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 alleviate 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 language 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 HalloFoto!
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 cultural mixture,
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 desire.
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)