- Preface
In May and June 1996 the Magenta foundation in cooperation with school Without Racism (SWR) organised an anti-racism boat tour through Holland. For one of the activities onboard, an Internet project, we worked closely together with Pretoria Education Network (Pretnet) in South Africa. During the tour two members of Pretnet, Mr. Chris Masomela and Ms. Ruth Mosley supervised the Internet part on the boat. Apart from 6 different activities on the boat, all of the over 3000 students who visited the project, ranging in age from 10 to 21 years old, participated in the exercise Brown Eyes Blue Eyes.
The results of the magenta/SWR boat tour were extensively discussed with Pretnet. From this originated the idea to organize a similar tour in South Africa with: 1. Students from primary and secondary schools. The emphasis will be on cooperation and exchange between different groups regardless of ethnic and/or cultural background. 2. Teachers from primary and secondary schools. The Youth has the future, especially in South Africa. Teachers play an important part in that future. The view students develop about society, their countrymen and the world, is to a great extent determined by their teachers. That is why this project is aimed at both students and teachers. It was decided to do the Full colour project in September/October 1999.
Full Colour Tour South Africa September/October 1999.
The eight-week long tour planned for 1999 will consist of a variety of activities for students and teachers. For students an exhibition, cooperation exercises and games, Internet, theatre, music etcetera. Similar to the Dutch boat project but adjusted to the South African situation, the emphasis will be on cooperation and exchange between different groups regardless of ethnic and or cultural background. For the teachers the Blue-Eyed lecture, supplemented with educational material from A World of Difference.
We intend to find eight locations in different parts of South Africa to set up shop (so to speak) for a week. The crew will have a minimum of 20 members each day, half of them South Africans. Apart from the crew, a band and/or theatre group from Europe will travel with. All crew members will work on a voluntary basis. Right now Magenta is trying to find South African partners for the project.
Information about the Magenta foundation
Stichting Magenta is a Dutch anti-racism foundation which was founded in 1992 as a result of the violent racist attacks on migrants in Germany. Its aims and objectives are to counteract racism, fascism and discrimination and to promote integration. Since its inception Magenta has realized a substantial number of projects. Rather than let people come to our events we try to bring the events to people. Magenta works in cooperation with a number of local and national organisations and governmental bodies as well as undertakes projects on request of various institutes. Magenta supports local and national organisations, serving as a temporary office for starting agencies.
Some recent projects carried out by the Magenta Foundation include:
The 'Don't Vote For Racism train' -a week-long tour with a special campaign-train through Holland a week before the general elections of 1994 in order to inform voters about extreme-right wing parties under the motto 'don't give racism a vote'. The train stopped at stations of 24 major cities.
Sarajevo Calling -during April 1995, a transport of food, medicines and medical appliances to the besieged City of Sarajevo in Bosnia. The operation was carried out in cooperation with Pharmacists without Frontiers-The Netherlands, The Friends of La Benevolencija-Sarajevo and the Royal Dutch Air Force. Total goods transported: 65 tons.
The boat project. From May 20 through to June 22, 1996, Magenta sailed through the inner waterways of Holland with a small coaster, doing the Brown Eyes Blue Eyes exercise with over 3000 students. Go to the boat project site for more info.
Network and contactsMagenta is frequently in contact -and works closely together with a wide variety of local, national and international organisations and institutions. We also work together with Youth-organisations, (democratic) political parties and refugee-organisations. On top of this, we are supported by a lot of Dutch 'personalities'. We have a close relationship with the Dutch Auschwitz Committee (NAC). Our relationships with the City of Amsterdam, Councils in other Dutch towns, the Dutch parliament and the Ministries are excellent. Magenta is a supporter of the 'United for Intercultural action - European Network' and works with several European organisations, amongst them the Fondation Danielle Mitterrand in France and The Netherlands International Centre for Human Rights (NICH). We also swap information and ideas with the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, with A World of difference/Anti Defamation League, both in the USA, and with others.
Information about A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute
The A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute was formed in furtherance of the ADL mission to strengthen pluralism in the United States by defining and advancing a discipline of diversity education. At a time when two-thirds of those people entering our workforce are women and people of color, we are witnessing a marked increase in incidents of fractious intergroup conflict reported by our nation's schools, government agencies, workplaces, and communities at large. Through education, programs, materials, and services, the Institute empowers people to value diversity and eradicate prejudice, bigotry and discrimination.
Since 1985, some of the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute's accomplishments have been:
- Trained more than 230,000 elementary and secondary school teachers, impacting more than 20 million public, private and parochial school students.
- Conducted workplace diversity training programs for more than 110,000 >adult workers employed in hundreds of corporations, government agencies and small businesses.
- Developed a law enforcement diversity training program currently being implemented by the F.B.I. and Police Departments across the U.S.
- Increased student awareness at more than 300 college campuses.
- Implemented A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Teacher Training Programs in the cities of Moscow (Russia), Berlin (Germany), Rostock (Germany), Bremen (Germany), and St. Thomas (U.S.Virgin Island).
- Delivered A WORKPLACE OF DIFFERENCE Training to South African Middle
Managers.
The A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute Peer Training Program was founded in 1991 while working with students from Clara Barton High School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Students learn to conduct A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE activities, facilitate discussions about prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination with other students, and interrupt discriminatory situations as they occur.
The goals of Peer Education are:
- to disseminate knowledge and skills throughout the school community that increase awareness, and motivate sustainable, positive social change towards an inclusive school culture;
- to develop skills for students' becoming catalysts for change;
- to give students and teachers the opportunity to see students fulfill the responsibility of being an educators, and to increase students' empathy with teachers;
- to develop social responsibility in students with opportunities to provide community service and model prosocial behavior;
- to increase students' self-esteem as well as their critical thinking and problem solving abilities;
- to develop students' presentation skill, including but not limited to
their abilities to: * feel comfortable in front of a group; * articulate themselves clearly, and * prepare and organize the presentation. * to provide a forum in which students feel safe to define and speak out on important issues; and * to develop students' ability to facilitate difficult discussions, an important conflict resolution process.
During the Full Colour tour AWOD will train students as 'peer trainer' . Also they will train teachers.
Click here for information about Pretoria Education Network
Questions or comments please to [mailadres]
Created by Magenta Foundation © 1996, 1997
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Full Colour Project South-Africa,
February 1997-August/September 1998.