4.

LEILA AND MUHAMMED (90 minutes) Objectives Gaining an insight into the importance of context and its role in the perception, understanding and forming the attitudes. Gaining an insight into the importance of stepping out from a predetermined model for interpreting reality. Becoming aware of the difficulties of interpreting data based on insufficient information. Determining how interpretations limit the true perception of people, events and the world around us. Materials for work Leila and Muhammed, story 1 Leila and Muhammed, story 2 Description of activities 1. Tell the participants that you will read them a story. While reading, illustrate the context of the story (it is advisable that everyone receives a copy of the story, so that they can read it once again while evaluating). 2. Upon reading ask the participants to rank the characters, each person for himself/herself. The most negative character receives rank 1, and the most positive, rank 5. 3. Make a big chart, and write in the names of the participants and characters from the story. Have each participant read out loud his / her rank, while you note them down in the chart. 4. Divide the participants according to similar ranks into small groups and ask them to, within their groups, define the criteria according to which they ranked each character. 5. Then tell them that you have new information about Leila and Muhammed and that you would like to share it with them. Give each participant story number 2 and ask them to read it by themselves. 6. Give them a little time for spontaneous reactions, for laughter, anger, disbelief. 7. Ask them to stay in the small groups and talk about whether their ranks would remain the same upon getting the new information. What would they change? 8. Organise an exchange in a large group: Ask them if they changed anything or not? What did they change? Why? How did they determine the ranks after reading the first story, what made them evaluate the characters in this way, and what lead them to change that now? Can they, even now, state with absolute certainty that they know what is going on in the story? How do we name or imagine what we perceive or hear? If we had more information what would happen? 9. Encourage them to remember something similar from personal experience (professional or private) or something from their environment. Ask them to exchange briefly in pairs. 10. Comment on how often we have the wrong presumptions when we only have in mind a part of the picture, and how important it is to view the whole context in order to come to conclusions. Remind them that it is important to take into account the whole context when we draw conclusions and to be aware that often we do not have all of the necessary information when we draw conclusions. It is important to treat conclusions as hypothesis which will be rechecked, and not as only and absolute truths (because we can never be sure that we are seeing the whole picture). We can never fully be free of prejudices and stereotypes, it is important that we refrain from reactions until we check our presumptions. Also, stress that the

cultural prism colours our reactions (for example if we judge Leilas behaviour, then all of the other characters are judged in relation to her and her rank...).

LEILA AND MUHAMMED (1) The Nile is a large, long river in which many crocodiles live, while only a few bridges exist where the river can be crossed. LEILA lives on the river bank. LEILA is 17 years old and she is madly in love with MUHAMMED who lives on the other side of the river. LEILA decided to go visit her love and that is why she goes to AHMED and begs him to take her to the other side. Although AHMED has the time and a boat, he does not want to take LEILA across. LEILA does not give up and goes to see TARIK and begs him to take her across to the other side of the river. TARIK accepts, but only under the condition that LEILA spends the night with him and that they start early in the morning. And so it was. LEILA wanted to see MUHAMMED so much that she agreed to spend the night with TARIK and early in the morning he took her to the other side of the river. Feeling very happy, LEILA ran into the arms of her loved one and told him about all the difficulties she had before she was able to reach him. MUHAMED forced her away from him. LEILA, extremely sad, went for a walk along the river bank, fighting tears in her eyes. Then she came across JAFFAR. JAFFAR asked her why she was crying and why she was sad. LEILA told him her story. JAFFAR went to MUHAMMED and hit him twice in the face without saying a word. LEILA AND MUHAMMED (2) LEILA is a seventeen year old high school student, and MUHAMMED is her professor. He is happily married. AHMED is also the professor in the same high school, MUHAMMED is his colleague. TARIK is LEILAs grandfather who hasnt seen his favourite grand-daughter in a long time. The two of them spent the night together drinking tea and talking. JAFFAR is a killer psychopath it is wild luck that he only hit MUHAMMED in the face.