MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work

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If you have participants from the city being explored, you may prefer to put them
all in one group, to prevent them from “informing” the foreign participants.
You may wish to run the activity as two (or even three) separate sessions, and give
people time before and after the actual exploration to reflect on some of the issues.
If you have two or more sessions available, it would be interesting for participants
to produce a photographic record of their findings, and for the groups to share
these when they present their results. If digital cameras are available, together
with some means of projecting the photos, then the groups can present their
results as a slide show. However, in this case, they should be selective about
the pictures they show and the reasons for doing so.
Presentations should be kept relatively brief! This will make the groups focus
on what was most important in their findings.
Variations
The focus of the exploration can be altered to suit the realities of the locality where
you are working, the group you are working with and the time available. You may
want to draw up your own list of questions – or add to those on the handout – to give
a different emphasis to the activity. For example, groups could research specific issues
connected with the history of a particular group in a given neighbourhood, or the
influence of religion on the neighbourhood’s development.
Ideas for action
Produce an “alternative” history of the area in the form of an exhibition or else a
presentation and open discussion. Invite local inhabitants to take part in compiling it
or to help fill gaps in the information.
Invite a local expert to give a presentation about the history of the city, and encourage
participants to compare this version with their own findings. You could also look at
historical documents or visit local museums or exhibitions to see how the area is
presented in the “official” histories.
Suggestions for follow-up
The activity “Memory tags” in Compass online looks at official memorials where the
participants live. You can use this, or “Creating memories” in this T-kit, to look at the
way the state tries to record and influence perceptions of history.
If you want to pursue the minorities theme further, the Activity 2 “All that we are” in
this pack can be used to initiate a process of reflection and discussion.
Further information
This activity is a modified version of “Multicultural realities of Alexandria”, which was used on
the training course Citizenship Matters: Participation of Women and Minorities in Euro-Med
Youth Projects, Alexandria, Egypt, April 2004.
Look around you!