Peace, Democracy and citizenship - Magazine

Our euromed training course “Peace, democracy and citizenship” from a state of mind to active participation - took place in Tunisia in the city of Nabeul where we spent 8 days. We were 26 participants coming from different countries from Europe and Meda counties such as Greece, Romania, Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

During those days, we shared our experiences between all the participant’s and their countries in means of democracy, citizenship and peace. We developed and learn new methods to promote active citizenship trough the language of media and video.

As a result of our work together, we created various videos and games as tools which has the aim of promoting the values of Democracy, active citizenship and peace. These games raise awareness among youngsters and adults to be conscious citizens and about the importance of their active participation. It includes parts which will allow the players to improve their decision making skills and to rediscover the values of peace and democracy.

Our days in Nabeul were a great opportunity for cultural exchange, as well. We had the chance to know better cultures and traditions from different countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area.

In this magazine we want to show how we worked to achieve our objectives meanwhile we enjoyed an intercultural atmosphere.

We were just strangers when we first met but we ended up the seminar as one close family thanks to the creative energizers, the wonderful intercultural exchange activities and the mini-trips we had. But, let’s start from the beginning.

Our first activities together were different games to introduce ourselves to the others. First, we made a circle and each of us had to pick a character that starts with the same first letter that our name.

One volunteer was in the middle of the circle and ask one of the participants to either mention his/her name or the name of the person on his/her right or left. If the person failed to do so, he/she had to replace him/ her on the middle of the circle. After that game, we created our portrait by drawing in a collaborative way. To do so, the group was divided in two lines, one opposite to the other. The people in one side had to draw the person that was in front while music was playing. When the music stopped, the drawer had to move one step to the right and continue drawing the new person in front. When all of us had a portrait made by the others, we created our passports by asking each other information regarding our hobbies,

occupation and we then had to present the other one in front of us. The next activity was dedicated to discuss the main concepts we will deal with, the schedule for our training course and its objectives. We were asked to share our expectations for the training and what we thought we would learn. We were invited to take t-shirts and badges and we lined up for a group picture near the pool.

After that, we went to Beni Khyar City Council and met a representative who generously welcomed us and answered some of our questions regarding the situation in Tunisia and youth’s participation. Our trip around the city continued in a place with well cultured artisans who were in the process of making Tunisian traditional carpets.

We went back to the hotel for lunch where we were asked to define the concept “peace”, individually.

Then, we joined in groups by countries and we had to work together on a new definition of “peace” basing on how people from that country see and perceive the concept of “peace”, “active citizenship” and “participative democracy”.

After dinner, we had the intercultural evening wherein every country presented some aspects of their culture, such as food, clothes, and music.

“We are all different, that makes us unique” We started the second day creating a connection between the 3 concepts discussed on the previous day: peace, participative democracy and active citizenship.

We all used creative methods to express the connection. For example, one group started from the idea that a system is made by elements and connections.

The elements represent people who need to be responsible, interested, active, open minded, to have courage, to assume the roles of members in the system, to be tolerant, to be flexible, and to have values while the connections represent the laws. The laws should be honest, fair and transparent and should be updated to produce change connecting the real needs of the people. Only when this kind of system is being applied, it results participative democracy, active citizenship and peace. Actually between these concepts is a continuous cyclic connection. Other examples of how to connect the concepts is in the shape of a circle that never ends, as a snail which is a sign of protection and

renaissance or a journey of a train of peace that leaves from a participative democracy station, reaching the active citizenship station and coming back.

Moreover, what we discovered about systems in general is that each of us comes with a unique understanding of these concepts according to his/her own perception. Therefore, everything is relative. Democracy in Switzerland is very different from the democracy we experience in Tunisia or Morocco and we cannot define “democracy” as a common concept that can be applied for everybody. Even though, it was the first time when we realized that we are so different because we come from different cultures and we became more than excited to get to know each other more and share our experiences.

The second part of the day was about developing civic competences by experiential learning or learning by doing. More exactly, we played an educational game about participative democracy, active citizenship and peace. This game was played for the first time and the final version was improved at the end of the project.

The third day started with an energizer game outside the working room. For this day, we had a new mission consisting in implementing a role play to emerge the values of participative democracy through educational videos. The participants split in four groups in order to discuss the concept of “peace”, “active citizenship”, “participative democracy” and how the three are related to the others. Each group illustrated their ideas on flipchart and presented them to the rest of the participants. Then, we had a debate regarding the different reflections about the three concepts. It was a fruitful debate which brought out many useful ideas. At the end, we watched a presi presentation about video production.

In the afternoon session came the practical part, but first the participants presented some videos showing their work in their countries, Then the participants had to illustrate their ideas of the three concepts in a theater play. So, each group discussed the possible ways to show peace, active citizenship or participative democracy on the stage. One of the groups had to find ways to promote a young promising candidate for elections this year. They created a background where

nobody of the young people sitting at the table were motivated to go to vote, but in fact, they knew exactly at what time the match will start the next day. Suddenly a young man appears at the cafe. He is giving everybody flyers with his campaign. The group from the table starts laughing until when at some point, one of them remembers the candidate to be his colleague from high school. They start to talk and the “future” president is saying a speech to convince the young group to join his campaign and to vote for him. Moreover, they all decide to help him with making a better digital and media campaign.

After the break, the groups started to make videos.

Each group chose a concept and worked on it to create a short film. At the end of the session, only one film was ready to be presented. It was very funny because the guys showed themselves wearing only towels on the film.

The day was very useful and joyful.

Done by : Fatima, Lamia, Simina

Experimental workshop with Tunisian’s youngsters Today we did an experimental workshop with Tunisians students from Institutes of Arts, for creating advertising videos for promoting the value of peace, democracy and active citizenship among young people. we started our meeting with the group of local young people in the cultural centre of Nabeul with icebreaking. Then we explained the aim of the activity, then brainstorming about video’s ideas.

Then and in 8 working teams we developed the story board & the scenarios then we went for shooting.

At 15:30 we started to edit our videos.

All teams was giving their best hoping to win an Oscar:) At 19:00, we started to present our videos creation & to discuss it which was followed by individual voting .

The presentation and the ceremony was great and fruitful. Each group has won an Oscar for the great effort that he did:) Everybody was a winner.

the day we went to the capital !

What was the day about?

Basically it was dedicated to see what Tunis looked like I as a Tunisian took the lead of the group and showed the most important and beautiful places in there I took them to el medina were everyone was amazed by the buildings the traditional jewelries and the perfumes.

Also when we went to sidi bou said the group was impressed by the architectural buildings and the different designs they saw. I explained some history about the place and it was awesome.

Day time at Tunis What I liked the most about the day: The part when I looked at everyone’s face and found out that they found my country really beautiful and interesting. I felt really proud and I discovered Tunisia from a new perspective the perspective of the tourists. That was really touching for me. First of all we

went to the medina and then later we walked through the modern world of Tunisia which was the center near the big clock later on, we went to saidi bou said , we had a coffee break in café des délices and then we went back to the bus to go back to the hotel.

Nights time at the hotel When we got back to the hotel we were rushing to dinner because we had a Tunisian traditional party .i as a Tunisian member went up to my room to get myself ready and to bring up the traditional clothes that I brought specially for my group . So I prepared myself and went down feeling excited and thrilled to show to my group what I was wearing.

When I got there everyone was bewitched by the traditional clothes after that we started dancing and I show the Spanish Romanian and Greeks how to dance and how to do the oriental moves. It was really funny and we had a lot of fun and the energy was just astonishing.

After that, all of the members were tired from the long journey we had ,so we just took some pictures and everybody went to bed.

After an express trip around Tunis and Sidi Bou Saïd during the previous day, our strengths were at the minimum level. Fortunately, today has been a much more relaxed day, where we could rest a little after all the rush and emotions of the last days.

From us, Elías and Emna were the fix member at the commissions about Video&Animation, while Eloy started at the Video table and finished his World Café at the Videogames discussion, where Anna presented the final results of the different debates.

The journey started with a quick evaluation of the experiences working with local youngsters and the trip and continued with the World Café.

After the World Café, we received the visit of Euromed’s representatives and we presented the results of the debates. Boróka and Réka, in order to prepare us to start with the final tool, remembered the main concepts that we were working about, and during the afternoon we finally started to brainstorm the final results of this training camp! But that will be explained in the next articles!

Four discussion groups were organized to talk about how to spread our message using Video, Animation, Videogames and Traditional Games. The groups changed the discussion topic just moving from one table to another, except one member that always remained in the same table for explaining the new group how the topic was being developed.

Elías, Emna and Eloy

(Elías showing how to manage a debate) (Emna hosting the final discussion about the use of Video for spreading the messages)

Creation of the tool After all the workshops, games, team buildings and theory, we started to work on the main objectives of our training: creating the pedagogical tool.

As a result of brainstorming and discussion we came to develop several ideas for the tools. These tool aims to promote ideas of peace, democracy and active citizenship trough the language of game.

There were created four groups in order to develop educational games for all ages. The groups used different technology and methods for the creation of the games like: Cinema forum, Game boards, strategic game and games based on developing general knowledge of the players.

As first part the participants had to define the aim of the game, the target group, short description of the game, and the expected results and outcomes.

When these requirement were fulfilled the groups started to develop the ideas and to create the actual tool. It was a real challenge for all the creators to create a brand new innovative game, but they enjoyed the process and came up with brilliant ideas to fulfill their tasks.

The interaction between the participants was very fruitful, we could see the great team spirit which has evolved during the process of creating the tool.

The values of peace, democracy and citizenship were rediscovered and shared by the tools which will be shared and promoted by our organizations.

The activities of the last day focused on issues such as future cooperation among the participants and their organizations, the promotion and use of the pedagogical games created during the training course and, last but not least, on saying goodbye to each other and to Nabeul and Tunisia. All of the participant got the chance to express their future project ideas trough a market where they could actually sell their ideas. The most bought idea was supposed to be the greatest

and more realizable in the future.

The last day is the day for saying goodbye, to have the final evaluation and reflection how participant feel about their own learning achievements and the result of their work. The closing event contained the projection of the two videos that summarized the amazing week spent in Nabeul. As a recognition for their work all participants received an official certificate from the organizers. As for the goodbye part which is always a sensitive moment everybody could receive tens of friendly messages from their fellow participant which they could take home in their tiny tagine pot.

Association Animation et Festivals Beni khiar - Tunis Asociatia de tineri din Ardeal - Romania Association Les petits dĂŠbrouillards de Tizi Ouzou - Algeria Diagonal - Spain Master Peace Morocco - Morocco Solidarity Tracks - Greece