Everyone is different – and that’s a good thing!
Maybe you have seen stories, movies, and civil movements that talk about racism. We shouldn’t be defined, judged, or discriminated because of the colour of our skin, of our language, of our religion, of our gender or of the nation we live/lived in... Countries around the globe have agreed to create a better world for everyone to live in. A tool to achieve this is the International Convention that you will learn about in this unit. Hopefully, you will understand how closely racism affects your life, no matter who you are!
Warm up
Step 1
Think about your group of friends. What makes them different from the other? (Think for example about their different favorite foods, music styles, their physical differences…)
Step 2
In the same group of friends what are the things you like most about each one of them? What do you dislike?
Step 3
Exchange with your buddy what things you like most about your friends and which things you don’t like as much.
Step 4
Reflect… In your answers, did you say that you like a friend because of their skin colour or nationality?
… We bet: probably not! Why do you think you didn’t?
Exchange with your buddy!
Learn
Did you know that….
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) was the first of the core international human rights instruments adopted in 1965 and outlines the specific human rights of people of African-descent, minorities, indigenous peoples, people discriminated on the basis of caste or descent, stateless persons, migrants including refugees and asylum-seekers. Yet it remains unknown to children and most adults outside the field of human rights.
Please remember that race is a construction, all human beings are part of the same race and share over 99% of their DNA! But the belief that people are part of different races has a real impact on their life.
Dive in 1
Take a big piece of paper together and:
Step 1
Write down some groups of people who might be discriminated.
Step 2
Under each group, write down the criteria on which the discrimination is based. For example: black women can be discriminated because of the colour of their skin, their gender…
Step 3
Think of all the institutions that can help protect these groups from discrimination.
Step 4
Think of ways to prevent discrimination from happening OR to address a situation of discrimination.
Done?
Then discuss with your buddy how a person’s life can change if any of those solutions are offered to them BEFORE or AFTER being discriminated.
Create 1
Look again at your notes you took during the previous task.
With your buddy create a poster that illustrates one of the ideas you came up with for standing up against discrimination. Hang up your poster in your school/community center or other public places you regularly visit to encourage others to take action against discrimination.
Don’t forget to ask for permission from the person in charge, before hanging up your poster.
Create 2
Pretend that one day the local authorities made the decision that everyone who is wearing green will not be allowed to attend the local sports playground.
With your buddy discuss your answers to the following questions:
- In this situation, how would you feel if you were wearing green?
- Do you think it’s reasonable for the authorities to decide who can access the sports playground based on what they’re wearing?
- How would you feel if you were wearing a blue shirt and were allowed to go to the playground when your best friend, who is wearing green today, is not allowed to play?
Create a “graffiti wall” to visualise your reactions, thoughts, feelings or questions by writng them down on the board or a chart paper.
Reflect
Choose the most important point that you are taking away from this learning unit, for example: what has surprised you the most? What would you like to remember?
Create a postcard that shows this point.
Download the free KIDS4ALLL app and your wish comes true!
