Discover there is more to people than meets the eye through the ‘EQuê?!’ Campaign

For those of you who follow the Juventude Cruz Vermelha Braga page on Facebook, you will have hopefully been aware of the weekly pictures being posted for our ‘EQuê?!’ campaign over the course of the last couple of months.

The ‘EQuê?!’ campaign focuses on stereotypes. Preconceived ideas and beliefs we inherit socially, stereotypes can be placed on specific groups of individuals or certain ways of doing things. They are notions that exist and are omnipresent in our day to day life, and can have a strong influence on how we both think and act. Stereotypes have developed over the course of time, whilst new ones continue to develop, becoming part of an individual’s psyche through the influence of family, literature, internet and media, among other mediums.

Some argue stereotypes are a natural way for us to categorise, understand, and give meaning to the world around us, though I would contest how naturally these develop. We may develop these beliefs through natural assimilation but the agendas of certain people and organisations mean they impose certain immoral ideas on us that we then take on, either consciously or subconsciously. A current and highly topical example is the stereotyping of 1.7 billion Muslims as terrorists and a threat to Western ideals – like these ideals are superior to all others - by certain individuals and sections of the media in order to fit their agenda, a ghastly case of ignorance and racism. Therefore, to say stereotypes are dangerous is an understatement, they are extremely threatening. Generalisations like this can lead to discrimination of various degrees and undermine people’s understanding of one another. As a result, it is a feasible to argue that stereotypes actually hold us back and that we should do our utmost to counteract them, instead spreading a positive message.

This is where JCV – Braga’s ‘EQuê?!’ campaign comes in. Most appropriately translated as ‘SoWhat?!’, ‘EQuê?!’ is a campaign looking to challenge common stereotypes that have developed, dispelling the idea that people can be forced into certain categories or characterised in particular ways. With all of us at some point or another in our lives being judged or labelled, we want to show that stereotypes do not in fact reflect our reality and that there is more to people than simply meets the eye.

An online photographic project, each week a new image is shared on the Juventude Cruz Vermelha Braga page on Facebook, where we encourage everyone to like and share the image so that we can have as far-reaching an impact as possible. The participants are those who we encounter regularly in our daily lives and we want to show, that despite seemingly appearing to fit in to certain categories or groups, that they are unique people who challenge stereotypes due to their individual characteristics, qualities and experiences. They remind us, that despite differences, they are equal to us and each of us is our own individual being with our own identity; we cannot be shoehorned into categories. At the end of the article I will share with you the link to the relevant Facebook page as well as including all the photos that have been published thus far.

The ‘EQuê?!’ campaign is actually really simple in its premise. All it requires is some willing participants to have their photographs taken, holding a placard demystifying a common stereotype that if often levelled against them but is completely erroneous. Then after a little photo editing to include all the campaign images they are ready to be shared online. Following this it is a case of getting the word out and working hard to make sure the campaign reaches as many people as possible. Clearly a lot of this is done through social media but other efforts, including this blog, can help spread the message. Last week, Tania and Luis also conducted an interview with RUM, the University of Minho’s radio station in order to help disseminate the message further.

The link for the corresponding article on RUM’s website can be found here:

http://rum.pt/news/juventude-cruz-vermelha-de-braga-quer-quebrar-preconceitos

The phrase ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ is very applicable here. We hope this campaign will show there is more to people than meets the eye. I believe that this campaign contains a very important message and each and every one of us can take something from it. You may learn something new or realise that, for example, you had a preconceived idea about a particular group, whether intentional or not, and a relevant image discredits that belief.

Additionally, if you want to be more involved, you could be one of our participants! Take a look at the photos below and consult the Facebook page, and if you feel that you dispel a stereotype you can take a photo demonstrating just that. Just write your message on a white card and make sure you include the campaign name, ‘EQuê?!’ Then you can email your photo to us at dbraga.juventude@cruzvermelha.org.pt. It really is simple and does not take long and in doing so you will be helping to disseminate the message that stereotypes are misleading.

So, take the time to understand our motivations and objectives by having a look at the campaign and help spread our work to create a Juventude sem Rótulos! (Youth without Labels!)

This is a link to the Facebook page of Juventude Cruz Vermelha Braga:

https://www.facebook.com/JCVbraga/

You can also go directly to the campaign photos by using this link:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/JCVbraga/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10154672594941542

Here are the campaign photos thus far:

"I am blind but, I am independent, I work, I walk,
I take care of myself - E Quê?!"

"I am Muslim. I am not a terrorist. I stand for peace - E Quê?!"

"I have Down syndrome and I have a shop! - E Quê?!"

"Rasta does not always equal drugs! - E Quê?!"

"When I get emotional I cry! - E Quê?!"

"I am a woman and I don't need help parking the car"
"But I do - E Quê?!"

"I am Catholic and I go to mass every Sunday - E Quê"

"I am the coach tor for the national futsal team, and I dedicate my
free time to children with special educational needs - E Quê?!"

"I finished my bachelor's degree at 36 years old - E Quê?!"

"I am Muslim and I choose to wear a Hijab."
"I am also Muslim and I choose not to wear - E Quê?!"

"I was born, I grew up and I lived in a problematic neighbourhood
and I am not a delinquent - E Quê?!"

"I am a boy and my favourite colour is pink - E Quê?!

"I am Roma, I study, I work and I am single! - E Quê?!"

"Getting married? I choose not to do- E Quê?!"

"I am Roma and I promote the empowering of women - E Quê?!"

Fomos Embrulhar uma Causa!

Throughout the busy run-up to Christmas, Juventude Cruz Vermelha – Delegação de Braga once again embarked on one of its biggest annual actions, Venha Embrulhar uma Causa! This year led by the first-rate efforts of Rita Vaz, this campaign was an important part of raising funds that will allow the vital work undertaken at JCV to continue into the future.

The concept was simple; members of the public were able to bring their gifts to us and we wrapped them all ready to be given for Christmas! Continente supplied all the materials required such as wrapping paper whilst JCV provided the motivated and enthusiastic workforce. Whilst we were like busy bees wrapping away, we also explained to the public why we were undertaking the action and if they chose to do so, they were able to make a small donation, for which we are grateful, no matter how big or small the sum.

Therefore, every day from the 25^th November right up until Christmas Eve, from half past eight in the morning until half past eleven at night, you would have been able to find a group of volunteers located outside the Continente supermarkets at Nova Arcada and The Minho Center respectively, eagerly waiting to wrap presents.

Requiring a huge effort from so many people, it brought volunteers together from all different areas of Juventude as well as introducing new people to our work.  In total, nearly 500 fantastic volunteers came together to help fill approximately 1500 shifts. Both of the wrapping stations were in operation for a total of 465 hours each over the Christmas period! As such, it led to paths crossing that had not before, the action granting myself and others the opportunity to meet new people and learn more about what it is they do, whether they were a veteran or completely new volunteer.

An experience that can certainly have been described as stressful at times, you certainly felt the pressure of wrapping other peoples’ gifts for them. As a result, it was always key to remind yourself that you were not expected to be an expert in the art of gift wrapping - though it would have made things a lot easier - but rather that you were volunteering for a good cause and can only give it your best.

As well as allowing me to meet new people, Venha Embrulhar uma Causa was the perfect environment for me to practice my Portuguese, something that requires constant work as I look to master the language. Often the client began talking to me in Portuguese at 100kmh but once I explained that it is not my first language they slowed their speech for me. There were also several cases where people took the opportunity to switch to English; everyone often seems keen to practice themselves and I didn’t want to begrudge them the opportunity, even though I was keen to practice my Portuguese. However, I definitely think the experience benefited my Portuguese; at the very least I am now able to say ‘vermelho ou amarelho papel?’ like I have been saying it my entire life.

Finally the 24^th December arrived and with it came down the curtains on another year of Christmas wrapping. In order to celebrate the efforts of everyone’s hard work a lavish evening was arranged at Lustre in the centre of Braga on 7^th January. There, all those who had volunteered were able to come together to enjoy each other’s company, eat some marvellous food, as well as have a bit of a boogie. However, before the dancing could commence, some important announcements were made! Firstly to thank all who had taken part in the campaign, followed by the awarding of prizes to the three volunteers who had completed the most hours of wrapping. First prize was brunch for two but despite my best efforts I couldn’t convince the winner to take me! Then, finally, it was time to declare just how much had been raised. In total, Venha Embrulhar uma Causa raised a total of 9,258.81€ in 2016! This was an extraordinary success, with the generosity of the public resulting in a final total with an increase of over 2500€ on the previous year.

Finally, already mentioned in the opening, a big shout must also go out to Rita, who was responsible for organising the whole event this year. Rita worked tirelessly to make sure everything ran smoothly during the campaign and spent what must have been a considerable amount of time on the phone asking people when they were available to help; I wouldn’t like to see the phone bill for December! I believe, if it was not for Rita’s efforts, it is feasible to think that Venha Embrulhar uma Causa 2016 would not have been anywhere near as successful as it turned out to be.

SVE - This, That and Everything!

In the midst of being very busy with lots of different interesting and exciting things, it has unfortunately been a while since I have been able to update the Red Cross Blog. Deni, Carlotta, Alifya, and I have all been keeping ourselves very occupied, so I thought a good way to get things up and running again would be to provide you all with a quick insight of what it actually is we have all been doing.

So in no particular order, Alifya, like all of us, has been getting involved in lots of different things. One of those has been to take and edit the photos for a new campaign Juventude Cruz Vermelha de Braga has just launched entitled, ‘E Quê?!’ I am planning on writing a more detailed article about this in the near future but in a nutshell, this project is a series of photos that will be released through social media to show how the use of stereotypes is erroneous and misleading. As well as this, Alifya is also in the process of completing an application to the European Commission who have called for creative proposals that challenge xenophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Islamism, and other forms of phobia related to race. Alifya, who has named her project ‘Through my Eyes’, has come up with a really intelligent idea to utilize the new technology of virtual reality. The idea is for each individual to undergo a virtual reality experience, where they will step into the shoes of refugees and dedicate three minutes of their lives to see through the eyes of a displaced person. On top of all this, Alifya has also recently begun interviewing Romani from the different Roma communities across the North of Portugal. Alifya’s intention is to reproduce these interviews in a magazine which will also include photos and a brief insight to each of the Roma communities in the north of Portugal.

E Quê? Campaign

Now we turn to Deni who is also working with Alifya to complete the project proposal ‘Through my Eyes’ for the European Commission. As well as this Deni’s main focus has been on the Roma community. Deni’s intention is to present various aspects of Romani life such as their culture, daily life and the traditions of the various communities located around the North of Portugal. This will be carried out through the creation of an online platform where Deni hopes to present all these different aspects through various formats such as interviews, photos and videos so that people will be able to begin to develop a deeper understanding of Roma life and help to remove some of the stigmas and stereotypes levelled against them.

A group of Romani being interviewed by Deni and Alifya

Next we have Carlotta who has been doing what she does best and been putting her creative skills to good use. Carlotta spent a lot of time creating Cadernetas for the children at Geração Tecla, which included some beautiful watercolour paintings. The purpose of these booklets, as Carlotta has described, is to record the attendance of the children at school as well as recording their good behavior, if they learn anything new and if they make new friends; a really useful tool to help support each individual’s learning process. As well as this, Carlotta has had a couple of fun little things recently, performing at the Red Cross Dinner at the centre in Prado as well as taking charge of putting up the Christmas decorations in the various buildings within which we work. Despite her best efforts and enthusiasm, the kids at Geração Tecla unfortunately rebuffed all her invitations to assist in the decorating. Another activity that Carlotta has also just completed, is to paint a giant world map on the wall at Geração Tecla. Carlotta’s hope is to give the kids a better idea of where things are in the world, and she has already told me she has had some interesting responses from some of them regarding Portugal’s geographical location so it looks like it will have the desired effect.

The world as painted by Carlotta

Last but not least, it is on to yours truly! Firstly, I spent a lot of time on our application to host a youth exchange entitled, ‘What does it mean to be European?’ A number of us collaborated on this project, including Alifya, Deni, Cintia and some local volunteers for what was a very comprehensive process that included communication with potential partners from across Europe and the completion of a detailed application form. I am delighted to say we have received preliminary approval and we await official confirmation. I also spent some time helping to edit a video for the project +Atitude. This video provided a background of the project, what it hopes to achieve as well as some of the volunteers explaining the activities they had participated in, and their motivations for volunteering. We produced this video in order to enter a competition for funding of which we were one of the winners, subsequently receiving a prize of €5000. The main focus of my work the last few weeks has been my desire to develop a project to deliver in schools regarding mental health. My intention was to educate students further about mental health and it's importance whilst eradicating some of the stigmas surrounding the topic. Whilst I was very keen to develop this and believe it an extremely important topic, I have had the difficulty of realising that at this stage it is probably not the most practical path for me to pursue. It has been frustrating for me to come towards this decision as it was something I was very enthusiastic about, but a small consolation was the point made to me that it is also a valuable skill to have to realise when it is and isn’t best to pursue something. However I have not yet made a final decision and I will spend some time over my time away for Christmas pondering the issue. Additionally, the International Day of Human Rights is held annually 10^th December, and following some conversations with Luis I produced a video utilising the concept of the mannequin challenge to portray how hate speech is an attack on an individual’s human rights. We then sent this to the No Hate Speech Movement who then shared it as part of their actions for the International Day of Human Rights.

As well as all our own individual work, we have all been continuing to help out at Ponto Vermelho on a regular basis. On top of our regular turns in the shop, three of us have helped with a couple of extra activities. The first was BUM – I will admit I am not too sure what that stands for – where we had a little market stall in the city centre. I have been reliably informed by Inês that this was a success and we sold a decent amount. Additionally, we also had a small stall in the Complexo Residencial de Santa Tecla for one week where we especially sold a lot of wool hats and scarves. With regards to this action, the key aspect was to raise the awareness of Ponto among the students. As the residence and the shop are on the same road the hope is that it will increase the number of residents who visit, may lead to more donations or even inspire one or two of them to join the team as a volunteer!

Another key aspect of all our schedules has been our return to the classroom for Portuguese; Alifya is studying Level A2 whilst the rest of are working towards B1. Alifya has described the experience as, ‘Bee’s buzzing in my head’ which certainly seems like a pretty apt description to me. It has certainly been a challenge learning the language at a more advanced level, and poor Deni and Carlotta do often find themselves having to deal with my high stress levels in class, but the difficulties I experienced were enjoyable to overcome. I’m pleased to say I’ve learnt so much now I can just about talk in the past, present and future tenses. Having attended class twice a week since the beginning of October we have now completed our courses and we are eagerly waiting to receive our exam results; we are all hoping to have achieved highly.

Finally, another action that we have all been getting involved in has been ‘Venha Embrulhar uma Causa!’ Every day since the 25^th November a group of volunteers have been outside the Continentes at Nova Arcada and The Minho Center respectively, wrapping presents in the build-up to Christmas. This is one of JCV’s biggest fundraising efforts, with members of the public able to give donations in return for our wrapping services if they so choose. All of us have been involved with this, taking turns to try our hand at some wrapping and whilst at times it can be somewhat stressful, what with the pressure of wrapping other peoples’ gifts for them, it has also been enjoyable. As well as giving us a chance to practice our Portuguese, it has also been an opportunity for us to meet other volunteers from across JCV who we had not previously encountered.

So there you have it! As I am sure you will agree, we all seem to be following interesting paths and are all achieving and learning some fantastic things. Soon I hope to add some more articles about the campaigns Juventude Cruz Vermelha has been undertaking recently as well as more information about EVS as a whole and its benefits. I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about what it is that each of us EVS volunteers are currently up to and that you like what it is that we are doing!