Workshops : Sharing Stories (Event Description)
Workshops with Schools (2018-2019)
Sharing Stories
Afro-European Narratives is a project about the stories that link the European citizens with African countries and cultures: stories about African origin, diaspora and Afrodescendance, about colonial post-memory, post-colonial identities and the interplay between African and European cultures in today’s Europe. The African-European Narratives web platform invites all to share a story about these links and interaction, grounded in the family or collective memory, in personal experience or the world around us.
European schools, as diverse communities, crucial for the building of inclusive societies, are specially invited to collaborate in this gathering of stories.
Working with the African-European Narratives web platform gives teachers and students in every European school the possibility to relate historical knowledge with collective and family memory, to associate digital literacy with active citizenship and creative practices and contribute the re-imagination of who we are as Europeans.
The methodology of storytelling allows for a critical approach to dominant narratives and prejudices and the production of alternative grounded narratives. It is a way to explore cultural diversity through the lens of real stories, to fight discrimination and hate discourse, and to underly the similarity of personal and family stories across different countries, fostering transnational bonds among scholar communities in Europe.
To this end, the project promoted several distinctions for the best stories and invited the winning authors to come together in the Closing Event of the project at NOVA University in Lisbon.
2018-2019
African-European Narratives Workshops
Working with Schools
Venue/Date: NOVA University of Lisbon, 25th May 2018 Monte da Caparica, Almada (PT); School Monte da Caparica, 20th March 2019
Organisation: Project Afro-European Narratives, School Monte da Caparica, PRSD – Providers of Social Responses For Developement
Coordinators: Maria Teresa Cruz, Maria Augusta Babo, Cláudia Madeira, Madalena Miranda and Elisa Valério
Participant Organisation: School of Monte da Caparica, Almada (PT)
Participants: 57
Students from the School Monte da Caparica, city of Almada, in the surroundings of Lisbon came to the Campus of NOVA University and participated in a Digital Storytelling Workshop organised by the project. This workshop also served as a test to the contributive web platform African-European Narratives for users generated content.
The work with the School Monte da Caparica (Almada, PT) and teacher Elisa Valério, coordinator of project “Raízes”, ongoing in that same school proceded until June 2019 and involved other meetings and exchanges between the two projects.
Venue/Date: School Ferreira Dias, 12 December – 12 March 2019
Cacém/Amadora (PT)
Organisation: Afro-European Narratives Project
Coordinators: Maria Teresa Cruz and António Santos
Participant Organisation: School Ferreira Dias, Cacém/Amadora (PT)
Participants: 24
Art students at School Ferreira Dias, Cacém/Amadora (PT) approached Afro-European culture as a curricular subject and developped narratives using a diversity of media (ilustration, sculpture, photography and video) to tell both documental and imaginary stories.
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- In the classroom, at School Ferreira Dias, with teacher António Santos
Venue/Date: SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin, 17th-18th December 2018
Organisation: SAVVY Contemporary / Colonial Neighbours
Coordinators: Lynhann Balatbat and António Mendes
Invited artitis: Akindode Akinbiyi (UK) and Vasco Araújo (PT)
Participants: 30
Through partnership of with SAVVY Contemporary (Berlin) and the artists Akindode Akinbiyi (UK) and Vasco Araújo (PT) organised a performance with students from Berlin.
Savvy-contemporary
Savvy Contemporary is a cultural association, art gallery and a space for epistemological diversity , celebrated as a decolonization of the singularity of “knowledge.” It sees itself as a performative space, where the body, music, storytelling, food/eating and performativity of different kinds are explored asembodied ways of exploring the mind and the understanding of the world around us. With team members from twelve countries and five continents trained as biotechnologists, art historians, cultural theorists, anthropologists, designers and artists, this Laboratoy of Form Ideas, situates itself at the threshold of the West and non-West, primarily to understand and negotiate between.
In this workshop presented by Akinbode Akinbiyi and Vasco Araújo, participants discovered ways to engage with the ones around them, while reflecting upon themselves using both the gaze and the voice as instruments. In this 3-day collaboration between students, artists, and neighbours, they have learned to use their observation skills as well as their inner voices to interact with one-another in order to express themselves and demystifying the ways we look the “other”.
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- With Akinbode Akinbiyi and Vasco Araujo
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- With Akinbode Akinbiyi and Vasco Araujo
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- With Akinbode Akinbiyi and Vasco Araujo
In the Streets of Berlin
Venue/Date: NOVA University of Lisbon (PT), 30st January 2019 and 29th May, School of Sacavém – GERAÇÃO Orchestra (The System),
Organisation: Afro-European Narratives Project
Coordinators: Maria Augusta Babo, Madalena Miranda / Maria Teresa Cruz, Maria Teresa Gomes, Filipa Jordão
Participant Organisation: Escola de Sacavém, Sacavém (PT) / GERAÇÂO Orchestra (El Sistema)
Participants: 22
Students from the School of Sacavém, in the surroundings of Lisbon came to NOVA University of Lisbon and participated in a Digital Storytelling Workshop organised by the project Afro-European Narratives.
The collaboration between the Project and the School of Sacavém proceded with Orchestra GERAÇÃO, through teachers Maria Teresa Gomes and conductor Filipa Jordão.
Orchestra GENERATION is part country, with children from diferente cultural and ethnic origins, namely Caucasian , African and fom Gypsy communities.In 2010 the project was awarded the National Teachers Prize (Minister of Education) for innovation and in 2013 and 2014 we received the European Commission award for one of the 50 best social projects in the whole Union. In 2017 honor diploma by Mota Engil Foundation (Oporto) and in 2018 considered the best social project by AGEAS and was awarded the gold medal commemorating the 50 years of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights given by our National Parliament.of the world project El Sistema Methodology, founded in 1973 in Venezuela by Dr. José António Abreu (Erasmus Prize) as both a musical and a social project. Dr Abreu wanted that through music, more specifically, orchestra playing, children from all over Venezuela could learn how to live together, develop their skills and stay away from crime and drugs. In Portugal this project started in 2007 and is now hosted by several public schools.
Students of Sacavém School, members of GENERATION Orchestra, rehersing for their performance at the closing event of Afro-European Narratives at NOVA University.
Venue/Date: Bordeaux (FR), 2nd-30st April 2019
Partner organisation: UNESCO Chair – Communication, Technologie, Développement [http://www.comtecdev.com/], University of Bordeaux-Montaigne (FR)
Coordinators: Alain Kiyindou, Lynda Kaninda
Participants: 29
UNESCO Chair – Communication, Technologie, Développement, organised a workshop with students of the University of Bordeaux-Montaigne (FR) during the month of April. At the end students gathered with a group of invited speakers to share their stories and exchange ideas. One story was awarded the distinction of BEST African European Narrative and the author invited to come to Lisbon for the final get together at 3rd June.
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- Prof. Alain Kiyindou, Director of Chair UNOESCO, and Lynda Kaininda, coordinators of the Workshop in Bordeaaux
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- Mimosa Gentilhomme, authot of BEST African-European Narratives, Bordeaux
Venue/Date: NOVA University of Lisbon (PT), 13-17 May 2019
Organisation: Afro-European Narratives Project
Coordinators: Maria Teresa Cruz and Smith Lima Mendes
Participant Organisation: Student Association – Group of African and Lusophone Students (NEAL) of NOVA University of Lisbon (PT)
Participants: 8
During May 2019 the project launched a campaign to promote the on line contribution of stories to the African-European Narratives web archive, with the collaboration of two European platforms: Afrofean (UK) [afropean.com] and Buala (PT) [buala.org] . This campaign had as one of its focal points the participation of the project in the Africa Week at NOVA University, with a stand dedicated to the collection of stories and the involvement of members of NEAL, the Group of African and Lusophone Students of NOVA University of Lisbon, organisers of the Africa Week programme.
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- Africa Week at FCSH, NOVA University of Lisbon, 13-17May 2019
Africa Week at FCSH, NOVA University of Lisbon, 13-17May 2019
Venue/Date: Escola Filipa de Lencastre, Lisboa (PT), 13, 21 maio 2019
Organisation: Afro-European Narratives Project
Coordinators: Cláudia Madeira, Maria José Mira and Midodji Gaglo
Participant Organisation: Escola Filipa de Lencastre, Lisboa (PT)
Participants: 28
Students from the School Filipa de Lencastre, Lisbon, joined the Afro-European Narratives project with Portuguese teacher Maria José Mira who challenged them to contribute with a story to AEN web archive. This workshop included a meeting between the students and the project team, at school and a tour through the city center guided by Midodji Gaglo.
In the streets of Lisbon
Same places, diferente stories …
Guided by Midodji Gaglo, participants have explored several traits of colonial memory at the city centre. They have furthered their knowledge and historical consciousness about Portuguese colonialism and learnt to look to some familiar places in a different way. They have also learnt to value a new post-colonial presence of Africa countries in Lisbon, through people, aspects of everyday life and the interplay between Portuguese and African cultures.
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- Midodji Gaglo and teacher Maria José Mira at the city center, Lisbon (PT), with students from School Filipa de Lencastre
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- Midodji Gaglo speaking to students from School Filipa de Lencastre at the city center, Lisbon (PT)
Venue/Date: Paul-Löbe-Schule, Berlin (DE), 23rd May 2019
Partner Organisation: SAVVY Contemporary
Participant Organisation: Paul-Löbe-Schule, Berlin (DE)
Coordinators: António Mendes, Annike Niemann, Isabelle Siché
Participants: 15
SAVVY Contemporary and Paul--Löbe-Schule, Berlin (DE) co-organised a storytelling workshop that resulted in the publication of stories on the web platform African-European Narratives.
The autor of the winning story, Jihad Ryan joined the team project in Lisbon on June 2019.
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- With Akinbode Akinbiyi and Vasco Araujo
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- Smith Lima Mendes and Adélio Alcântara (from NEAL, NOVA University) with Jihad Ryan in Lisbon
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- Jihad Ryan and father with students from NOVA University of Lisbon (Catarina Letria, Adélio Alcântara and Smith Lima Mendes), tasting African food in Lisbon (PT)