party? o How did you try to convince the others of your standpoint, or the other way around? o Was your whole party aligned with the statement you presented upon? oWhere you able to say your opinion?

o When did you feel more aligned with your opinion? In the open or secret elections? o Do you discuss and debate on a regular basis, as a part of your daily life? Amongst friends and family? Is it socially accepted to do so? o Can you think of similar situations where you have felt pressured to agree with a certain point of view? o What are your opinions or views based on? o How surprised were you by the voting results? (political diversity within CISV)

o Do you feel like CISV is a place where you can discuss political issues? Should it be? o Why do you think it is important to be able to be open about political views? o What do you think can be consequences of people not having a space to share their thoughts in public? o How can we take advantage of our disagreements?

Mari Espinosa â&#x20AC;&#x201C; CISV Chile

POLITICS INTERACTION If i were the leader of my country â&#x20AC;Ś fill in the blanks

Madam o Mister: __________________ Country: ____________________ The first thing that I would do is__________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ I would make it illegal to__________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ I would create_____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ I would make our country better by________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ My Campaign slogan would be_____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

When you have filled out the sheet, check the question below.

Do you really need to be the leader of your country to make those changes ?