Vicky Karaiskou - Open University of Cyprus
These educational tools aim to fulfill the core objective of Slow Memory Action: to encourage individuals to “slow down and take time to remember.” Recognizing the pivotal role of historical events in anchoring communities and shaping collective identity, these tools facilitate a deeper understanding of memory processes and their profound impact on the present and future. Moreover, they empower learners to discern the intricate links between practices of remembrance and broader concepts such as resilience, peace, and prosperity. By utilizing these tools, learners gain the ability to appreciate the role of memory in fostering well-being.
The tools focus on exploring the assumptions that lay behind the stories we tell and the narratives we share as members of our collectives. At the same time, their interactive and participatory structure creates space for all voices to emerge, and thereby encourage multiple perceptions and experiences to be shared. Awareness of how and why we think the way we do, where our perceptions come from, and how they are influenced is pivotal in building knowledge. Questioning our stances and opening our minds to alternative perceptions allows active choice and agency; unlocks new possibilities for research, innovation, and societal understanding; and leads, eventually, to transformation of individual and social structures.
Aim
These educational materials intend to:
- Explore and deconstruct dominant stories and stereotypes that guide our perceptions.
- Build bridges of understanding and develop new models of memorialization.
- Stress the importance of the many stories and foster people-led change-making and transformation.
- Point to the similarities that unite people instead of what presumably divide us.
- Address existing issues of conflict, violence and inequality, and bring to light alternative paths for resilience.
- Experiment with the unknown that opens the paths to deeply transformative change.
- Seek consensus, reconciliation, and societal transformation.
Audience
The tools can become useful tools for:
- Members of the “Slow Memory” COST Action.
- Users involved in the broad field of memory studies, such as students and professionals.
- Researchers, as a research methodology/tool for gathering data from different groups.
- Audience with no such specialization but with curiosity to understand how and why they think the way they do.
- NGOs and, in general, entities that deal with refugees, people from conflict societies and society reconciliation.
- Organizations that support people with trauma.
How these tools are already used
These educational tools have already been used, since 2022, in a large number of Visual Literacy workshops in Cyprus, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, Corsica, UK, Norway, and Portugal, among others. The workshops were aimed at students in the last year of elementary school and all grades of middle and high school; secondary school teachers; graduate, postgraduate and doctoral students; professionals from fields of memory studies, international relations, heritage, educations, arts; practitioners from artistic organizations; and adults from the business sector.
Topics explored involve identity, remembering, social stereotypes, diversity, arts, museums, urban spaces, homeland, power, success, failing, creativity, work, change, democracy, migration, trauma, nation, solidarity, prosperity, coexistence, history, and fear.
The tools were designed by the Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair on Visual Anticipation and Futures Literacy towards Visual Literacy, Associate Professor, Dr. Vicky Karaiskou (https://ouc.ac.cy/unesco-chair) and make part of a larger collection of educational methods applied during the workshops.
Expected outcomes
While applying these educational tools, learners are expected to:
- Understand and Address the Past:
- Support deeper appreciation for the social and cultural dimensions of memory in shaping individual and collective experiences.
- Provide insights into the shaping of collective identities and historical narratives, and address the past as a source for understanding critical continuities.
- Eliminate thought patterns of division and build bridges of understanding.
- Enhance Critical Thinking and Engagement:
- Foster intellectual growth as well as critical and analytical thinking.
- Bring to the surface existing conceptions, perceptions and assumptions; deconstruct them; and understand how they drive our anticipations and actions.
- Encourage reframing concepts and practices for innovative thinking and transformation.
- Endorse Inclusivity and Empowerment:
- Interrogate contested and ‘difficult’ pasts in post-conflict societies.
- Promote inclusive political engagement and contribute towards social transformation.
- Empower marginalized actors and amplify voices at the margins.
- Build Capacity and Collaboration:
- Contribute to capacity building, knowledge generation, and impact action.
- Enhance co-production of knowledge and co-learning.
- Support long-term structural transformation in memory policies.
- Promote Social Justice and Empathy:
- Enhance empathy and become vehicles for social justice, trauma healing, and mutual understanding.
- Shape a notion of memory beyond the focus on conflicts and divisive commemorations.
- Reduce the manipulation of difficult histories for the perpetuation of division, aiming to deepen and strengthen democratic structures.
- Explore Alternative Modes of Memory:
- Introduce alternative modes of staging and memorializing the past.
- Explore tacit or explicit structures that shape our visuality, i.e. what and how we remember and whose stories we listen to.
- Grasp the everyday dynamics of memory with their contradictions and complex manifestations.
- The tools are designed to be suitable for any kind of audience and topics, hence, users are able to apply them into a variety of research fields and situations.
- Considering that our brains process information, concepts, connotations and memory in the form of images, all tools use visuals as points of reference.
- The tools’ structure supports individual memories and experiences to emerge, and considers their perceptions and narratives of pivotal importance.
- Application of the tools functions as a “sandpit”, promoting innovative and “outside the box” thinking.
- Combination of tools are encouraged for maximum effects (see at the end of each tool description).
- All tools can be used online or in person.
- While results are better when applied within a group of peers where sharing thoughts, generating questions and co-creating knowledge takes place, the majority of the tools can be applied individually, as well, provided that the users are determined to dig deeper and insist in asking questions to themselves.
- The participatory nature of the tools encourages critical engagement, co-creation of knowledge and the learning-by-doing approach. Therefore, sharing thoughts and listening respectfully and with empathy to the thoughts and stories of others is a core part of the process.
- Educators act as facilitators. They do not attempt to persuade on certain interpretations, theories and points of view, or impose opinions and views. Instead, they encourage learners to get in touch with and share their own stories and feelings.
- The creation of a safe and inclusive space for all to dig into personal memories is of paramount importance. During the process, learners need to get in touch with their memories, traumas, needs, fears and expectations and feel safe to share. In order to achieve this, educators should:
- Set clear guidelines for respectful behavior and communication at the beginning of the workshop and emphasize the importance of listening actively, avoiding interruptions, and respecting diverse perspectives.
- Create opportunities for all participants to share their thoughts and experiences, fostering an atmosphere where everyone feels valued and heard.
- Be mindful of power dynamics and ensure that everyone feels equally empowered to contribute.
- If a learner feels hesitant to share, they should have the option to refrain without facing judgment.
- Acknowledge and respect the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of all participants and encourage understanding among participants.
- If conflicts arise, address them promptly and constructively.
- Encourage participants to express their concerns openly and work towards resolution collaboratively.
- Respect privacy and confidentiality and assure participants that their contributions will be kept confidential unless they explicitly consent to sharing them.
Ethical Considerations
These educational tools prioritize the well-being, rights, and dignity of all learners. This involves obtaining informed consent from participants, maintaining confidentiality, and respecting their autonomy. Facilitators safeguard fairness, transparency, and honesty in their interactions and data collection methods to mitigate potential risks and ensure that learners are not harmed physically, psychologically, or emotionally. The application of these tools fosters trust, integrity, and accountability, thereby contributing to the advancement of knowledge and the betterment of society.
Resources
List of Educational Tools
1. Babel
When discussing rather abstract concepts, such as freedom, democracy, trauma, nation, solidarity, prosperity, future, coexistence etc. individual memories and perceptions are of paramount importance in altering, enriching and shaping collective narratives. Different memories create different realities in the present and different expectations for the future. The use of images contributes decisively in making tangible the different realities that individual meanings and feelings generate.
2. The Visual Stimulus
This tool helps to unpack tacit narratives embedded in our public spaces. At the same time, it makes tangible abstract concepts we share and use. When discussing ideologies, collective values, or intended collective notions and behaviors, educators can use images to support learners gain insights into how urban spaces narrate powerful stories and communicate on a daily basis with their inhabitants (us).
3. The Stage
This tool uses the theater stage as a miniature of the public space. The structures and functions of the former can tangibly explain the symbolic functions and the power of latter. All elements of the stage design are carefully chosen to support and promote the director’s narrative. To the same end, actors’ attires and reciting style convey the essence of the theatrical text. The whole aim is to engage emotionally the audience. In the same way, public space exists in a constant interactive mode with its inhabitants, communicating values, structures, dynamics and realities.
4. Sensing instead of Sense Making
Sensing, instead of sense making, focuses on the emotional impact of events and encapsulates a paradigm shift in how we perceive and interpret the world around us. Colors, textures, shapes, and materials become potent symbols and carriers of meaning, and serve as conduits that allow us to grasp the complexity and depth of our sensory encounters. Beyond mere cognitive processing, the tool suggests a deeper engagement with our surroundings – one that transcends language, rational thought and analysis to embrace the full spectrum of sensory experiences on a primal level.
5. The Wall
This is a collective ‘game’ where all learners add and/or detract virtual ‘bricks’. The intention is to build collectively a broader picture, and become aware of its constituent parts and their role. During the process, the learners comprehend how the resulting wall can take different forms depending on their choices. The title of this tool could very well be “the puzzle”, however, the ‘wall’ has the additional symbolism of a burden and a limit. That corresponds to the limiting nature of all stances and points of view, and prompts discussions on the power and potential of transformation.
6. Improv-storytelling
This tool recalls the surrealists’ automatic writing and their non-sense images. The surrealists employed improvisation as a technique to tap into the subconscious mind and unleash creative imagination. Their intension was to embrace spontaneous, unfiltered methods of creation and generate unexpected imagery and ideas for social transformation. Through improvisation, surrealists aimed to reveal hidden desires, fears, and associations buried in the subconscious. To this end, they created artworks that challenged conventional notions of reality and invited viewers to explore the mysteries of the unconscious mind.
7. Role-playing
Assuming different roles while researching, discussing or analyzing a topic provides a dynamic and immersive learning experience, allowing learners to, actively, engage with scenarios and concepts. This experiential learning fosters critical thinking, creativity and imagination, encouraging participants to think outside the box and explore alternative viewpoints. By embodying different roles, they gain insights into their own behaviors, beliefs, and reactions, leading to personal development and self-reflection. Regardless of the role, personal memories and points of view always emerge during the process.
8. The Identity Triangle
The thinking – feeling – acting process lays in the core of our brains’ mechanism. Our way of thinking is regulated by, and regulates anew, our memories, which, in their turn, exist in a constant interaction with our affect and actions. The words “Think” – “Feel” – “Act” indicate the three angles of this triangle. The tool intends to make tangible the interconnection among these three realms in all manmade situations. It provides useful insights to learners regarding their individual and collective awareness and identities, and how they handle change.
9. The Iceberg
The iceberg metaphor serves as a powerful tool for deconstructing social phenomena. Just as the shape and size of an iceberg’s submerged portion can significantly impact its behavior and stability, the hidden dynamics of social phenomena (and individual traits) can profoundly influence their outcomes and effects. The process of uncovering these hidden dynamics sheds light on the underlying causes, structures, and systems that drive the visible part, and highlights their depth and complexity. The more nuanced analysis and exploration it supports, prompts a deeper understanding beyond superficial observations.
10. Reframing concepts
The Reframing tool is especially powerful because it extracts main suppositions from dominant narratives with the intention to provide a radically diverse approach to the topic under examination. This tool challenges established frontiers, broadens the spectrum of our understanding; and unpacks the hidden assumptions we all carry, limiting our potential choices in thinking and acting. It applies especially in situations of conflict and trauma where empathy and understanding the ‘other’ is a challenging task, nevertheless, a crucial prerequisite for healing, conflict resolution, and co-existence.
11. Role Model Stereotypes
The tool encourages learners to critically analyze and question societal norms, comprehend the underpinning biases and consciously reflect on how these parameters affect their own perceptions and, eventually, identity. Engaging in activities that explore and challenge stereotypes of role models helps to develop critical thinking, cultural competence, self-awareness, a sense of empowerment, and valuable media literacy skills.
