October 09 focus: Understanding other cultures and outlooks

[Boyd Roberts]

In feedback on the Award, people have said that the section they find most challenging in working with students is Understanding other outlooks and cultures. Below are two ideas that may be helpful in approaching this.

100 people: a world portrait

You may have seen the video Miniature Earth (http://www.miniature-earth.com/) which describes the earth’s population, as if it were a village of 100 people – 50 men, 50 women, 61 Asians, 13 Africans etc.
100 people: a world portrait is a new project to represent the world’s population through 100 real individuals, who, collectively, represent the proportions of men and women, ethnic and religious groups etc in the world. Each of the 100 people is represented by photographs, videos, writings etc. Through this developing collection, we can become acquainted with the lives of other people, and develop an awareness of the global issues facing us all, through the stories of individuals.
Schools are being invited to contribute portraits of someone they would like to nominate to be selected for this group of 100 people. The person selected must be a suitable representative of the country where the school is located. International schools undertake the project in conjunction with a local school.
The first videos telling stories about the lives of individuals in different parts of the world are now posted to the website.

Visit the website for more details:

http://www.100people.org/index.php

Dogodogo: Tanzanian street children tell their storyFormer IB English teacher Kasia Parham has edited the stories (in their own words) of Tanzanian boys who made their lives on the street, before making their way to the Dogodogo Centre. Suitable for use with students 10 upwards.
• Publisher: Macmillan Education (29 Aug 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0230722121
• ISBN-13: 978-0230722125
Kasia has worked on another book, this time with Maasai girls telling their stories, and, particularly, their attempts to get an education.
Emusoi: Maasai girls tell their stories, also published by Macmillan, comes out in October. It is illustrated by Emmanuel, one of the Dogodogo boys. The book also offers an insight into the dilemma facing the Maasai today: the tension between tradition and progress, between preserving the past and adapting for the future.
English edition: 9789987373529 | Kiswahili edition: 9789987373550

All proceeds go to the Dogodogo and Emusoi centres working with young people in Tanzania.

See also Face to Face structured interview instructions in these discussion forums.