Building intercultural understanding
Our first five books Charlie Barley, A-Z and back again, Can't Lose Cant, Clotty Malotty and Stand Up Sit Down were based on highlighting Traveller culture, nursery rhymes, language and stories, though culture specific, an inter-cultural group of children in Sligo, Derry, Newbridge, Navan and Finglas were involved to integrate these cultural realities for the benefit of all children.
We then moved on from culture specific themes to inter-cultural themes. In the next five books in Dundalk, Cork, Belfast, Sligo and Coolock our process-sought ways to unite children in common experience, such as travel, play, early adolescence, and imagination. Our process is to act as facilitators not as directors, and open the space for children’s lived experiences to be shared and valued.
We have mainly worked in areas of social disadvantage with children struggling to succeed in mainstream educational system. So over the past six years of refining our work with children we have come to recognise the individual child in a cultural context. The inter-cultural conversation begins with simple questions, who are you, who am I and who are all the rest? Our process provides opportunities for children to explore their experiences through art and writing. Our process recognises the child as the inter-cultural expert on his or her life, with the authority to determine the outcome of the experience.
We include children from all backgrounds, social and cultural, religious and nomadic, newcomers and established communities. But ongoing for us is the process of working in new ways, in embracing the unknown and finding ways to enable children to transform their lives through writing and visual arts.
Highlight
Cant Turn Back
Cant is one of the many languages of ethnic minorities worldwide on the verge of extinction unless some kind of intervention preserves what is left. In 2003 Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership in collaboration with Marian Browne (visiting teacher for Travellers in Co. Kildare), Travellers, schools, Kelt (Kildare Partnership), Kildare Heritage Group, Minister Brain Lenihan and Padraig Mac Gréine launched the first Pictionary of the Cant Language in Newbridge Co Kildare. A follow up to this work started in January 2008 in Mohill, Co. Leitrim, thanks to the generous support of the Leitrim County Council Arts Office, Leitrim Partnership and Mohill Family Support Centre and The Department of Social and Family Affairs.
Cant Turn Back is the title of our new book; it was titled by Mary Brigid Mc Donagh, a 13 year old Traveller in Mohill Co. Leitrim. It packs a major punch for just three words. It can be read as a statement, a command, a hope and an acceptance of Traveller culture and its language. It expresses the dilemma for all Travellers of cultural retrieval. Cant is on the verge of extinction and returning to the old way of life is impossible. How can a history and tradition that has changed so dramatically in the last 30 years be distilled into a beloved memory that can continue to both honour those who came before and inspire the next generation of young Travellers?
During the month of January and February 2008, 16 children from fourth to sixth class at Mohill Primary School (encompassing Traveller children and their friends), alongside 12 first year students from Marian College Secondary School, worked together each week for eight weeks to create this book. The workshops took place in the Mohill Family Support Centre led by Kids’ Own and Mary Mc Donagh a member of the Travelling Community. This programme and publication is an empowering, positive and crucial intervention in the protection and preservation of the Traveller language and culture.
The first phase of this programme involved the children working with writer, Mary Branley and Mary McDonagh twice weekly over two weeks to learn the Cant vocabulary. The next phase of workshops involved the children and young people working alongside Mary Mc Donagh and Kids’ Own to generate, develop and define the content, generate art work, text, design features and copy editing in the final workshops.
The publication introduces new vocabulary, stories as well as reflections, thoughts and opinions by the young people about the Irish Traveller and settled culture.
I’m finding out a lot of stuff that I didn’t know about Travellers, like the language and how they lived. I’d like to go back in time to see how life was like for my Granny and parents. I imagine the tents would be cold at night and you‘d have to go to the toilet behind the ditch.
The women had to clean up and mind the children while the men mended the buckets and fed the children and the horse. Traveller girls get married around 14 up, its young but it happens. Girls leave school now at 16 and some girls and boys find school very hard. I find Irish hard. Traveller culture is different to settled people. In the settled culture people don’t move a lot, they wait in one house for years or live on a farm. I hated going to school young because I was bullied for being a Traveller. I find it easy now because they know I can stand up for myself.
Mary Brigid (13)
