The Power of Language
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The Power of Language – An Activity Guide for Facilitators |
In educational contexts language is the most important means of communication.
This base is not very often questioned. But language does have dramatic
effects on how you work with a group. This became obvious
in the multilingual setting of the International Network “Education
for Democracy, Human Rights and Tolerance”. The insight underlined
the experiences of the 10 Network members in Brazil, Chile, Germany, Israel,
the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa
and the USA. This is why the Network decided to develop, compile and test
activities that can be used by facilitators to make people aware of the
impact of language. The activities show how closely related language is
to such fundamental questions as culture, identity and power
structure. By tracing these links, facilitators can make the essential
connection between language and human rights, tolerance and democracy.
The manual also presents insights into the situation of language and
power in the institutions of the member countries and suggests sample
workshops for using the material.
Info: Florian Marinus Wenzel