2 visions for 1 reality

TIME

30 minutes

NECESSARY MATERIALS

• 2 letters (see: appendix 1), printed and cut into 10 pieces for each paragraph. Each piece should have a number behind, to keep the order of the text.

STEP-BY-STEP DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITY

The facilitator explains the story of Xavier and Tabarlis: the first one lives on Planet Earth and went to visit another planet called Glorbuld, where he was hosted by Tabarlis. When Xavier is back home, he writes a letter to his friend Vincent to share his experience. On the other hand, Tabarlis writes a letter to his friend Verlias and explains what happened with the group of students from Planet Earth that they welcomed in Glorbuld.

The facilitator distributes one piece of paper to each student (up to 10). Make sure each piece has a number behind to keep the order of the story.

Ask each student to read out loud the story on his/her paper, starting with number 1 of Tabarlis’ letter and then number 1 of Xavier’s letter, and so on. The objective is to compare immediately both perceptions of the same moments (e.g. the arrival).

When all the participants have finished to read the story, you can facilitate a debriefing. Make sure to point out all the misunderstandings, prejudices and judgments in the story that can endanger or hurt the relationship.

The students should understand that we all have a different representation of the same reality, based on our experience, our culture, the context, and our own perception of life. It is a kind of personal “glasses” through which we see and understand the world. These representations then directly influence our encounter with the other.

When meeting somebody for the first time, if prejudices are identified, we can try to go beyond them to establish a relationship that goes beyond the stereotypes conveyed by our society.

To do this, it is essential to know how to “decenter”, that is to say, to identify our representations, what glasses enable us to see the world, and take the necessary distance to change, have a different perception of things, and thus transform the vision that one can have on the other.

RECOMMENDATIONS / TIPS

Always contextualize how this activity can be useful for their personal experience abroad.

This activity allows the students to realize, before departure, that our feelings are guided by our experience and our culture, and that if we do not go beyond these feelings, we can miss the reality and the discovery of the other.

REFERENCES

CCFD Terre Solidaire, Visa pour le voyage, http://ccfd-terresolidaire.org/mob/nos-outils-d-animation/visa-pour-le-voyage/

APPENDIX

2 visions for 1 reality, appendix 1