Nations Carnival

Ahead of the meeting:

1. Scouts will be asked to choose a place/country/city in the world to represent at their “Unity Nationality Carnival”.
    
2. Suggest that they look for aspects that most identify their chosen place, like food, clothing, songs, buildings, personalities, landscapes, traditions, Scouting, etc.
    
3. They will need to decorate and/or present these features in a space in their house (if it is virtual) or on a table or in a corner (if it is in-person). They can be given a small space to set up and decorate as they wish.

 During the Scout meeting:

1. To start the meeting, ask all the young people to prepare their space.
    
2. Depending on the size of the group, the activity can be done in packs or patrols, or all together.
    
3. Each young person will have to organize themselves and choose the way in which they will present to the group.
    
4. Encourage them to explain and show the group why they chose that place. What are the main characteristics? Does it have personal meaning? What is different or similar to them?
    
5. Finally, have a group discussion about what they discovered.

Summary notes:

• Identity, culture, and worldview are three closely related concepts. It is important to be aware that we, as social beings, have a unique collection of thoughts, habits and beliefs that have been engraved in us throughout our lives and characterized by our place of birth, upbringing and socialization.
   
• These thoughts and beliefs make us who we are and provide us with different perspectives on how we experience the world. This unique and individual point of view, the way we share it with others, and the way we interact with each other all contribute to a peaceful or conflictual environment.
   
• Sometimes, clinging to our points of view makes us have a unique vision of the world, but this is a partial vision, which ignores others; like the ones recently shown. Learning about other cultures, researching and dialoguing with people from other countries helps us broaden our vision of the world and reduce erroneous or partial perceptions that can be a source of discrimination and conflict.

Please refer to the Learning Objectives above for each age group when explaining, facilitating, and recapping this activity. Select the questions relevant to the age group and their objectives.

• Share 1 or 2 things that you discovered or found curious about other countries, regions or cultures.
• Was there something that you discovered that is common between other countries/regions/cultures and yours?
• Was there something that you discovered that is very different between other countries/regions/cultures and yours?
• What did you learn about other places and cultures that you didn’t know?
• Do you think differences complement each other? Why?
• How do you see these characteristics from countries/regions building identity?
• What characteristics of your country and your community are part of your own identity?

As the adult leader, you should also encourage other reflections and questions based on your knowledge, experience and desired objectives