You might remember this image of the chancellor Angela Merkel
taking a selfie with a refugee
This image and others like it
have raised concerns in the German Parliament
and many European parliaments
putting the European Union in a difficult spot.
From the beginning there hasn't been a German consensus
regarding an avalanche of refugees
coming from the Middle East and headed to Europe.
The welcoming environment created by Angela Merkel at the beginning
was not always appreciated by everyone.
At the start, there were those who supported her
and others who didn't.
Those who does not support her are increasing
there are more of them opposing her
which will clearly take its toll on Angela Merkel.
I don't want to get into details about Angela Merkel's political future
but I'd like to mention that she is, for me,
one of the political figures that currently
has moral authority in spite of her mistakes,
which is something that most current politicians lack.
This graph shows the number of refugees
that entered Germany last year.
The first group is from Syria, followed by the group from Iraq
and the Afghan group.
According to a UNICEF report published two weeks ago,
half of those who flee from war
are minors.
The anti-refugee discourse is well known:
"They will impose Islam on us." "We are letting terrorists in."
"We are loosing our identity."
Also, it is true that there are people who support
or show empathy with those who flee from war
but I can also say that within them
there is a way to protect against the political mistakes
to avoid taking action,
to not participate in initiatives which could
at least calm these serious personal situations.
In both unofficial and official discourse
stands out as something key to the integration of the refugees:
learning German.
I'm from Barcelona and I'm a linguist
Four years ago I moved to Cologne, Germany,
learning a language is key factor for me as well,
to be able to integrate,
but not only is it a key factor for the refugees,
but for all immigrants.
I have been researching different aspects of German in multilingual environments
for several years.
My view is that language is not a final product
that you could master.
For me, language is a process that changes during one's lifetime,
throughout the personal experiences we have.
Obviously, language is a powerful instrument
for integration, for inclusion, but also
a powerful instrument for social exclusion.
If, for instance, you have poor linguistic competence
or you have a foreign accent, or a dialect from a certain region,
or, perhaps if you have some sort of disability
which affects the production of your speech,
say, for example, stammering,
all of which are examples that influence the way people
will accept or reject you in a society.
The use of language and identity is not static,
it is something dynamic.
It isn't like fingerprints, that stay with you for life.
Identity is something you either create or forge
based on the values and beliefs, you families and friends give you
and also about what you really want to be,
and what you really want to be is related to your motivation,
from the feeling of belonging you have with other groups
that you feel connected or identified
and also in relation to interactions with groups
that are completely different to you.
In the refugee centres in Germany
free German lessons are offered,
and we could think, it is natural to think,
that these people should be happy
because they are able to have these German courses
and should also be grateful.
However, the absence of female teenagers is quite significant
in these German groups, in these activities.
Think about this:
these girls have a big burden, many post traumatic disorders,
due to an exodus, to a land that no one had promised to them;
they have seen how their loved ones were murdered,
how their homes were burned or bombed.
Some other women, unfortunately, have been witnesses or victims of rape
in this particular voyage, from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria
headed to Europe or in this case, Germany.
If you could put yourselves in their shoes
would you be keen to take German classes
or anything at all?
If that wasn't enough, these girls' families,
parents, brothers and other family members
don't allow them to participate in these activities
because they think it's likely that it could damage them further.
And the question is:
What can we do so that these girls start participating
in this new society and integrate?
This is the question that four friends and I have been asking:
in the red sweater, Sandra, then me, Lina and Peter.
All of us, due to different reasons, have a lot of connections with adolescence.
Peter and I, by having 15 years old daughters
Sandra and Lina, for working with this adolescent group.
We thought: what if we create a project
where it wouldn't just be attractive for refugee girls,
but also attractive for German girls?
Could we unite them?
Could we create a space for them to interact
and maybe that could help to transform their identity?
That's how Hallofoto! was born.
It is a intercultural project for 13 - 17 year old girls.
The objectives of this project were: to develop --
well, firstly to create spaces for interaction to occur
so then with that develop communication skills,
and then the girls' creativity.
We thought:
If we develop both of them it is certain that we will create
the possibility for them to develop their intercultural skills.
Clearly, to develop communication skills
learning German was something they would have to do
there was no other way
and we utilised an innovative method: Augmentative Communication Boards.
These augmentative communication boards
are tools for those who are not verbal,
meaning that people who have no spoken language.
This condition can be present from birth, for example
chilrden with severe Autistm Spectrum Disorders,
or, for example, children with cerebral palsy.
This condition can also be developed in adults,
following a stroke, or an accident,
or maybe following a neurodegenerative disease,
such as Parkinson's.
The boards that we used on the project
are based on pictograms and a core vocabulary.
The core vocabulary includes the words that are repeated the most while speaking
and this happens, not only in German,
but even in Spanish, Catalan, Basque, English, etc.
The girls accepted these instruments,
and the data gathered from the project proves this,
that they value it positively.
In any case, for them this isn't the most important factor
to learn German, to have dreams, to stay motivated,
to actually really be willing to participate in this new society.
For them, the most significant things are our encounters
organised at Hallafoto! through our project.
They are intercultural encounters
because we were promoting face-to-face interactions
among groups with totally different points of reference.
This, for instance, is an image from one of the gatherings.
We organised the intercultural gatherings by themes
which were chosen by the girls.
This theme is "Makeup and Hairdressing."
In another gathering we went to an adventure centre
where there were zip lines, balancing games and tunnels.
The idea was not to create fear, but to overcome it.
They coordinated efforts,
and it wasn't about who had more or less fear,
which group had more or less fear,
it was simply each person expressing themseleves individually.
You can see it in their faces,
you can't tell who feels fear.
The point is that in this, along with other gatherings --
This is the one we did where they cooking
they can see its meaning.
And by building such meaning
is what creates the sensation of a melting pot,
one which will create bonds,
some intercultural developments
which go beyond the labels.
Labels serve to generate stereotypes and breed prejudices
that don't take into account the great richness that every one of us is,
or that every one of us has.
In addition to these communication skills
we also wanted to develop creative skills.
Creativity is the loving and cognitive expression of each individual.
And if we activate this expression together,
firstly, a space to generate things is developed, previously unthinkable,
that are the mixtures of expressions
where it is possible to see
how the intercultural skills are being forged.
That is why these photography workshops were done,
to stimulate that creativity.
Photography workshops were held by Peter and Sandra,
they are the photographers in the group.
And these are the pictures
that the girls took during the project.
Sometimes they struck poses, on other times they took the pictures. They decided.
When one looks at those pictures, one might ask:
Where is the "they"? Where is the "us"?
Frontiers are somehow very diluted.
How do we define ourselves?
Those pictures seemed so beautiful to us
that we thought we should do an exhibition.
However, we didn't want to do any kind of exhibition
not in an art gallery or museum.
We wanted to take our pictures, our exhibition, to an urban space
and we had a vision.
This is what it looked like:
we wanted our girls to be in a tram,
the tram of wishes.
Our wish was to have a platform,
that was a political declaration
against sexism and xenophobia.
We presented it to members of Cologne's public transport system
and they got very exited by it.
And at the beginning of July last year,
the tram was presented
with the girl's pictures.
(Applause)
The project had far more success that we ever imagined.
In fact, newspapers referred to us as the perfect project
to counter xenophobic tendencies
that sadly are on the rise
not only in Germany, but across Europe.
In addition, many were those who asked us
if they could replicate the project,
if they could create their special own Hallofoto!
Due to this, we thought:
We will licence it, so that the whole world can use it.
That is why the project is in Creative Commons,
and on this stage, in TEDxValladolid,
I would like to invite anyone here who wants to participate
and start up your own project, to do it.
(Applause)
And isn't what we've taught, the four of us on the team,
rather, it is what the girls have taught us.
All of the participants have shown us
ways to communicate and to interact.
Firstly, they break stereotypes.
Secondly, they make bonds.
That have also created
transformed, powerful and intercultural identities,
and these intercultural identities are not based on a consensus,
but in mutual respect,
in which they emphasise with one another
by putting themselves in the other person's shoes,
to have that feeling of belonging.
And that feeling of belonging
is the one I have been feeling from you while I was telling you about all of this,
for which I am very grateful.
(Applause)