This program involves a proposal
based on education and play in which the teachers work alongside the young
participants on such thematic axes as: cultural
diversity, creativity in artistic expressions, cultural policies and measures,
and solidarity and cultural cooperation.
In “Diversidades, el Juego
de la Creatividad,” the central role played in the program by the web site (www.diversidades.net) indicates that its methodology is replicable and
that the knowledge generated can be transferred without major adaptations. This
is a great advantage, in that it makes it replicable for different educational
groups in the Hemisphere and in that it also provides for training the
trainers.
The content is worded very
accessibly, in order to encourage participation by people beginning the game.
Respect for and acceptance of diversity runs through all the materials,
although an additional step is taken: building a perspective through which
creativity requires and is enriched by diversity. This highly complex and
multidimensional concept is dealt with intelligently in a playful and effective
way.
It should be noted that the
program reflects the values and concepts agreed upon by the UNESCO member
states in the 2001 Declaration on Cultural Diversity, which were upheld and ratified as a convention in
the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions of 2005.
GOALS SOUGHT
This program seeks to help
young people between the ages of 12 and 16 years to improve, from a perspective
of plurality, tolerance, and democracy, their understanding of cultural
diversity as a part of their everyday lives. It also seeks to improve their
understanding of the relationship between creativity and cultural diversity and
of the importance of protecting and promoting the diversity and usefulness of
cultural expressions. Finally, the program works to teach the meaning of the
2005 Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in international law
and its implications for local politics and economics.
WHAT IT INVOLVES
“Diversidades, el juego
de la creatividad” is a collection of teaching materials and a pedagogical
proposal that focuses on play and education, designed to work with young people
on the values of protecting and promoting cultural diversity that were agreed
on by the UNESCO member states in the 2001 Declaration on Cultural Diversity
and upheld and ratified as a Convention in the year 2005.
It is structured around 4 axes:
- Cultural diversity
- Creativity and cultural expression
- Cultural policies and measures
- Cultural solidarity and cooperation
Its approach is based on a logical chain that goes
from the identification of diversity to the promotion of cooperation and
solidarity: I (Yo)– We (Nosotros) – Another (Otros) – All (Todos).
It has developed a kit and
a web site (www.diversidades.net) which provides trainers and participants with
support. The kit also contains a specific proposal for trainer training that
can be used along with the implementation and development of the general
educational project. This educational proposal entails a 10-hour workshop, for
teachers, educators, and/or trainers of trainers that is led by the people who
produced the educational material.
TARGET AUDIENCE
It is primarily aimed at
teachers and educators who work with young people of between 12 and 16 years of
age, who are the final targets.
In a broader sense, this
educational material is made available to all those who work with the
Convention who are interested in developing awareness-raising activities for
young audiences in Spanish-speaking countries.
ACHIEVEMENTS
The program has succeeded
in developing teaching materials and a pedagogical proposal that is based on
play and learning. The game “Diversidades” is available on-line and can
be downloaded free of charge from anywhere. It has been used at schools and
other educational establishments in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Mexico,
Ecuador, Uruguay, and Brazil. In Europe, it has been used in Spain, France, and
Austria.
The game focuses on the
right of free personal and cultural expression and promotes the diversity of
opinions and the development of skills in that area. In addition, it encourages
the active and equitable participation of the participants, their personal
development, and the construction of the individual as an autonomous, solidary,
and neutral social being.
COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATION
The preparation of this
material involved a great deal of participatory work, which took into account
the specific demands of the participants and their communities. When the first
prototype of the game was designed, it was presented to teachers and education
technicians for their comments. Several pilot tests were also carried out, in
Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, which helped detect activities that were
not working properly, parts of the guide that were impractical, and other
issues. At the same time, surveys were distributed among the students. The
analysis of all the information obtained through those pilot efforts was used
to produce the final version of the game.
INVESTMENT AND FINANCING
The program has been funded
by the UNESCO Division of Cultural Expressions and Creative Industries with
funds from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation
(AECID). The investment amount for the first stage was thirty-one thousand,
seven hundred (31,700) U.S. dollars. A similar amount was invested for the
second stage, for a total of around sixty-three thousand, four hundred (63,400)
U.S. dollars.
EVALUATION AND RESULTS
The program was assessed
during testing, performed by the UNESCO Cultural Policies and Cooperation Chair
in conjunction with the educational institutions that carried out the pilot
tests. Through the evaluation carried out during the pilot tests, some
activities were detected as being too long and some of the educational material
as not perfectly understandable. With the relevant corrections, the final
version of the educational game was fine-tuned and decided on.
RISK FACTORS
One of the identified risk
factors or difficulties is the training of teachers and educators on cultural
topics, which are infrequently covered by educational programs and,
consequently, are difficult to incorporate and include in study programs.
Another difficulty is the inability of teachers to work with a game that requires
a computer and a projector in the classroom.
In addition, the game is
only available in the Spanish language, which severely restricts the scope of
its application. Funds for its translation into Catalan, Basque, Portuguese,
French, and English have been sought, unsuccessfully.
FUTURE PLANS
The second phase of the project, also funded by
UNESCO, involves:
- Preparing a manual to train trainers in the use of “Diversidades” and continuing to create communicator collectives throughout the country.
- Converting the game into an on-line resource that can be played over the internet. This will help those countries where computers are used as educational tools in the classroom to use “Diversidades” as a form of learning that is integrated into their study plans.
PERSON IN CHARGE: Gemma
Carbó, Project Coordinator. Unesco Chair of Cultural Policies and Cooperation at
the University of Girona. gemma,carbo@udg.edu
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