Te.To. Manual (An easy, clear and useful guide to teaching tolerance)

T.T. is one of our basic projects and we believe it should be enlarged. A way to do it we saw through engaging volunteers from different cultures, so that we can experience tolerance in practice. That’s how Pietro from Italy and Hripsime from Armenia became part of our educational efforts. The challenge to manage the project turned out to be huge and there were times when it felt we, the team, lack enough tolerance and understanding. That gave me a lot of moments of thought what actually tolerance is and who should be teaching it...

Mackenzie’s EVS volunteers did their best and helped Mackenzie grow in its understanding of tolerance. We hope that through this booklet, we will help you do that for your own community.

Petya Petrova

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Te.To., an acronym of teaching tolerance, is a booklet that collects some of the most interesting and successful activities conducted in schools of different grades in 2013/2014  inside the frame of the project Teaching Tolerance.

So, it recounts thought-provoking exercises of selfless acts of humanity, the inspiring courage of those who fight against prejudices, stereotypes and the benefits of a diverse society.

The activities are divided in six modules, depending on the different topics, as the structure of the main project T.T. demands.

So, the booklet will take you progressively through different themed sections, which we’ve chosen initially taking into account that some of students are good at acting, for the others it’s easier to talk, to discuss, to share their ideas, some of them just prefer to leave their thoughts on the paper, etc.

Inside each module, the activities are positioned in alphabetic order, to simplify the consultation and with them you will find material and cards to use.

All the activities, are promoting tolerance, and shaping people’s lives and understanding of the world.

The value of these activities is that we learn about ourselves from learning about others. The point is that intolerance is reported and written about so often, it might seem to youngsters that intolerance is a normal and acceptable part of our world. But with the choosen activities we would like, instead, to encourage the discussion, and maybe the sharing of their stories of tolerance.

In this booklet, the first chapter gives information about the project T.T. and its evaluation, based on the direct experience of the facilitators and on a questionnaire, handed to the young participants as a survey.

In the third chapter, on the other hand, there is a list of things to do which will improve you as a facilitator. Of course, it isn’t necessary to be accepted as a rule and we are not sure if that will bring success to your activities, just read these suggestions. To put them in practice, you need training, efforts, study and time. But we believe it is important to have them in mind, anyway.

The booklet was “born”, with the intention to share our intensive experience with youth, giving some information and explanation about the project, its evaluation and how to realize the activities which could be useful for all the people who  want to begin or to develop a similar project or would like to use some activities. Definitely, our hope is to makes the work of facilitators, teachers and educators easier and  more precise. A special thought, of course goes to the next European volunteer who will follow us. We are sure they could use this booklet as a base from where to put new ideas and vital strength into the project T.T.

For example, the results of the questionnaire are a proof of how good and efficient was our work, besides our personal opinions.

But the ambition of TE.TO is also to spread the experience  to a wider audience including the students involved. In facts, through the photos, taken during our laboratory, they can recognize themselves, reflect on the activities done and keep memories of their lively effort put in the project.

To conclude, our team hopes that many of you will draw enthusiasm from this booklet, critically reflect on its content and use this in your lives. Moreover, we hope the book will support youth workers to take action in the field of social inclusion and cultural diversity, whether through new initiatives or enhanced activities, and will increase the opportunity for all to access and participate in youth work and projects.

(from the Introduction)

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