afraid


 * AFRAID: a European project**

The reaction of the Western world to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 will be judged mainly according to how and if people will feel secure again in their own home, in their work place and in their daily life. We have lost this feeling and have to regain it. //Salman Rushdie, writer, La Repubblica October 3rd 2001, "The real weapon against terror"// Just a few days after the terrorist attacks in London (7-7-05), the press highlighted the success of a newly created website. This consisted of some sort of virtual mass demonstration, which was meant to fight any strategy aiming to raise tensions and fears in Londoners. What does it mean to be afraid after such a dramatic event?

Doesn’t the claim not to be afraid often imply some kind of superficial approach, a lack of awareness of the real risks in a specific dangerous situation?

Perhaps such a statement comes from the subconscious belief that somehow we will never personally encounter these tragedies. In addition a similar way of communicating does not appear to be a virtual sublimation of the street demonstrations.

In such an instance millions of people gather together, and their physical presence asserts a profound refusal of any solution of conflicts through terror and violence.

THE TEACHING PROPOSAL: Starting from the proposed materials (fears in Art), from discussions in the classroom or in the forum, from readings and media recorded, students were invited to create a product which could express in digital format your perception of the above issues. A similar experience was done by students of the Liceo Artistico of Venice (Italy) immediatly after 11th September 2001. In 2006 the activity was enlarged involving other schools from Greece and from Egypt with the e-Twinning project. Students write a fear fairy tale and they inlustrate them getting as starting point a short dissertation on fear rapresented in art. E-TWINNING PROJECT  The project was devised and started in March 2006 with the twinnining of the Liceo Artistico in Venice (Italy) with the Ginnasio in Lipsi (Greece). With the enlargment of eTwinning with Medtwinning also a speaking English school of Heliopolis Cairo (Egypt) was involved.

ABSTRACT The project wants to tackle the general issue of the current global fears. It focuses on how fears are perceived by teen-agers, on their emotions and feelings around the most relevant events shown daily by the media. METHODOLOGY The original students’ feelings are taken into consideration by inserting in the school curriculum the way their perception of fear has been used in different artistic expressions and media forms which are the base for further thinking on world events. (download the presentation )
 * [[image:studentresearcher/afraid_nightmare.jpg width="469" height="267" caption="Nightmare in the sea, by Pantellis Gryllis, 15 years old"]] || [[image:afraid_kubin.jpg width="453" height="295" caption="Kubin. The Sea Ghost. 1905. Salzburg"]] ||

FINAL COLLABORATIVE OUTCOMES The final aim of the project was to develop an activity for a collaborative production involving students of different countries. Greek and Egyptian students wrote a couple of tales and Italian students illustrated them.