Publish at October 01 2013 Updated March 04 2025
Inter-class educational projects always have the advantage of opening up learners' cultural horizons, motivating and enhancing the exchange of productions, and encouraging a variety of school and cultural events. All kinds ofcorrespondence, twinning, competitions, cultural events, etc. around a given theme are the fruit of the federation of learners around an educational and/or cultural project.
Educators are not lacking in ingenuity in this respect, particularly when they mediatize a project through a mascot or spokesperson invested with symbolic value. Such is the case with a project entitled "Histoire d'une poupée" (Story of a doll), which aims to bring the mosaic of national and international cultures into dialogue with the school public, in interaction with its environment and the issues linked to the demands of responsible citizenship.
The story of the Poupée Internationale, named Myriem by schoolchildren in the Tunisian town of Sousse, actually began in Mons En Baroeul (59370) near Lille in France. About two years ago, Myriem was forgotten in the library where Mme Le Bail Véronique works. She had the idea of putting her in one of the boxes of donated books bound for Tunisia , to give her a new life in the sun, she says...
And so it was that our beautiful doll made the journey from France to Tunisia, among the books donated to the Tunisian association "Aide-moi à Apprendre". Mme Gamra Zenaidi, the association's president, adopted the little toy, which will become a symbol of fraternity, peace, tolerance and friendship for children from all over the world.
When I saw this little doll that nobody came to claim, her beautiful smile, warm, full of life, radiant...I immediately fell in love with her and thought she could be a messenger of Peace, Love, Fraternity and Tolerance. A symbol that travels from school to school, country to country. Who better than children to get the message across in a world shaken by conflict, torn by hatred and intolerance?
Thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of the learners and educators who have welcomed her into their educational and cultural establishments, Myriem is growing in stature and living out her role as ambassador to the full, thanks to the attention and love lavished on her by her successive hosts, who demonstrate their creativity and ingenuity in the service of self-discovery and dialogue with others, as one teacher summed up at the start of the project:
introducing her to places (museums, libraries, zoos), reading her stories and poetry, inviting her into families so that she can see at first hand the traditions of the people and the peculiarities of the regions... All this in the form of writings, drawings, handicrafts, productions made by the children themselves for the dear doll...
Myriem has thus been invested with values and goals that are at the heart of the educational issues and challenges facing 21st century societies, and defined in the common core of knowledge and skills, including humanist culture, social and civic skills, autonomy and initiative, and digital skills. In addition, the implementation of projects (disciplinary or interdisciplinary) is designed to develop students' autonomy and spirit of initiative, promote the integration of different forms of learning and make use of information and communication technologies.
Myriem World Citizen is an educational, cultural and, above all, human project. Teachers can use it as a teaching aid to create a range of interactive and innovative activities in which students interact in a variety of ways, giving free rein to their imagination through drawings, poems, stories, songs, sketches, letters... based on the themes conveyed by Myriem. They can also present their regions, customs,favorite books, confidences, dreams and hopes.
The students' work, digital or on paper, accompanies Myriem from one school to another, from one region to another, from one country to another... At the end of each school year, Myriem returns to the Tunisian fold, where all her work and souvenir gifts are on display.
The doll-symbol has already visited several towns and villages where she has stayed for varying lengths of time: Sousse, Kasserine, Zaghouan, Kairouan, Megel Bel Abbès, Mhamdia. She has worked in hospitals, old people's homes and charitable associations, and has even taken part in demonstrations against violence and for the establishment of democracy. She has already visited Morocco, and is currently in the USA with Tunisian artist Sonia Moubarek.
Wherever she goes, she is regularly enrolled in school or becomes an honorary member of the institution or association she visits. In her luggage, she carries a wealth of digital productions in which the childlike or oppressed verb conjugates hope and freedom.
All supporters of "Myriem, Citoyenne du monde" share their news and productions (songs, sketches, photos, welcome parties, etc.) on their Facebook page. They want Myriem to join the club of great travelers for peace and tolerance. To do this, she needs more fans. So welcome new partners!
Project Facebook page :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/280491602050325/?fref=ts
Myriem's story on You Tube, told by Mohammed :
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