This digital gallery is a projection of being in 20s.
Inclusive mindset
Of course, everybody knows the difference (and if you don’t, you can find it below 👇😊). So, why this post? Because integration and inclusion do not need to be only related to refugees, people with disabilities, different races, etc. but all of us have ever experienced it on our daily basis as well, when you join a new gym, school, work, you name it. Thus, this is a reminder of the inclusive mindset. When you practice it on your daily basis, there will be a much greater impact for excluded vulnerable society because you will know exactly how to behave & speak naturally to include them.
In this picture “You can practice” is understood as:
1. Integration (French language)
2. Inclusion (who cares, just join)
There is nothing wrong with the integration but the goal should always be the inclusion. We should feel included and not as excluded “different” minority. I can be currently in the process of integration but the RHETORIC is always more powerful – it can either encourage or discourage.
Because without inclusion in the community, the learning will never make sense. But learning can help with integration.
📖 Source: @think_inclusive (2017) Inclusion, Exclusion, Segregation and Integration: How are they different?
#integration #inclusion #inclusionmatters #exclusionzone #thinkinclusive #diversity #inclusiveeducation
Def.: Integration means welcoming other communities and cultures into the established community, whereas the inclusion is individual or minority that is already included in the majority of people that share the same culture, hobby, ability, tradition etc.
Victim of disinformation
We should not be ashamed of being identified as a victim of disinformation. In fact, if we recognise disinformation from facts or someone tells us that we are victims, we should feel lucky.. because we either have developed healthy #CriticalThinking or are in connection to an information-healthy society. Nobody is expert in all sciences around the world, this is also the reason why we are vulnerable in the Information Age due to information overload.
Identify – Learn – Spread Awareness with sources.
It is also important to note that these visuals were created on basis of response to the “Pro-Palestine” disinformation info-graphic. Therefore, there is a projection of the “Pro-Israeli” info-graphic. My position is neutral in this conflict – based on facts – neither Pro-Palestine nor Pro-Israel.
Digital Identity
Digital Identity is a virtual footprint that we create on our social media and how we present ourselves. I don’t want to stress the importance that it created during Covid – we are in lockdown, many (and not only young people) are closed at home & the contact is limited – for different reasons (of course, you always can find the way out and break the rules but it’s an individual choice, how we change or not our lives).
This picture is dedicated to reactions. As you may know – the more you expose yourself to the public, the more reactions & feedback you get. These comments are not always pleasant & can discourage many people. The example can be – the more you speak in class, the more you get into the debate and/or the more you show yourself, the more comment on your appearance you get. It is logic, right? But it can sometimes cross the border of virtual harassment and/or bullying.
There are some ways how to protect ourselves: – EXTERNAL, such as unfollow, block, report & even go to the official office to seek support (even though the probability for success is close to point zero). However, how to protect yourself INTERNALLY? I mean, how you can ensure that it will not impact your work, behaviour & who you are? There are few articles about mental well-being and self-confidence. You just have to choose the one that works for you, such as “bad advertising is still advertising“ (even though it does not need to be true from a statistical point of view, it is amazing psychological protection).
I identified myself with a statement: “if people remain silent, you do something wrong”
– be glad for their comments because it means that it touched them either negative or positive
– be glad for the positive & never take personally the negative.
Make it as a rule & set your borders. It is never a shame to seek external support.
Just remember that whatever you do is always too much or too little for ‘someone’. There will always be just a few people to whom you seem enough. But you should always be conscious of your Digital Identity (like you drive a car).
Zoom to Be(e)
Today’s twinkle in the deep forest during running.
Begging in the virtual Age
This is the Charles Bridge in Prague. A bit different one as there are usually guys begging for money (when there is no COVID).
By this picture, I would like to stress the importance of mental health and self-love. As we are now living in a totally different world than it was one year ago, the paradigm of thinking changed. We usually met people outside, on our way to work, gym, bar, pub whatever.
Now, we cannot. Therefore, we seek attention on social media. I could witness an immense increase of girls having posted more attractive pictures of themselves on social media. On the one hand, they can be talented and always wished to be models, I have few friends who do modelling & I totally support them if this is the path they want to go.
On the other hand, there are girls with talents totally incompatible with modelling & and they increasingly seek to get attention in this way.
Did you also realise that if you post sth that interest you, for example, law.. you get almost ZERO reaction and engagement? However, if you post yourself before going to a party or nicely dressed for an interview, then there is more engagement than you would expect?
Questions just started to pop into my mind. Where is the balance? Why people do not support themselves in what they are doing or what initiative they just launched? Do they want to just observe what will develop during the time period?
Girls, do not underestimate yourself. Just do what you like. When you have 1K followers on IG, it does not mean that you have achieved sth in your real life and vice-versa – when you achieve sth in the real life you don’t need to post it on social channels.
Use social media as a tool to promote your work & it will bear fruit in the meantime. People who are interested in you will find you, always.
Do you have it same?
Phrases, such as “I have to ‘go’ to work” & “I must work,” are not anymore that easy to elaborate on.
This is Nadia
The UK government labelled her as a refugee in 2009 & changed her surname and date of birth. These changes were probably made by “mistake” as Afghanistan uses the Dari dialect of Farsi, which is a modified Arabic alphabet + they follow the Solar Hijri calendar, which is totally different from ours in Europe – today is 26 (15th) 1-Hamal (April) 1400 (2021).
This is crazy right? Not only the fact that you have to convert each Afghan person who arrives to our “calendar” and “letter” but also that someone just changes your identity after 40 years (yes, she was “Afghan” 40 years old – they added her +5 years on the border check).
Obviously, you cannot assume that these people speak fluent English when they seek refuge, especially when education for women is highly limited. Therefore, they cannot argue in favour of their identity. The main issue was that all her certificates of professional experience (she worked in a polling place during the presidential election in 2004 among others – she also told me about her experience with frauds but it’s another story to tell) were gone.
She arrived in London after her husband died in the terrorist attack in Afghanistan. Nadia was the luckier one because her husband was a doctor and he let her study & work and always supported her in anything she always wanted. She left Afghanistan because “one day you lost your husband, the next day it can be your son, and then even me. Taliban doesn’t care about ladies or children, they are shooting everyone who is even going for work.”
The primary challenge for her in London are the changes that were made because she got into a vicious cycle. Can you imagine that nobody speaks to you because you don’t speak English, nobody wants to speak to you because you come from a country with a negative connotation, and even if someone speaks to you, you have no proof of your real identity neither experience.
Despite her official label being an Afghan refugee, I identified her as my angel. She is one of them. She was my guide through Afghan culture, my best friend with whom I shared all emotions – laughter, enthusiasm, sadness & frustration.
Nationality is not illness
At the beginning of February 2019, I started my Political Communication internship in one non-governmental organisation in London. Not because the office was just behind my house, but I wanted to start my political career with vulnerable people who seek legal justice in the UK.
After a few months, I got an opportunity to teach refugees from several countries, such as Afghanistan, Syria or Nigeria. To be honest, the first session was mentally exhausting for me. I have experience with teaching English in my home country.. now I see that it was always sooooo easy – the explanation of the issue in your mother tongue ‘is for beginners’. However, teaching English to speakers of other languages, especially Arabic, was an obstacle and challenge from the beginning because I couldn’t explain and they couldn’t understand.. with repetition “two months in London and we not speak English.” Rule number one for teachers: don’t shit in your pants and stay calm. After the second, third, fourth, … session, I started to see their progress and their motivation “just to survive and live a better future.” We should be so pleasant for opportunities and life in our countries because we can’t imagine what struggles people fighting behind our borders. I have heard many horrific stories, and none of them are experiences of happiness or pleasure. However, the saddest stories come from people who live in a peaceful country and hate these people, refugees, who just try to survive. For the next time.. just.. remember.. They don’t want to steal your land because their land was just destroyed.
Many times since I started to teach refugees, I was thinking how to break a circle of hates and dislikes towards these people, who cannot find a job, who don’t have a home or even roof under their heads, who can’t just be who they are.. the word ‘refugee’ about itself is a very sensitive topic, and same is the name of your nationality because people do many predictions when you disclose the magic name of your nation. Therefore, the motto for this post is “Don’t judge people according to nationality because one day your nationality can be judged.”
Angels
Are angels alive? Do you believe in angels? Can angel really fall from the sky? At least, I can say that my journey to the USA was kind of falling from the sky – not sure at all about my angel appearance nor behaviour, but.. This sky falling had begun before my bachelor’s graduation in Prague and finished on the road of one Seattle avenue. I had just a few days to finish all my examination, defend my dissertation, celebrate success or cry in the bar, pack baggage, and finally, catch a flight to Seattle. It was the most emotional week in my life – just ups and downs. ..Nervousness changed to euphoria, happiness shifted to the excitement.. and then.. I have been there.. in the heart of amazing Seattle that I knew just from movies, videogames, and Starbuck’s history. I am sure you know that feeling.. when you are full of adrenaline, at the top of your energy scale, and your smile shows miles away that you are a successful person without ‘any mistake’. “Am I really?” Unfortunately, this feeling usually disappears right after this question. Therefore, your falling just began ‘from your normally harmonized curve’.. down to zero.. and now you start to think about angels again.. “Where the * is my angel now when I need him in the middle of nowhere?“
