MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work

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Instructions
Individual work (15 minutes): ask the participants to think of three significant
historical events in which religions played an important role. For example, in
Spain in the year 1000 Jews and Christians co-existed peacefully with the
country’s Islamic rulers, but in 1492 Jews and Muslims were persecuted and
expelled.
Then tell people to write down on a separate piece of paper each event and its
date, year or century, as precisely as possible. They should use a blue sheet if
they consider the role of religion to have been positive, and a yellow sheet if
they think that religion played a negative role.
Making the Timeline of history (45 minutes in plenary): ask each participant in
turn to fix their three sheets on the Timeline of history and to briefly describe
the events they have chosen, explaining why he/she considers the role of religion
to have been positive or negative.
Debriefing and evaluation
In plenary, discuss and analyse the timeline:
Are there any events in which the role of religion was seen as positive for some
participants and negative for others?
What relationships are there between the different events?
Which historical events have had the biggest consequences for our present-day
societies?
How does our past affect our contemporary ways of thinking?
On balance, does a knowledge and understanding of history help or hinder
current religious majority–minority relations, stereotyping and discriminatory
practices?
Does your religion influence your perspective of historical events?
Can you identify any biases in the way you were taught history at school? What
were the causes of this?
What are the implications of unavoidable biases and inherent subjectivity for
our youth work?
What are the wider implications for co-operation and understanding in the
Euro-Mediterranean region?
Tips for the facilitator
Plan the activity according to the group. The time and geographical scope of the history
to be considered should be specified: for example, Lebanon in the last two centuries,
the Euro-Mediterranean area in the last 50 years, or Naples in the last 500 years.
Too often, history is learnt as a succession of violent events (wars, persecutions, invasions
and displacements). Encourage the discovery of peaceful periods: treaties, agreements,
periods of co-operation, cultural development, etc.
MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work