Workshop on bringing together children from different cultural backgrounds
18 Nov 2009
Find out about OurSpace's 'Celebrating Global Citizenship' project on 16 December
Wednesday 16 December 2009, 12.30-4pm
CEEBL, C24 Sackville Street Building
Presented by Karen Wilson, OurSpace
This workshop will introduce the audience to the work being carried out by Karen Wilson and her team at OurSpace. Their current project involves bringing together children from different cultural backgrounds through residentials and bespoke workshops for schools. As part of their programme for raising children’s cultural awareness, students are asked to consider the following questions:
- How are we connected?
- How are we different?
- What are our communities like?
- How do we live in a diverse world?
The programme is targeted at some of the particularly segregated communities in North and West Yorkshire and also Lancashire. It is based on premise that giving children in the latter stages of primary school the chance to interact and make friends with children from different cultural backgrounds will give them a different perspective if they encounter social and/or racist segregation in their social interaction at high school.
To assist the children in answering these queries, the OurSpace team has developed a set of innovative activities that enable the students to explore these topics, e.g. ‘Who do we think we are’, Kashmiri cooking, ‘Sing around the World’ and cooperative team challenges.
The OurSpace programme has existed in different forms for nearly seven years and during that time has explored a variety of modules to explore identity and diversity in fun but effective ways with young children. The workshop will describe that journey and be an opportunity to experience and discuss these modules.
This workshop will be an opportunity to:
- Learn about new techniques for engaging students from different backgrounds and how these could be applied in your own practice.
- Experience first-hand some of the methods used by the OurSpace team.
- Discuss the challenges involved with celebrating diversity.
- Expand your understanding of global citizenship, particularly how this concept impacts on children.
Karen Wilson heads up the OurSpace project. Karen has a BA hons in Theatre and, after a career in performing, has used theatre as a medium to teach Ecology at the Devon based "Schumacher college" and as a tool of communication for students with multiple disabilities at the Henshaws School for the Blind and in a variety of similar projects for other schools and community groups. She also ran the groundbreaking intercultural project, ‘Mythbusters’, in North Yorkshire.
There is no fee for this event, however places are limited. Please register online at the following:
We very much look forward to welcoming you to CEEBL.