MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work

3
373
What information was left out, and what information was changed?
Was anything added to the description that was not in the original picture at all?
You may wish to represent the answers to these questions in 3 columns on a flipchart.
What was remembered correctly? Why do you think these were recalled, and
not other things?
What were the main difficulties in communicating the information? Why do
you think the main errors arose?
How well do you think the group understood and communicated the image to
begin with? If you did the activity again, would you describe the image in the
same way?
Was there a common understanding in the way the group transmitted the
message? If not, was the diversity of opinions represented in later versions of
the event?
Would it have been easier if the image had represented a scene in your own
community? What does this tell us about trying to interpret events in other
cultures?
Have there been occasions when you have misunderstood something you have
seen because you did not appreciate the context behind it?
Why is it so easy to misunderstand and misinterpret images? How can we lessen
the impact of such misunderstandings, for example, when watching the news?
Can you think of instances in your own community when images have been
misinterpreted or used to send an incomplete message? Does advertising fall
into this category?
How do the media influence people’s thinking? Do you tend to accept what
you read or see on the news as fact or do you take it as the opinion of certain
journalists?
How do pictures, images and representations from the media influence perceptions
of each other in the Euro-Mediterranean area? How do they confirm
existing stereotypes and prejudice? What can we do to change prejudicial
views of each other?
Tips for the facilitator
The description of the activity is a great deal more complex than the activity itself!
You are probably familiar with the methodology as “Chinese whispers” or “Telephone”,
used as a children’s game. The difference with this activity is that the message itself is
complex and involves both memory and interpretation at each stage of the process.
You can warn the volunteers before they leave the room that they will be playing
the role of journalists – or you can spring it on them as they enter, one by one!
The first option has the advantage that they are able to prepare themselves
psychologically while they are out of the room – for example by thinking about
the skills that will be most important. The second option has the advantage of
spontaneity: the activity can be more fun if the ‘journalists’ are unprepared for
their role.
Pass it on