Contents
Goals
- Understanding racist discrimination and stigmatisation
Steps
1) Getting-to-know: The workshop starts with an activity to know each other. Participants are in circle and the facilitator has a ball of thread. Facilitator keeps the edge of the thread, tells to the others her/his name and shares with them a dream that s/he had as a child (e.g. becoming a teacher as adult). After that the ball is thrown to another participant who does the same by keeping a part of the thread. When every participant has introduced themselves, the ball has to follow the inverse way and come back to the facilitator. When the ball is on the hands of a participant, the others have to tell that person’s dream.
2) Video:
- Participants watch a short video showing a form of discrimination (e.g. racial discrimination). After the video, they work in group and talk about it (feelings, conclusions, ideas. etc).
3) Comic What? Me? A Racist?
- Facilitator distribute to each group some copies of the comic titled What? Me? A racist?. They ask learners to read it and recognize different kinds of discriminations exist, except for racial discrimination. They write down their thoughts and a representative of each group present them in the assembly.
4) Learning about terminology
- Following, facilitator distributes to the groups small colorful papers, where on some of them is written the meanings (e.g. racism, stereotypes, etc) and on the others is written the theory/clarification. All groups in cooperation try to link the meaning with the theory and then make a collage. This is a pleasant and easy way for the participants to approach the knowledge by themselves and bridge the theory.
Reflection
During the last step, all participants come again in circle and talk about their experience. Each one is encouraged to share with the others a thought or/and a feeling or their common activity.
Reference
- European Commission, DG X – Information, Communication, Culture and Audiovisual Media, Secretariat-General, (1998). What? Me? A Racist?, Publications Office. Download in French, English and Italian
TIPS FOR FACILITATORS
The facilitator has to be well informed about participants background and their special needs and expectations. At the same time, students need good preparation for their common activity, having the chance to participate in the design and implementation of the workshop. In this case, due to the special educational framework in the prison and the special conditions of the students-inmates’ living, the facilitator has to try harder to approach and encourage them to participate in the activity.
