Mediart Blog

Gender neutral education. a dream?

21/1/2022

Education is one of the most important words in our society like Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. That means that you can try to struggle against the stereotypes thanks to education.

Let’s take the gender neural education as an example: gender neutral education means to teach boys and girls without any differences according to their gender. For instance, parents who have a son and a daughter can buy dolls, cars, princess dresses, superheroes costumes for both of them. The consequences could be that their son prefer to play with the doll than their daughter. It’s not the only thing that parents can do to give a gender-neutral education, they can also talk with their children about domestic tasks, every member of the family should take part equally in domestic tasks. Their children will understand quickly that men can also clean, cook and care.

However, the school system still reproduces a lot of gender stereotypes and doesn’t really help to fight against gender inequalities. Boys take up all the space in the playground and don’t accept that girls play with them. At school, boys are more aggressive and are used to fight to play while girls are more used to play doctor or teacher… Schools could at least split the playground equally so the girls are not run over by the boys and can have their own space. Boys and girls should learn how to play, talk, discuss together.

The society doesn’t let parents so easily to give the education they want to give to their children. From the youngest age, children are influenced by the society, girls should be calm, discreet while boys should show their knowledge, their strength… As a result, gender neutral education represents more a dream than reality…

Célia Domen

Célia is a French volunteer involved in the International Day of Education.

Why do we (not) help?

22/12/2021

Many people we have talked to during our campaign have agreed that volunteering can make the world better. And yet not all of them have volunteered.
This does not mean that they are bad people that don’t care about their environment while we who actually do volunteer are practically holy -No.
It just means that volunteering does not fit in their life, that they maybe do not have the necessary resources which can also be “just” time and that for some reason they do not take the initiative.
To explain why some people show altruistic behavior while others don’t, psychology has a number of theories. One of them is the five step decision model by Darley and Latané. It was initially designed to explain the existing or not existing assistance in case of an emergency like for example a car accident but I will try to transfer it to volunteering.

The first step that they propose is awareness. The subject has to be aware of the emergency or in our case of a problem in the world that could be solved or at least bettered by volunteering. However, this awareness can be prevented if the subject is lacking time or occupied with its own problems.

If the person noticed the matter they have to actually perceive the matter as a problem and not just as a random circumstance that does not need fixing. This should be relatively easy but there is a psychological phenomenon, namely pluralistic ignorance, which can make it harder. If many people ignore something you are most likely going to assume that this is normal and the right way to deal with it. So if you have many people in your environment who don’t think a topic is relevant you might think so as well. This is where media and organizations like Praxis play a big role. Tough it cannot always change already formed opinions, it is still important to try and reach people who might not be searching actively for this topic to give them a consciousness for what actually is a problem.

If you noticed a problem and also categorized it as a problem, you still have to take responsibility to solve it. Again there is a psychological phenomenon that can hinder this: diffusion of responsibility. The more people are involved in a matter, the more each person hopes consciously or unconsciously that another person is going to work it out. Th problem is that often this hope is false. We cannot always wait for others to fix societal problems but take initiative.

The 4th step is about competence. If you have the necessary competence to volunteer maybe even studied something helpful you are more likely to help. If we make it easier to require new skills you need for volunteering, maybe more people will feel confident enough in their abilities to make a change.

Finally, if we can cross of all the steps before and say: Yes, there is a problem, I am responsible and competent. Then we still do a cost-benefit calculation. Which negative consequences would it have for you not to help? Contrary to car accidents were you are bound to help, in case of worldwide problems like violence against women there are mostly no legal restrictions for not helping. A negative effect could be also a bad conscience.
As a benefit you could for example count the gratitude of the people you help.

Some people may be shocked now: What? People don’t only help for the sake of helping? We have to say goodbye to this idealistic and frankly unworldly view, accept that there are things that influence our willingness to help and use this knowledge actively.

JULIA FÉAUX DE LACROIX

Julia is a German Volunteer involved in the International Volunteer Day.

Intellectual enrichment instead of hourly wage: This is how an international voluntary service changes your life

20/12/2021

Volunteering Abroad: A popular option that thousands of young people choose each year. But why is volunteering abroad so popular among students? After all, you don't get paid and still have to reckon with a lot of work per week. Why do so many people look back with longing on their time as volunteers in crisis areas abroad? How do you benefit personally and at the same time can you help people, animals or the environment in emergency situations? Whether and how volunteer work abroad should be organized is often unclear until shortly before departure - there are many reasons why one should opt for the life experience.

Learn and perfect a foreign language
While you may not learn Spanish, French or Portuguese at an academic level, you lose all fear and barriers to spontaneous speeches in your environment when dealing with locals. This means that you will learn far beyond your school and university foreign language skills. Vocabulary, eloquence and, last but not least, grammatical rules are incorporated while you work on projects and are constantly in contact with people.

New contacts - friends and networks that often last for decades
Every new environment is a chance to meet people with whom you may remain friends for a lifetime. Especially during the volunteer work time, they show completely new perspectives and unknown insights into foreign cultures and ways of life. But often the contact persists beyond the period of the volunteer work, which creates interesting opportunities. For example, there can be visits, or you are invited yourself and have a contact person or even a place to stay in a country that you might want to visit again and again.

Better job and training opportunities through volunteering
Of course, you won't automatically become CEO of a company just because you've volunteered in the past. In fact, volunteering is an underestimated factor that can make a big difference. It signals characteristics that many employers expect from their employees. That is primarily the motivation to do more than the minimum in order to maintain one's standard of living. On the other hand, volunteering abroad shows empathy towards other people, animals and the environment.
Last but not least, volunteering abroad is attractive to universities. If you can prove voluntary work in your résumé, this has a significant bonus point compared to candidates who lack any voluntary or charitable work. Even with excellent grades and otherwise impeccable performance, volunteering abroad is an additional plus point at many universities, which can make the difference between acceptance and rejection.

NIKOL DONTSCHEW

Nikol is a German volunteer at Praxis working in the International Volunteer Day.

The Impact Of Democracy On Human Rights

17/12/2021

The universal declaration of human rights was proclaimed on December 10th, 1948 and after almost 80 years, these 30 articles are still fully at risk and being violated on a daily basis. And with the European political compass getting more and more decentralized over the past decade, we have been seeing the disregard from leading governmental entities towards the human lifes of those who need our help.
It would be expectable that most citizens in countries that have recently been in a dictatorship would recognize the dangers of it and push democracy to a more centralized and equal stand but the truth is that often there is the so called “nostalgia of the good dictator” where many residents in these countries seem to have forgotten the atrocities that these leaders inforced on their people.
As a Portuguese citizen this is something that we are right now dealing with in my country. Coming from a family where my grandfather was arrested, tortured and forced to exile by the same man that has recently almost been praised by many Portuguese citizens, including, surprisingly, a lot of young people. And as a new extreme right party is emerging, reaching almost 10% on the latest polls just ahead of the next elections, I’d like to take this opportunity to showcase the effects of a dictatorship in our most important assets, the 30 articles that make up the Human Rights declaration.
All the data provided next comes from the website ourworldindata.org and can be found under the following chart (Human Rights Scores), a chart that scores the degree to which governments protect and respect human rights. The scores range from around -3.8 to around 5.4 (the higher the better).
When looking at this chart some details pop up to my eyes, the highest results (as expected) are in countries like Iceland, Luxembourg or Norway, 3 examples of free democracies, and the lower results are found in africa and the middle east where dictatorships and “fake democracies'' have been enforced throughout the last decade(s). But it's when we look at the historical variation of this chart that we really see the power of democracy.
Let’s take a quick look at the previously mentioned Portugal, during the dictatorship (until 1974) the score is between a -1,6 and a -1,5 and as soon as the dictatorship ends, this score jumps to a +0,8 inside 2 years, reaching a +1,77 (not far from today’s +1,94) in 10 years. The same can be said for countries in similar situations like Spain. More interestingly however is when we look at the south american charts, where multiple countries entered a dictatorship in the late 60s/70s, in argentina for example, the score drops from a -0,79 (which was already in a military dictatorship) in 1975 to a -2,98 in 1976. If we swiftly cross the eastern border to Chile we’ll find a similar scenario, in 1972 the score was that of a -0,99 and the year later when Pinochet’s coup took down the only communist party to be democratically elected months prior to the revolution, the score was a -3,01. Over 40 000 people died during the 17 years of this dictatorship.
Multiple other examples can be found within a few clicks, and that should be enough to drop the “back in the good ol’ days” argument. We are living in a decisive decade where we have the choice to be free and impose our precious Human Rights, as they are the universal law that we should all respect, or to once again succumb to the greediness of humankind and re-enter a wave of dictatorships and polarized governments across Europe and consequently the world.

AFONSO GUIMARÃES

Afonso is a Portuguese volunteer at Praxis involved in the Human Rights Day campaign

How TV affects the brain of young children

16/12/2021

Parents are often shocked when someone tells them that pediatricians think it's a bad idea for children to watch TV or use mobile apps before the age 18, because most toddlers already have. Surveys tell us that 92.2% of 1-year olds have already used a mobile device, some starting as young as age 4 months. In fact, the human brain experiences the highest growth rate of our entire lifetime between the ages of birth and 3 years. Furthermore, according to surveys, a child who watched two hours of TV a day before the age of three would be twenty percents more likelz to have attention problems compared to a child who watches none.

Personally I remember that I was not allowed to watch Television as often as I wished. Thats why I was very excited for Christmas holidays because during this time we watched a lot of Christmas movies together. Usually I was allowed to watch TV before going to bed but maximum for one hour. Also I remember was fully against an own TV in my room. With years I recognize that it is the right decision. I really dislike it when I see toddlers and young children in restaurants being occupied with watching something on the tablet.

In order to prevent children from having attention problems it is recommended stimulate the child with cognitive stimulations, such as reading, singing, going to the museum etc. In fact, each hour of cognitive stimulation reduces the chances of attention problems by about 30%.

NIKOL DONTSCHEW

Nikol is a German volunteer at Praxis working in the World Television Day campaign.

HUMAN RIGHTS: Something to take for granted or to fight for?

15/12/2021

Last Friday December 10 we celebrated the International Day of Human Rights, but what are
the Human Rights?
According to the United Nations these are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of
race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status and include the right to
life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right
to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without
discrimination.
It was a long way until we stablished thirty articles in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights in 1948 in order to protect these rights.
From the first human rights declaration in the year 539 b.C, through the Magna Carta in 1215,
the petition of rights in 1628, the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 to the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen during the French Revolution in 1789, we
have tried to defend and regulate them. However, we still have a long way to go, since these
articles are being violated every day in multiple parts of the world.
And we may think these violations only happen in undeveloped countries, but the truth is they
happen everywhere including Europe, we just blind ourselves if they do not affect us directly.
For this reason, we prepared different educational activities and content to impact the mindset
of developed countries.
We prepared a Instagram series of each article being violated that we released daily during the
week, did a radio broadcast on the topic the day before, asked people on the street what three
things would they take with them if they had to leave their country and everything they had
immediately, created some debate about values and beliefs depending on cultural
backgrounds and finally taught how to do origami peace cranes to refugees.

The result was surprisingly good. The proposed activities were welcomed, and we realised we
made, especially the teenagers, start to think about topics they usually did not take into
consideration or just did not question the way they are.

Of course, there is still a lot of work to do, and we will keep working on this matter in the
nearby future, but like Mother Teresa said, if we did not give our drop to the ocean, the ocean
would be missing something.
However, it is not a matter of one, so it is your time to give aswell your drop to the ocean and
work to uphold the rights that protect us.

LAURA SOLANA LOPÉZ

Laura is a Spanish volunteer involved in the Human Rights Day campaign

The commitment to end AIDS: Forty years of struggle against a stigma

6/12/2021

It is four decades since the first official document of one of the pandemics of the 20th
century - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, better known by its acronym AIDS -
was revealed internationally. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),
which is what causes a person to develop AIDS. Over the years, medical research has
made great strides in creating drugs capable of controlling the virus so that it cannot
progress in the person carrying the virus or transmit it to other individuals. However,
today the world is off track from delivering on the shared commitment to end AIDS by
2030. Survival of patients with HIV infection has improved but it remains a serious
disease that cannot be cured.

In the 1980s, the second pandemic to hit in the second half of the 20th century was
announced. The first ten years of the HIV pandemic were marked by high morbidity.
Without drugs, the likelihood of developing the final stage of the virus, known as AIDS,
was too high. Activism was one of the essential factors in getting the drugs approved,
as scientific research was done hand in hand with the people who demanded these
studies. Forty years later, the virus can be controlled with a drug, known as PrEP, that
is more than 90-95% effective. This means that people with HIV can live a rigorously
normal life, so they have gone from being patients to people living with the virus.

The World Health Organisation not only recommended the use of pre-exposure
prophylaxis (PrEP) for people with HIV. To prevent HIV, it also recommended that
people at higher risk of contracting the virus should take the medication. However,
taking the medication does not mean stopping the use of contraception, as the pill does
not prevent other sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhoea, syphilis or genital
herpes. Also, UNODC's global HIV programme supports countries to achieve universal
access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for drug users, as well as
comprehensive HIV services for prisoners.

Today there are still people who believe that HIV is transmitted by casual contact with
an HIV-infected person, or that HIV is only transmitted to LGBTI people. However, the
virus can be acquired by anyone through blood or body fluids such as semen, vaginal
secretions or breast milk; it is not transmitted through saliva, tears or sweat. It is also
important to understand the difference between HIV and AIDS: not everyone with HIV
has AIDS, but everyone with AIDS has HIV.

Despite the progress that has been made in recent years, society today continues to
stigmatise the issue. Lack of information and sex as a taboo are the main obstacles to
preventing and adequately treating HIV. There is still a need for a socially supportive
response, not only for people living with HIV, but also for the prevention of HIV and
other infections. And when we talk about prevention, it is not only about using
condoms, but also about having a space where you can sit down, be accompanied in
the experience of your sexual health and know what to do in case you have a sexually
transmitted infection. For this reason, the real vaccine to treat HIV in society is sex education.

Ramón Pérez

Ramón is a Spanish volunteer involved in the World AIDS Day campaign.

the selfishness of the first world

2/12/2021

Ever since November 2019, the world has been in a constant battle with COVID-19. This has led to multiple lockdowns worldwide, borders closing and other social-economic measures to better prevent the spread of the virus. But in these last 2 years, the first world has forgotten that the planet acts as one and has reverted the values of solidarity and humanity that they had been trying to preach and impose for centuries. The following article was written by two brilliant writers (Mia Couto and José Eduardo Agualusa) from Mozambique and Angola and the original in Portuguese can be found under the title "Duas Pandemias?" (two pandemics?).

"On the same day that Europe stopped flights from and to Maputo (Mozambique's capital), Mozambique registered 5 new cases and 0 deaths from COVID 19. In the rest of the Austral Africa the situation was similar. Meanwhile, most of the countries in Europe face a dramatic wave of new cases.
South African scientists were able to detect and identify a new variant of SARS Cov 19. They immediately and transparently shared their research and discoveries. Instead of being praised, theirs and the rest of their neighbouring countries were punished. Instead of offering African researchers their help, the European governments turned their backs on them.
You don't close borders, you close people, economies, societies, ways for progress. The punishment that these countries are now suffering will only endure the impoverishment that the citizens of these countries are being subjected to by the pandemic isolation.
Once again science became a hostage of politics. Once again, fear defeated reason. Once again, selfishness prevailed. The lack of solidarity was already present (and accepted) in the shocking disparities we saw during the distribution of the vaccines. While Europe is taking a 3rd dose and even discussing a 4th or a 5th, most African countries haven't benefited from a single shot. For example Botswana who paid for their fair share of vaccines was left in shock when they found out that those vaccinations were diverted to richer nations.
The European continent that so often claims to be the birth of science forgot the most important principles of science. Without proof of the geographical origin of this variant or it's true harm, the European governments imposed immediate restrictions regarding the traffic of citizens. The governments took the easiest and less efficient escape route: they built a wall to create a false image of safety. It was predictable that new variants would appear outside the walls of Europe. But there's no in or out of these walls. Viruses suffer mutations without any geographical preferences.
The African countries were once again discriminated against. And the social-economic effects of these new measures are hard to even imagine. But Austral Africa is far, far away. It's no longer just about lack of solidarity. It's about acting against science and humanity. "

AFONSO GUIMARÃES
MIA COUTO
JOSÉ EDUARDO AGUALUSA

This article is a translation of "Duas Pandemias?" by Mia Couto and José Eduardo Agualusa.
Translated with a foreword by Afonso, a portuguese volunteer from Praxis.

Violence against women - What can we do?

1/12/2021

Due to movements like the #metoo, many people have accepted that we have a problem with violence against women. But many people have no clue what they should do to change this besides maybe not raping anyone.
I often feel helpless and wonder if it is pointless to try and change something because the structures that lead to violence against women have existed for so many years and are rooted deep in our culture.
So, what can we actually do? In this topic everything starts and ends with eduction. And when I say education I don’t only mean sit-in-school-and-listen-to-your-teacher-education, though that certainIy plays a part, I mean all the places where you knowingly or mostly unknowingly learn things.
We have to make sure movies don’t romantazise violence against women as so many do (Yes Twilight, looking at you) because they can influence people to think violence is actually romantic. We have to call out sexism where we see it and have unpleasant discussions.
We have to pay attention to the little things. Because they never do stay little.
The problem is firstly that this influences almost every part of our lifes as sexism does so we have to look everywhere. And secondly that this process of relearning will take a long time.
So ultimately, we have to be patient and persistent in our efforts and accept that the world does not just change from today to tomorrow.

JULIA FÉAUX DE LACROIX

Julia is a German Volunteer involved in the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

A topic still too taboo

30/11/2021

HIV is one of the most serious public health challenges, over 37 million of people all around the world were contaminated in 2020.

So what is HIV ?
HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus which attacks the blood cells and makes a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. It is spread by contact with certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV, most commonly during unprotected sex (sex without a condom). It can’t really be cured, but if a person just gets the HIV, she can take medicines to slow down the virus.

Most of the time, people think that they can’t get the HIV, it’s not their problem but the thing is, it’s the problem of everyone. If two people have unprotected sex together for the first time without knowing the sexual past of each other, it can be dangerous. I mean everyone should be aware of this topic and protect themselves. We hear to many people say that if their partner doesn’t have the HIV, they don’t need to test themselves BUT that’s not the good way to think.
Indeed, at the beginning there is no symptoms, so take your partner with you and go to test yourselves together in a hospital, or a family center, most of the time it’s anonymous and for free.
Furthermore, if you feel that something is going wrong in your genital parts don’t be ashamed of going to a doctor who could help you to know what you have. If you have a sexually transmitted disease don’t forget to tell your partner. Moreover, don’t blame yourself and your partner neither because you have this illness. Your partner would feel guilty while it’s not his/her fault neither yours.

Don’t forget to protect yourself!

CELIA DOMEN

Célia is a French volunteer involved in the World AIDS day campaign