Visiting The Museum

 Part A: Language- Some groups had leaders that spoke both Arabic and French, therefore as they were taken round the museum they were able to interact with all the art and exhibitions as everything was written in French (with occasional English translations). However, some groups had leaders that spoke only their first language, so the content of the museum became lost and there became a limit to how much some of the participants could take in. To improve from this, we are going to rearrange the groups so that everyone is paired with Arabic, French and English speakers that can translate between languages. We are also going to be more proactive in learning and take the initiative to ask in the moment if we don’t understand something and not leave it until the next day or when we have left the museum

Part B: Discrimination Exhibition- The whole exhibition was very interactive, bold and colourful and many participants found it inspiring to see discrimination being talked about in a way that wasn’t just facts and texts. To see discrimination expressed through art encouraged them to talk about their own inequalities in the same way. It was interesting and good to see these acts of discrimination documented. There was a strong sense of neglect felt by the Palestinian participants due to the content of the exhibition. Whilst it touched upon 50s,60s USA racism, the Holocaust and South Africa, it failed to mention anything related to Palestine. It also failed to mention anything to do with Algeria and the lives lost when they tried to get rid of the French Mandate. As a museum that is funded by the government it was felt that they were choosing to exhibit only the discrimination they felt important. So, the result of this was that some participants thoroughly enjoyed the museum, some felt like it was unjust and didn’t learn anything but it meant that we came back and had a discussion amongst ourselves about how we define discrimination. To improve from this experience, I don't think there is an awful lot to be done in terms of content. You don’t know what an exhibition will be like until you go! 

We were able to learn a lot from the experience; therefore, it was not wasted. Even if the learning happened outside of the exhibition and from each other.