Cross-cultural Dialogue - 2 visions for 1 reality (QUA-M4-01-EN)

• To raise awareness about different perceptions of the same reality, especially in intercultural context.
• To value and learn respect for cultural difference and diversity
• To raise awareness that tolerance, empathy, critical thinking and willingness to learn are core stones of cross-cultral dialogue and acceptance of otherness.

• Students
• Adolescent youth

Facilitator starts with introduction to the theme:

We live in a diverse society, and racial and cultural dynamics are part of our public life. Media and ICT, in all their forms, contribute to Intercultural Dialog in two key ways:

• through the representation of cultures and groups in their content, and
• as platforms for public debate and engagement across different peoples, cultures and groups.

The Internet is a limitless source of information on a variety of subjects, including misinformation or misleading and false statements. The effects are more opportunities and access to people of other cultures, but at the same time much easier access to offensive and racist expressions.

STEP 1. The facilitator explains the story of Xavier and Tabarlis:  Xavier lives on Planet Earth and went to visit another planet called Glorblud, where he was hosted by Tabarlis. When Xavier is back home, he writes a letter to his friend Vincent to share his experience. On the other hand, Tabarlis writes a letter to his friend Verlias and explains what happened with the group of students from Planet Earth that they welcomed in Glorblud.

STEP 2: The facilitator distributes one piece of paper to each student (up to 10). Make sure each piece has a number to keep the order of the story.

Ask each student to read out loud the story on his/her paper, starting with number 1 of Tabarlis’ letter and then number 1 of Xavier’s letter, and so on. The objective is to compare immediately both perceptions of the same moments (e.g. the arrival).

STEP 3 - DEBRIEFING: When all the participants have finished to read the story, you can facilitate a debriefing. Make sure to point out all the misunderstandings, prejudices and judgements in the story that can endanger or hurt the relationship.

The students should understand that we all have a different representation of the same reality, based on our experience, our culture, the context, and our own perception of life. It is a kind of personal "glasses" through which we see and understand the world. These representations then directly influence our encounter with the other.

When communicating with somebody for the first time, if prejudices are identified, we can try to go beyond them to establish a relationship that goes beyond the stereotypes conveyed by our society.

Two letters (see Handout), printed and cut into pieces for each paragraph. Each piece should have a number, to keep the order of the text.

• Self-reflection
• Discussion
• Debriefing

Intercultural Learning. 2018. Retrieved from:https://intercultural-learning.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ICL@School-Toolbox-final-1.pdf

UNESCO. 2020. Measuring Intercultural Dialogue. A conceptual and technical framework. Retrieved from:

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.xhtml?v=2.1.196&id=p::usmarcdef_0000373442&file=/in/rest/annotationSVC/DownloadWatermarkedAttachment/attach_import_29780462-6f54-44ca-b087-fdc40114fd5b%3F_%3D373442eng.pdf&locale=en&multi=true&ark=/ark:/48223/pf0000373442/PDF/373442eng.pdf#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A38%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22XYZ%22%7D%2C0%2C842%2Cnull%5D

Yes, please download it from here.