C o m p o s i n gMult icultura l ismComposing Multiculturalism

Lisbon, June 2015

Composing Multiculturalism

C o m p o s i n gMult icultura l ism

Composing MulticulturalismIn June 2015 Associao Spin promoted Composing Multiculturalism, an

international training course supported by the Erasmus+ Youth in Action

programme. The program gathered, 24 youth workers and youngsters from 9

countries around Europe for 10 days in Lisbon.

Having so many different cultures coexisting together is one of Europes main

riches. However, its not always perceived like this. The events of the first two

decades of the twenty-first century have showed us that its crucial to respect

others and to understand each others culture and ways of interpreting reality.

Europe was built by many countries and cultures together, so its critical not

to forget the importance of multiculturalism and all its benefits.

In an economically and socially challenging moment, like the 2008 financial

crisis and its aftermath, it is important that the coexistence of these cultures and

ways of thinking is perceived as positive, treasured and promoted, enabling each

culture to provide its best characteristics to the development of Europe and the

World.

Based on the belief that photography is a powerful medium, able to transmit

messages, change minds and attitudes, the course intended to provide participants

from Czech Republic, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia

and Spain with the possibility to use photography as an instrument to communi-

cate and foster multiculturalism.

Participants learned how to use Photography as a tool to transmit a specific

message, especially a message that promotes the benefits of multiculturalism,

reinforcing peoples awareness of other cultures, promoting intercultural dia-

logue, eliminating prejudice and fostering an inclusive society.

By the end of the training course, participants were asked to reflect on multi-

culturalism and translate it to photographic projects.

This book, along with a website and a photo exhibition in Lisbon, is the show-

case of the participants individual projects.

This project was funded bythe European Union

Composing Multiculturalism

http://cmtc.a-spin.pt

Pastel de Nata

Name: Agnija Kazusa

Country: Latvia

Motivation: I (...) want to take part in this training

course to exchange ideas and learn of possible ways of

spreading multiculturalism in a natural way embracing each

and every form of diversity. I was very excited to see that

photography will be used as a method to communicate and

foster multiculturalism. I think it is a very good instrument

to use: in order to embrace the difference, we must see them

at first and feel happy about them.

2015 Agnija Kazusa - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

It was an early morning in October 2010 when my Japanese friend and

I arrived in Shanghai for the World Expo. There, we met another Japa-

nese girl, a friend of my friend, who received us with a box of yellowish

pastries. Please have, she invited us standing with an open box. We took

one each and immediately surrendered to the creamy, sweet and delicious

taste of the pastry that she called an egg tart.

After that first time, I returned to China several times and ate many

more egg tarts. I found them mostly in the southern parts of China.

Moreover, I thought I should somehow bring this miracle home and

introduce it to my family as Chinese traditional pastry. It was hard to

make it happen though. The distance between China and Europe was too

long to bring the egg tart home fresh. Having completed my mission in Chi-

na, I returned to Europe to do an internship at the European Commission

in Brussels. While observing and learning how Europe is governed, I also

learnt who actually governs the delicious pastry that I tasted in China.

There was a Portuguese lady working in my unit. One day, she brought to

the office egg tarts and introduced them as Portuguese traditional pastries.

Oh, you also have them, I boldly intervened, convinced that those must

be Chinese egg tarts. No, they are Portuguese, she argued. Thats how I

learnt the truth.

A few years later, I went to Portugal. My heart jumped each time when

I saw those cute, round, crme pastries, sprinkled with cinnamon and

powdered sugar. Seeing them in small bakeries all over Lisbon was like

reassuring to myself again and again, that they come from Portugal. But

even then I could not abandon the Chinese relation that my story had. If

not the pastry, the presence of China in Lisbon was obvious on streets, in

food and culture. This is how I met Van, a Chinese man living in Portugal

for more than twenty years. Over a cup of coffee, he told me that Pastel de

Nata has come to China recently. No more than 10-15 years ago, he spec-

ified. It actually spread from Hong Kong where an English man opened a

small Pastel de Nata bakery. He got the idea from Macau, the first Euro-

pean colony in China by the Portuguese.

No doubt, the Portuguese are proud of their pastry. Manteigaria bakery

in Lisbon offers not only to buy, but also see the making of Pastel de Nata.

They say that Chinese egg tart is more eggy whereas in Portugal, they use

lemon juice and cinnamon to fade away the taste of egg. Meanwhile, The

World Needs Nata bakery on the other corner believes, that Nata was

born to take the most delicious sweet taste from Lisbon to the four corners

of the planet. That is how I will finally bring Pastel de Nata home. Fresh

from the oven, packed in a box of six, it will need to survive only a few

hours on a plane to Riga, where I will introduce it as a pastry that comes

from Portugal.

Name: Pastel de Nata

Date of Birth: Before 18th century

Country of Birth: Portugal

Parents: Catholic monks at the Jernimos Monastery

Places visited: Angola, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde,

France, Goa, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Macau, Mainland

China, Malacca, Mozambique, Timor-Leste, the United States, and others

I first tasted it in China.

Van from China (on the left) says that

Pastel de Nata spread in China from

Hong Kong, where it was brought

from Macau, a Portuguese former

colony.

In Portugal, they use lemon juice and

cinnamon to fade away the taste of

egg, whereas Chinese egg tart is more

eggy.

Fresh from the oven, packed in a box

of six, it is easy to bring Pastel de

Nata home.

Name: Aneta Blachewicz

Country: Poland

Motivation: Id like to connect the two areas which I

studied both by myself and at the University separately.

Never Better

2015 Aneta Blachewicz - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

In 2011, Jonathan Ornstein coined the provocative slogan Never

Better. The purpose was to make people aware that the Jewish community

living in our country is not the past, or a separate entity, but that the Jews

are an inseparable part of the polish society and a strong community in

Krakow. The words Never Better were deliberately disorienting coun-

terpoint to the slogan Never Again, associated with the memory of the

Holocaust and the fight against prejudice against Jews.

Words Never Better, however, have not indicative of the amount of

things or functioning institutions such as the JCC, which greatly revo-

lutionized and integrated Krakow Jews, but mainly on the conditions in

which the Jewish community coexists with people of other ethnic and

national pedigrees and functions in contemporary realities. Moreover,

according to Jonathan Ornstein, there were no more optimistic times for

being a Jew in Krakow as they are nowadays.

This slogan has inspired me to ask women associated with the Jewish

community, or persons who have Semitic ancestors of how to define the

concept of happiness. The result is a dozen of works that bring to their

personal definition of happiness. Do the words Never Better and authen-

tically also will remain in the coming decades?

Find it out with these photos with shared stories and definition of

happiness and lets hope so...

I think that Im happy. This is despite the Holocaust, which I survived

with my mother. It seems to me that I used my life well. I enjoy my family.

I have a place to live beside my home, and this is the place - the JCC, where

all generations meet. This place, the quality of life ... I was missing it ear-

lier.

I have nearly 80 years. Here, in the JCC, we meet, and when I hear

these enthusiastic voices of younger members of the Jewish community, I

feel that we have a future. I enjoy the people. Moreover, since I survived

the Holocaust, I talk to groups about my experiences. Furthermore, I take

an active part in the religious life. I share my knowledge and I am needed.

And this is much more important than many things.

Man, therefore, to have and to feel happiness, it must be needed, re-

spected. I feel that every moment is meaningful.

For me, happiness is a sense of inner peace.

When I do not feel fear of the next day and what

surrounds me, when in my heart there is no uncer-

tainties, Im happy.

I do not know if its better now than in the

past because I live in the here and now, not back

then. Its very difficult for me to compare. It is well

because I have ideas, the joy of their realization,

and they help me to build up on common shares

tightening ties and relationships with others. A lot

of my positive energy is put into it, to teach, interest,

show and give.

It is somehow like never better because still

Krakow as a city, and as a place for Jews, requires

a lot of work and a lot of effort. Such work and

such efforts seem to me beneficial to humans. My

happiness is also the fact that I can be a witness of

the changes taking place nowadays and to attend to

them.

I refer to the words Never better critically. The

times for the Jewish community are not the best in

the light of current Israeli policies, both internal and

external. Jews do not want war with a Palestine, but

it reflects and effects on the entire Jewish community

around the world. The modern Jewish nationalism is

on the one hand anti anti-Semitism, and on the other

kind of fake folklore for show, theatricals. We enjoy

this show of folklore for the show nicely, because

its some kind of a counter-attack to rooted and still

existing anti-Semitism. I understand bringing the

flag as sympathy and solidarity. But Israels cur-

rent policy boils down to the fact that, for example,

eighteen year olds feel remorse because they wonder

whether rattle off compulsory military service and

having peace or to desert and face potential difficul-

ties until the end of their lives. They are forced to

make decisions contrary to their attitudes. It deprives

them of their freedom of choice.

I believe that the happiness is something you

have to fight for, especially here in Poland, where

i.e. the right to a contract of employment is respected

sufficiently. Personally, I am a member of the Anar-

chist Federation and the Workers Initiative.

Name: Eduardo Gonalves

Country: Portugal

Motivation: A new experience in a beautiful city like

lisbon with so much cultural diversity and beautiful places

to shoot.

2015 Eduardo Gonalves - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

In June 2015, I joined the project Composing multiculturalism, my first

experience of the sort. This progress led me to meeting new people from

different cultures.

In light of these experiences and the fact of having to develop a pro-

ject of my own, I looked at my own culture differently, in this case for my

sub culture, the world of skateboarding.

These images are the reflection of my view of this lifestyle and the

different ways it is perceived in the different places where he spent the

last two months.

Name: Eggert Arason

Country: Iceland

Feet

2015 Eggert Arason - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Stephen Hawking once said Look up at the stars and not down at your

feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the

universe exist. Be curious.

The universe is big and to make sense of it one can try and narrow it

down to something smaller. In this project we look at feet, and try to make

sense of what we see and how to find their place in the universe.

Name: Ilona Karamon

Country: Poland

Motivation: I would like to gain the knowleadge on how

to take a good photo, learn about the technical things con-

nected with camera functions etc. I would like to meet new

people and learn more about multiculturalism. The topic of

cultures was always one of the most interesting for me. Com-

bining these things with great people and an amazing place I

hope to have a lot of fun.

The Faces of Lisbon

2015 Ilona Karamon - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

In my project I would like to present the variety of Lisbon. The term

of variety includes the culture reflected in the architecture of buildings,

monuments, streets, districts, food, and some customs which I was able to

see. Through the photos I want to tell my personal story about the oldest

capital in Europe, which is considered to be the city of multiculturalism.

Lisbon combines the rich history and tradition with modernity.

Walking in Bairro Alto or Alafama district we can hear the Fado music

or spend long hours eating sardines and dancing during the St. Antonio

festival.

However the Baixa or Chiado district have a wide offer of shops, coffee

house, restaurants and entertainments for tourists.

In Belm district it is worth to see the Monument to the Discoveries,

go to the Navy Museum, Monastery of the Jernimos or try the famous

cookies called Pasteis de Belm. Lisbon is the city of different faces. It

is rich in history and full of people from the whole world All different

races.

Many tourists come here to try delicious food, swim in the ocean or

just feel this specific atmosphere.For me personally Lisbon is the city of

discrepancy. Joy is mixed with sadness, beauty with ugliness and peace

with noise -and I would like to present it in my project.

Name: Jana Sklov

Country: Czech Republic

Other CultureThis project is a documentary series of photos about people who

come from a particular culture, but who are also interested in a different

culture. These people are in the same age category and currently living in

Prague, Czech republic.

If you live in a free country you can decide how your life would be like.

What you want to do, what traditions, habits and customs do you want to

have. Lot of people prefer traditions and habits of different cultures.

There are five young people showed in this project:

Miroslav, 25, graphic designer, interested in Nepal culture

Marta, 26, artist, interested in Japan culture

Nikola, 25, fashion designer, interested in Psytrance subculture

Sandra, 26, PR editor, interested in Czech culture

Paola, 24, model, interested in many cultures

2015 Jana Sklov - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Name: Lucia Hurajov

Country: Slovakia

Motivation: I think the first step towards multicultural-

ism is to raise awareness to helping people realize the differ-

ences, to respect and value it and finally to avoid stereotyp-

ing. Photography captures emotions that can further trigger

the emotions of those wholl look at it and possibly leading

to change. Through photography I would like to express the

idea that difference does not mean wrong and that there is a

lot in it to learn about.

Sport, used properly, challenges prejudices, heals divisions and champions tolerance.

Kofi Annan, 2010

Colourful Sport At its simplest, of course, sport and physical activity improve mental

and physical well-being and resistance to disease. But the positive benefits

of sport go much further than its physical and mental impact for the in-

dividual. It is vital, too, for the health and strength of our societies. Sport,

especially team sports, holds a strong promise for understanding within

cultures and across cultures. While bringing people from diverse cultures

together towards a common goal, sport promotes tolerance, cooperation

and respect for others values that are much needed to approach a more

inclusive society.

Indeed, sport has become a world language, a common denominator

that breaks down more and more barriers. Nevertheless, it is sadly not yet

the case that racism, xenophobia or related intolerance has been rooted out

of sport. However, youll hardly find a team sport that actively encourages

the propagation of multiculturalism as much as football. That game is a

positive vehicle for constantly furthering understanding and enabling the

kind of cultural coexistence we should all long to see in wider society.

What football shows is that it doesnt matter which country you, or

your parents or grandparents are from, everyones the same and players can

all get on and work together in harmony. So is the case of Slovak football

club AS Trencn, which is unusually culturally diverse when compared

to the rest of the Slovak teams. Such was brought together with the Dutch

owner of mixed Chinese descent in 2007 and it proved to be very effective.

(Some of the players were asked how they perceive it to be part of the

multicultural team.)

2015 Lucia Hurajov - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Gino (Dutch-Curaao)

I really think its an advantage to have foreign players in the team. Because in

every country they have a different style of football. And by this way you can

learn from everybody.

Milan (Serbian)

The point of good harmony in the multicultural team (society) depends of good

relationships between the players (people).Therefore it doesnt matter from

which country or religion you are, it is important that you are really good

person so you can easily become part of the collective.

Daniel (Slovak)

I think it is great how cultures are increasingly mixing and interacting now-

adays. It makes people more open-minded and tolerant. Yet, it is a bit more

complicated in sports as foreign players are sometimes more valued and

therefore represent an unwanted competition that can eventually result in

tensions. I personally perceive multiculturalism very positively and sport is a

good example where the common interest promotes harmony.

Ibrahim (Nigerian)

For me playing in Europe is a very good education, because it has provided me

with pthe ossibility to meet so many people from all over the world and with

different characters. Always I try to understand everyone and live in harmo-

ny with everybody. It is what makes me feel social and how to understand a

lot of things in life.

Jairo (Brazilian)

In every aspect, I always try to take advantage of the differences between

people, which is not difficult. Being among people of different cultural back-

grounds makes you open your mind about others culture and realize how big

the world is. It also turns you into a better person by teaching you daily how to

accept and respect the singularities of human beings.

Stanko (Slovak)

I dont know what to say. It is so natural to me to have black players in a team,

I do not make any difference. If they are not arrogant towards the others, then

they are highly welcomed. So it is about the personality above all.

Name: Magdalena Baranowska

Country: Poland

The Flavours of Many CulturesPoland is a country which is relatively culturally homogeneous. It is

very hard, even in large cities, to see if you can get to know foreign cul-

tures. To know for example. We can observe Japanese culture tourists, go to

a museum or go to a Japanese restaurant and eat the famous sushi. With all

of these elements it is easier to feel the culture of another country through

tasting dishes, served in many restaurants which serve foreigners, which

from year to year is increasing. And so in recent years, countless places

are serving Arabic cuisine, Japanese, Georgian, Chinese, French, Italian.

In addition, visiting different countries, we can see that every country

has its own distinctive product, often sold on the street. For example, the

Hungarians have knocks, turks - kebab and Poles - Krakow bagels or

oscypki (sheep cheese). This is an element that often uniquely identifies

the culture of the country.

Through this project, I would like to show these two elements. On the

one hand, the influence of other cultures on the culinary map of Krakow

and on the other elements of street food in Krakow.

2015 Magdalena Baranowska - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Name: Mara Ezquerro

Country: Spain

Motivation: It mixes two things that Im interested

in: the topic of interculturality and to improve my skills in

photography. Learn how to manage photography related to

multiculturalism. Learn about how the host organization

is working in this field. Improve my skills in photography.

Seeing other perspectives.

The End of RamadanIts a great issue, when people from different countries and religions

mingle and share time and experiences together. In this case, the purpose

was to celebrate the End of Ramadan in an open area in city of Logroo

where Muslim people invited all the citizens to join them in this important

event.

The weather was perfect and many people came throughout the

evening. Two things stood out during the celebration: People were cheer-

ful and enjoying it and there was a harmonious atmosphere. Also, inter-

actions and cultural diversity were taking place in the square. By coinci-

dence, in this space is the Cathedral of the town, which was an interesting

contrast related to the religious diversity.

All these feelings and scenes are what Ive tried to show in my photos,

through the portrait of people especially women, and some instances that

were significant for me. I wanted to show women as the protagonists of my

pictures, on one hand because usually its difficult to be allowed to take

picture of them (in the case of Muslim women), so this project was a great

excuse to do it, and on the other, to empower and provide visibility to them.

2015 Mara Ezquerro - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Name: Marica Crotti

Country: Italy

2015 Marica Crotti - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Name: Mikelis Jakunovs

Country: Latvia

2015 Mikelis Jakunovs - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Name: Ondrej Kobza

Country: Czech Republic

People in European Cities and Towns

2015 Ondrej Kobza - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Name: Rocio Corona

Country: Spain

2015 Rocio Corona - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Names: Sintija Bernava and Joo Joaquim

Countries: Latvia and Portugal

Motivations: As I work with very complicated youths,

I would like to gain new creative approaches for my future

work with the youths, to motivate them and to raise their

personal development and potential. New creative methods

and approaches what could help to make my work more

interesting for youths with fewer opportunities.

Scream for FreedomAccording to the World Health Organisation measures poverty is

associated with the undermining of a range of key human attributes,

including health. The poor are exposed to greater personal and environ-

mental health risks, are less well nourished, have less information and

are less able to access health care; they thus have a higher risk of illness

and disability. Conversely, illness can reduce household savings, lower

learning ability, reduce productivity, and lead to a diminished quality of

life, thereby perpetuating or even increasing poverty.

Poverty is often defined in absolute terms of low income , but in reality,

the consequences of poverty exist on a relative scale. The poorest of the

poor, around the world, have the worst health. Within countries, the

evidence shows that in general the lower an individuals socioeconomic

position the worse their health. There is a social gradient in health that

runs from top to bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum.

To minimize poverty is a major goal and issue for many international

organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank etc. According the

data of the World Bank around 1.29 billion people were living in absolute

poverty in 2008. Of these, about 400 million people in absolute poverty

lived in India and 173 million people in China. Between 1990 and 2010,

about 663 million people moved above the absolute poverty level. Never-

theless, given the current economic model, built on GDP it would take 100

years to bring the worlds poorest up to the standard poverty line of $1.25

a day.

Extreme poverty is a global challenge; it is observed in all parts of the

world, including developed economies.

UNICEF estimates half the worlds children live in poverty.

Poverty is a global phenomenon.

The main aim of this photography project is to show the true face of

poverty in 21st century and to remind that poverty affects not only low

income countries.

2015 Sintija Bernava and Joo Joaquim - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless.

The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest

poverty. We must start in our own homes to fight against this extreme

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expen-

sive it is to be poor.

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the pow-

er to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.

Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, sickness

and captivity would, without this comfort, be insupportable.

Richness in the world is a result of other peoples poverty Poverty is the absence of all human rights. The frustrations, hostility and

anger generated by abject poverty cannot sustain peace in any society.

Poverty is the worst form of violence.

Helping people boost themselves out of poverty is the best way to make a

lasting positive difference in a persons life.

A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast

of poverty and wealth.v

Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer

from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.

As poverty has been reduced in terms of mere survival, it has become more

profound in terms of our way of life.

Names: Slveig Gautadttir

Country: Iceland

Motivation: I have a huge interest in photography and

the message the camera can send. Experiencing different

cultures and getting to know people from all over Europe

with different perspectives on life.

Final Destination: Ipad, chocolate and images of the past.The basis of my project was to get to know people by the things they

bring to their final destination (homes for the elderly), their treasures.

Among the things I saw were; Ipad, chocolate, homemade tapestries and

images of the past. The old people I photographed were all over 85 years

old the oldest was 94. They had one thing in common their most

treasured things were pictures of their beloved ones memories.

2015 Slveig Gautadttir - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Name: Sonia Tisu

Country: Romania

Motivation: I would like to learn more about photogra-

phy in a multicultural environment. I would also like to

share ideas and experiences with other people in this field

and make connections with them.

2015 Sonia Tisu - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

Name: Veronika Strelcova

Country: Slovakia

Motivation: Its great content. I am looking for the

opportunity to make positive changes that are beneficial,

not only for individuals but for society as a whole. I think

connection of composition and multiculturalism is a very

inspiring idea that can lead us to powerful outcomes when

used correctly.

Bananas and the BoxWe are, who we are. They dress us up. They dress us up every single

day in the roles they design for us to match their game. And we play.

Once, we were born absolutely free, unattached, and vulnerable. Seeing

each other by each others eyes, looking from the outside, never being

able to reach inward to the world. Afraid of been unveiled. Furies of fear.

Hiding inner depths inside. Establishing, emphasizing, extending the gap

between us. The endogenic enemy. Between us and them. Between me and

you. Between myself.

We are just bananas. Bananas and nothing more. But nothing less. We

wear our skin as one wears clothes. We play our daily roles according to

how one had once staged the drama that goes on now automatically. Driven

by our little fears and nourished aggressions. We were just bananas. When

humankind was born. We grow in diversity, we grow in colours. Great,

proud, powerful. Nothing less than bananas. Slight glimpses of light,

ageing, place, bodies, do not make us who we are. The outside eyes, do not

make us who we are. We are, who we are. Naked, simple, bare. Diversity is

in ideas, our dreams, personal stories and experiences. We are just bananas.

Nothing more, but nothing less. There is no us. There is no them. Get out of

box. Be the same as when we were born. Strip. Let yourself live outside of

the box. Let yourself see with your true eyes. Can you?

2015 Veronika Strelcova - All rights reserved to Associo Spin

With the support of:

This project was funded bythe European Union

C o m p o s i n gMult icultura l ismComposing Multiculturalism

Project Design and implementation

Associao Spin

Trainers

Aneta DawidziukMaria Wrblewska

Jos LimaValter Costa

Book design by

Spin D.I.C

2015 Associao Spin - All rights reserved