WEBVTT

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You might remember this image
of the chancellor Angela Merkel

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taking a selfie with a refugee

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This image and others like it

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have raised concerns 
in the German Parliament

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and many European parliaments

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putting the European Union
in a difficult spot.

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From the beginning there hasn't been 
a German consensus

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regarding an avalanche of refugees

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coming from the Middle East
and headed to Europe.

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The welcoming environment created 
by Angela Merkel at the beginning

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was not always appreciated by everyone.

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At the start, there were
those who supported her

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and others who didn't.

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Those who does not 
support her are increasing

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there are more of them
opposing her

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which will clearly take its toll 
on Angela Merkel.

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I don't want to get into details 
about Angela Merkel's political future

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but I'd like to mention
that she is, for me,

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one of the political figures
that currently

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has moral authority
in spite of her mistakes,

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which is something that
most current politicians lack.

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This graph shows the number of refugees

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that entered Germany last year.

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The first group is from Syria,
followed by the group from Iraq

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and the Afghan group.

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According to a UNICEF report 
published two weeks ago,

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half of those who flee from war

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are minors.

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The anti-refugee discourse is well known:

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"They will impose Islam on us."
"We are letting terrorists in."

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"We are loosing our identity."

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Also, it is true that 
there are people who support

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or show empathy with 
those who flee from war

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but I can also say
that within them

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there is a way to protect
against the political mistakes

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to avoid taking action,

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to not participate in 
initiatives which could

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at least calm these
serious personal situations.

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In both unofficial and official discourse

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stands out as something key 
to the integration of the refugees:

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learning German.

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I'm from Barcelona and I'm a linguist

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Four years ago I moved to 
Cologne, Germany,

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learning a language is key factor
for me as well,

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to be able to integrate,

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but not only is it a key factor 
for the refugees,

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but for all immigrants.

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I have been researching different aspects 
of German in multilingual environments

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for several years.

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My view is that language 
is not a final product

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that you could master.

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For me, language is a process 
that changes during one's lifetime,

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throughout the personal experiences
we have.

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Obviously, language 
is a powerful instrument

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for integration, for inclusion, but also

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a powerful instrument 
for social exclusion.

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If, for instance, you have
poor linguistic competence

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or you have a foreign accent,
or a dialect from a certain region,

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or, perhaps if you have
some sort of disability

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which affects the production
of your speech,

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say, for example, stammering,

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all of which are examples
that influence the way people

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will accept or reject you in a society.

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The use of language and 
identity is not static,

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it is something dynamic.

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It isn't like fingerprints,
that stay with you for life.

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Identity is something you
either create or forge

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based on the values and beliefs,
you families and friends give you

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and also about
what you really want to be,

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and what you really want to be
is related to your motivation,

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from the feeling of belonging
you have with other groups

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that you feel connected or identified

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and also in relation to 
interactions with groups

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that are completely different
to you.

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In the refugee centres in Germany

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free German lessons are offered,

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and we could think,
it is natural to think,

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that these people should be happy

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because they are able to 
have these German courses

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and should also be grateful.

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However, the absence of female teenagers 
is quite significant

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in these German groups,
in these activities.

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Think about this:

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these girls have a big burden,
many post traumatic disorders,

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due to an exodus, to a land
that no one had promised to them;

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they have seen how their
loved ones were murdered,

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how their homes were burned or bombed.

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Some other women, unfortunately, 
have been witnesses or victims of rape

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in this particular voyage,
from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria

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headed to Europe
or in this case, Germany.

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If you could put yourselves in their shoes

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would you be keen to take German classes

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or anything at all?

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If that wasn't enough,
these girls' families,

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parents, brothers and
other family members

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don't allow them to participate
in these activities

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because they think it's likely 
that it could damage them further.

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And the question is:

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What can we do so that
these girls start participating

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in this new society and integrate?

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This is the question that
four friends and I have been asking:

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in the red sweater, Sandra, 
then me, Lina and Peter.

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All of us, due to different reasons,
have a lot of connections with adolescence.

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Peter and I, by having 
15 years old daughters

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Sandra and Lina, for working
with this adolescent group.

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We thought:
what if we create a project

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where it wouldn't just be 
attractive for refugee girls,

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but also attractive for German girls?

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Could we unite them?

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Could we create a space
for them to interact

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and maybe that could help 
to transform their identity?

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That's how Hallofoto! was born.

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It is a intercultural project 
for 13 - 17 year old girls.

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The objectives of this project
were: to develop --

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well, firstly to create spaces
for interaction to occur

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so then with that develop
communication skills,

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and then the girls' creativity.

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We thought:

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If we develop both of them
it is certain that we will create

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the possibility for them to develop
their intercultural skills.

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Clearly, to develop communication skills

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learning German was something
they would have to do

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there was no other way

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and we utilised an innovative method:
Augmentative Communication Boards.

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These augmentative communication boards

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are tools for those who are not verbal,

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meaning that people who have
no spoken language.

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This condition can be 
present from birth, for example

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chilrden with severe
Autistm Spectrum Disorders,

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or, for example, children 
with cerebral palsy.

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This condition can also be
developed in adults,

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following a stroke, or an accident,

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or maybe following 
a neurodegenerative disease,

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such as Parkinson's.

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The boards that we used
on the project

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are based on pictograms
and a core vocabulary.

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The core vocabulary includes the words
that are repeated the most while speaking

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and this happens, not only in German,

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but even in Spanish, Catalan, 
Basque, English, etc.

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The girls accepted these instruments,

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and the data gathered from 
the project proves this,

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that they value it positively.

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In any case, for them this isn't
the most important factor

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to learn German, to have dreams,
to stay motivated,

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to actually really be willing
to participate in this new society.

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For them, the most significant things 
are our encounters

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organised at Hallafoto! 
through our project.

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They are intercultural encounters

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because we were promoting
face-to-face interactions

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among groups with 
totally different points of reference.

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This, for instance, is an image
from one of the gatherings.

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We organised the intercultural
gatherings by themes

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which were chosen by the girls.

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This theme is 
"Makeup and Hairdressing."

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In another gathering we went
to an adventure centre

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where there were zip lines,
balancing games and tunnels.

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The idea was not to create fear,
but to overcome it.

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They coordinated efforts,

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and it wasn't about
who had more or less fear,

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which group had more or less fear,

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it was simply each person
expressing themseleves individually.

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You can see it in their faces,

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you can't tell who feels fear.

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The point is that in this,
along with other gatherings --

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This is the one we did where they cooking

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they can see its meaning.

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And by building such meaning

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is what creates the 
sensation of a melting pot,

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one which will create bonds,

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some intercultural developments

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which go beyond the labels.

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Labels serve to generate
stereotypes and breed prejudices

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that don't take into account the great
richness that every one of us is,

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or that every one of us has.

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In addition to these communication skills

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we also wanted to develop creative skills.

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Creativity is the loving and 
cognitive expression of each individual.

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And if we activate this expression together,

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firstly, a space to generate things is 
developed, previously unthinkable,

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that are the mixtures of expressions

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where it is possible to see

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how the intercultural skills
are being forged.

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That is why these photography
workshops were done,

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to stimulate that creativity.

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Photography workshops were 
held by Peter and Sandra,

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they are the photographers
in the group.

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And these are the pictures

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that the girls took during the project.

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Sometimes they struck poses, on other times
they took the pictures. They decided.

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When one looks at those 
pictures, one might ask:

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Where is the "they"?
Where is the "us"?

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Frontiers are somehow very diluted.

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How do we define ourselves?

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Those pictures seemed so beautiful to us

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that we thought we should 
do an exhibition.

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However, we didn't want to do any
kind of exhibition

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not in an art gallery or museum.

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We wanted to take our pictures,
our exhibition, to an urban space

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and we had a vision.

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This is what it looked like:

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we wanted our girls to be in a tram,

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the tram of wishes.

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Our wish was to have a platform,

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that was a political declaration

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against sexism and xenophobia.

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We presented it to members of
Cologne's public transport system

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and they got very exited by it.

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And at the beginning of July last year,

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the tram was presented

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with the girl's pictures.

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(Applause)

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The project had far more
success that we ever imagined.

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In fact, newspapers referred 
to us as the perfect project

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to counter xenophobic tendencies

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that sadly are on the rise

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not only in Germany, but across Europe.

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In addition, many were those
who asked us

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if they could replicate the project,

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if they could create 
their special own Hallofoto!

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Due to this, we thought:

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We will licence it,
so that the whole world can use it.

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That is why the project
is in Creative Commons,

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and on this stage, in TEDxValladolid,

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I would like to invite anyone here
who wants to participate

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and start up your own
project, to do it.

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(Applause)

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And isn't what we've taught,
the four of us on the team,

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rather, it is what the girls 
have taught us.

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All of the participants have shown us

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ways to communicate and to interact.

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Firstly, they break stereotypes.

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Secondly, they make bonds.

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That have also created

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transformed, powerful and intercultural identities,

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and these intercultural identities
are not based on a consensus,

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but in mutual respect,

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in which they 
emphasise with one another

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by putting themselves in the other
person's shoes,

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to have that feeling of belonging.

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And that feeling of belonging

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is the one I have been feeling from you
while I was telling you about all of this,

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for which I am very grateful.

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(Applause)