Intolerant? Me?

An initiative that excels in its simplicity and strong emphasis on responsibility, autonomy and the human potential of students involved.

About You

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About You

First Name

Associacao PAR

Last Name

Respostas Sociais

About Your Organization

Organization Name

Associação PAR - Respostas Sociais

Organization Website

Organization Country

Portugal, LI, Lisboa

Country where this project is creating social impact

Portugal, Lisboa,Porto, Coimbra e Algarve

Is your organization a

Non‐profit / NGO / Citizen sector organization

Your role in Education

Coach.

The type of school(s) your solution is affiliated with

Public (tuition-free)

How long has your organization been operating?

1‐5 years

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Innovation

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Select the stage that best applies to your solution

Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)

How long has your solution been in operation?

Operating for 1‐5 years

The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?

The school, a place of coexistence of different cultures & potential conflicts has the task & challenge of integrally educating children & youth as people, making the cultural diversity of students be considered a factor of cohesion and personal/social enrichment. The Intolerant? Me? Program has been working since 12/07 for the promotion of intercultural dialogue & tolerance through music with young secondary & higher edu. students. At this stage, we intend to expand the project & to address a very real concern that has been presented by various teachers & members of the Executive Board of the School of Albufeira in Algarve, which has students from 24 nationalities: combating the difficult integration of young immigrants & other minority students and their progressive segregation by peers

The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!

Building on the results and investment in Intolerant? Me?, our goal now is to expand the initiative to over 10 schools and create, in each school, a core group of students responsible for welcoming and integrating new students, particularly minorities, including immigrant students.
Based on the methods already used in formal education and peer education, the Association will have full responsibility for training and mentoring of these groups in schools to ensure their success.
The tools used by each group for the reception of new students will be defined together with the students who comprise them, because it is intended for the integration strategies to be defined by young people themselves. Based on previous experience, we can give the example of an activity created by the group in Albufeira: a peddy paper at school with the goal of presenting the school and integrating the new students for whom the starting line is written in many different languages.

The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities

Key: Involve students in the process of integration of their peers.
1-Mobilization and Training:
1.1.Teaser: travel the world in seven minutes using the senses as means of transport. It has been an extremely effective way to engage young people's participation.
1.2. Intercultural Dialogue Workshop: To create a constant reflection and action in the context of intercultural respect and diversity - both cultural and individual.

2-Mentoring Centers: After the workshop, young people are invited to form a group for welcoming new students. With the mentor, the group must develop strategies to involve fellow immigrants in a climate friendly and conducive to the establishment and strengthening of good interpersonal relationships among peers, teachers and a quality learning environment.

3-Groups in practice: An example
"John is 16 years old and is in 10th grade at School Y. One day he noticed an event that allowed the school to travel around the world in 7 min. He decided to try it and loved it! The group then asked him if he would like to participate in a workshop on intercultural dialogue. As it was free, he decided to try it too. He left the workshop with an eagerness to accept the proposal which had been developed: to create activities to help welcome immigrant students to the school. Full of ideas, John became a leader of the group and, together with his colleagues, prepared a game to introduce new students to school, from the courtyard to the cafeteria. New students were thus able to interact with other students and experience a more seamless integration.”

The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?

In Portugal there are projects working on intercultural dialogue in schools: the project M=igual works in the area of Education for Development and ODM and the UNESCO Clubs have already existed in some schools in the country. However, none of the projects specifically focus on the issues related to intercultural dialogue, tolerance and cultural diversity, both end up working with issues related to schools. Other organizations, teachers and people are working on diversity as an asset to the educational system, however, in our view it is necessary to improve and do more. More than teaching to maintain and respect different cultural identities, we intend to implement a shared mode of resolving conflicts and problems common to the need to develop a real sense of intercultural coexistence.

Now that you have thought out your entry, help us pitch it.

Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]

An initiative that excels in its simplicity & strong emphasis on responsibility, autonomy & the human potential of students involved

Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]

characters]
Student Autonomy
Information from students to teachers
Synergies in Community Learning
Simple, Effective and Fun

Social Impact

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What has been the impact of your solution to date?

Awareness Campaign
-49 Musicians involved out of respect for diversity.
-11,000 Intolerant? Me? CDs produced and edited
Youth Mobilization Tool - Travel the World
-Awareness Campaign in 7 Summer Festivals
Festival-with all the musicians on the CD
-1200 People directly and 100,000 indirectly trained about the importance of tolerance and intercultural dialogue
Intercultural Education Program
-Intercultural exchange
-15 Workshops for Members of Tolerance and Intercultural Dialogue
-1 Training of Facilitators
-Creation of Member Manual for Tolerance and Intercultural Dialogue
-Creation of Facilitator's Manual for Intercultural Education
-230 Members trained for Intercultural Dialogue (67 motivated to continue the work).
-10 Young people trained to be facilitators of the workshop independently
Since 2009, Members and Facilitators have streamlined operations (awareness and training) in secondary schools reaching 906 young people.

What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?

We anticipate that within three years the project will have grown to influence at national level, & if possible internationally. Specifically, we anticipate the creation of Centers of integration of minority students in 10 schools per year. This means that in 3 years, we will have implemented the project in 30 schools in Portugal. These schools & centers will operate independently & remain accountable & after a year of mentoring on the part of coaches, members & facilitators from the Par Association. Thus, at the end of 3 years we will have 20 schools with chapters functioning independently & 10 schools still in the process of mentoring by the Par Association. In parallel, we intend to evaluate the intervention and demonstrate its effectiveness in order to justify the growth of the model

What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?

Our success factors include: A) Integrating the project in schools; B) availability of at least one teacher per school; C) motivating young people to maintain the groups; D)effectiveness of the actions of the groups and E) turnover students in the groups. Any gap in these areas will be a barrier to project success. In order to overcome these challenges, the Association proposes, respectively: A) present data on the previous success of the project to the School Board (video with teachers explaining the need & results in their schools, B) partnership with the school leadership in order to integrate the activities of the project with teachers’ schedules, C) and D) invest in methodologies with proven success and E) mentor young people in the groups to empower other students to join the process

Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact

Guarantee the participation of 10 schools (5 primary, 5 secondary) & initiate the mobilization & training phases for the student

Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone

Task 1

Project communication plan created and disseminated for the leadership at 30 schools. ( 15 primary/15 Secondary)

Task 2

Teaser Activities in 10 schools for at least 100 students per school.

Task 3

Intercultural Dialogue Workshop in 10 schools for 20 students per school. 200 students total

Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone

10 schools with active groups working to integrate immigrant students or those belonging to other minorities.

Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone

Task 1

After the Workshop, mobilize the youth to form a group for the integration of new students in each one of the schools.

Task 2

Mentoring of the student groups by trainers, staff and facilitators of the PAR Association.

Task 3

Evaluation of the impact and efficiency of each group in each school together with students, teachers and supporting stakeholder

Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world [125 words]

The story is curious. The idea came from a youth, 24 years old at the time, and with a great passion for music. Aside from writing songs, she believed in the potential of art to bring people together and build relationships. At the same time, she strongly believed that music could change perceptions, or at least start the discussion. Another passion was always people and interpersonal relationships, including their relationship with the differences. After finishing a degree in psychology, she co-founded the PAR Association. After founding PAR he remained hyper motivated to change the world, and the ideas just kept coming. One day, she woke up in the middle of the night and said in loud voice: "I know! I'll work on diversity through music, edit a CD and generate funds to work with young people through informal education." The next day she wrote a song "hey you", the first step for the CD "Perspectives" that, while showcasing jazz to heavy metal, would have a common theme: respect for

Sustainability

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Tell us about your partnerships

The project's success depends heavily on partnerships with schools in which we implement the project. They ensure minimum material for conducting the activities of the groups (school supplies, photocopies, etc.) and ensure the commitment of a teacher to monitor the group, which are key elements in this model as the quality of this partnership is the basis of the success of the intervention. Simultaneously, we intend to establish partnerships with Parish Councils and Municipal Councils of the school regions to ensure additional physical and material support.

What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section? [75 words]

At this stage the vast majority of the implementation team consists of young volunteers who have participated in the Intolerant? Me? Project in the past and now wish to contribute to its continuation. Thus, for each year of intervention, the project team will be formed by the mentor of the project - responsible for coordination, for 10 teachers (one per school), and about 20 staff (responsible for the teaser phase) and 10 facilitators (responsible for workshops) who work on a voluntary basis, as they have done so far with great skill and energy.

Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list

Comments

Luciana Allan profile img
Mon, 03/26/2012 - 13:07

Dentro da linha do desafio “Ativando a Empatia!”, o “Intolerant? Me?” realmente traz uma perspectiva muito interessante de como lidar com a diversidade e o multiculturalismo. É bom ver iniciativas que envolvem arte e cultura com a educação social e a formação cidadã de alunos e educadores. O uso da música para trabalhar temas como diferenças regionais e identidades étnicas torna mais leve temas polêmicos importantes como o respeito pelo outro e a criação do senso de comunidade na escola. Compartilhar os desafios com os jovens e envolvê-los no planejamento das estratégias de intervenção também é extremamente importante para que haja a adesão de todos. O jovem sente necessidade de se envolver, de contribuir com ideias, de ser protagonista. Não quer somente executar. Parabéns pelo projeto!
Como sugestão, para complementação do descritivo do projeto, aconselho detalhar mais as estratégias, como por exemplo a dinâmica usada na viagem ao mundo em 7 minutos e usar termos mais universais. Sendo brasileira, tive que recorrer à Wikipedia para descobrir o que era a prática do peddy paper (caça ao tesouro). Definir melhor as práticas do projeto pode ser uma boa maneira de complementar a explicação.
Perguntaria aos organizadores do projeto como foram contatados os músicos participantes e mais detalhes sobre a distribuição dos CDs. Também como hoje, este recurso entra no projeto. Não ficou claro.
Por fim, aqui no Brasil, no Instituto Crescer para a Cidadania (organização não-governamental que realiza parcerias entre governo, empresas e instituições educativas para a educação cidadã) trabalhamos em projetos que envolvem jovens, formando-os para ter um olhar mais crítico sobre sua comunidade e pensar como colaborar para mitigar problemas locais. Todo o diálogo com eles e o processo de formação ocorre com suporte de tecnologias digitais e arte. Acredito que seria bem interessante uma aproximação entre nós para troca de experiências, visto que interagimos com um público que tem problemas similares, inclusive de preconceito na migração interna. O Brasil é muito grande e há diferenças entre pessoas que habitam diferentes regiões. Vislumbro que as estratégias utilizadas por vocês, podem colaborar com o nosso trabalho, assim como vice-versa. Vamos manter contato e mais uma vez, parabéns pelo trabalho!
Um abraço,
Luciana Allan
Diretora Técnica – Instituto Crescer

Associacao PAR Respostas Sociais profile img
Thu, 05/10/2012 - 08:18

Cara Luciana,

Antes demais pedimos desculpa pela demora na resposta. Tenho estado fora do escritório debruçada sobre este e outros projetos e não me foi possível responder antes.

Quando vi o comentário fiquei super entusiasmada e feliz por saber que o projeto suscitou o seu interesse. De fato, a educação entre pares, a música e a participação ativa dos jovens na direção e condução do projecto têm sido a chave e garantia de sucesso de todo este processo. O projeto continua a bom rumo e ainda no final deste mês teremos mais um Workshop. Na verdade, continuamos à procura de soluções que nos permitam alargar a nossa intervenção e acreditamos um dia conseguir.

Quanto às sugestões que nos coloca, infelizmente já não fomos a tempo de complementar a descrição no desafio, mas aproveito para explicar aqui algumas das suas questões:

1-Como foram contatados os músicos participantes? Na altura optamos por fazer um concurso/desafio a nível nacional onde convidámos qualquer músico ou banda a concorrer. Tínhamos apenas dois critérios: 1) que as suas músicas fossem originais e 2)que tivessem sido construídas com base nos temas da diversidade cultual, racismo, xenofobia, tolerância e direitos fundamentais. Fizemos simultâneamente uma parceria com uma escola de audio-visuais que nos permitiu: a) constituir um júri para seleccionar os vencedores; b)premiar os 3 "melhores" com uma gravação da sua música num estúdio profissional e c)masterizar todas as 11 músicas do CD.

2. Detalhes sobre a distribuição dos CDs? - Os CDs foram inicialmente distribuídos na fase de campanha do projeto na qual fomos directamente a 7 festivais de Verão por todo o país (Portugal). Numa lógica de que o que as pessoas procuram, mais do que objectos (CD) são sim experiências, optámos por realizar a tal Viagem LSD e no final as pessoas recebiam um CD. Pela experiência e pelo CD as pessoas pagaram 3 euros. Além deste método de contacto direto com o público colocámos o CD à venda em algumas lojas, associações e locais culturais. Outra das estratégias utilizadas foi a realização de alguns concertos ao vivo com músicos do CD e ainda um Festival de 4 noites com todos os músicos. No final, convidávamos as pessoas a contribuir para o projecto com a compra do CD.

3.Como este recurso entra hoje em dia no projeto? - atualmente a divulgação do CD é feita principalmente de 3 formas: 1)Festa da Tolerância a 16 de Novembro (organizamos todos os anos uma festa em celebração da tolerância e da diversidade com alguns dos músicos participantes e onde o CD está incluído nos 5 euros que as pessoas pagam para entrar); 2) Nas escolas em que intervimos os jovens recebem os CDs e tentam distribuí-lo de forma criativa (alguns já optaram por fazer uma feira na escola, outros decidiram fazer uma campanha para pais e professores, outros foram mesmo para o centro da cidade divulgar o CD e o projecto, etc.); e 3)em todas as acções da Associação PAR divulgamos o CD e o projecto!

Espero que as suas dúvidas fiquem mais esclarecidas.

Entretanto tive oportunidade de visitar o site do Instituto Crescer para a Cidadania e fiquei super impressionada com o vosso trabalho! Parabéns!

Quanto a possíveis colaborações, a Associação PAR está totalmente disponível para que possamos, no mínimo, fazer uma troca de boas práticas e crescer em conjunto nesta constante aprendizagem que é a procura de respostas sociais participativas, inovadoras e eficazes.
Um valente obrigada pelas sugestões e felicitações ao projeto Intolerant?me?.
Um forte abraço,
Andrea Vertessen