Talking flowers: The telling as tool for social integration

Talking Flowers

The telling as tool for social integration

Ricoeur: "The understanding that each has of himself is narrative: I cannot understand myself outside of time and therefore outside of the story(...)”

Being an immigrant woman can mean many things, each story is unique, as every person; speaking in general it is possible to affirm that many women face similar problems:  women immigrants are often involved in the care of others “forgetting” their own needs; many women live only a domestic dimension, that creates difficulties in integrating in the new socio-cultural context, and, in some cases,  they “simply” continue to have relations only with people of their social group.   

 Result: Immigrant women face many obstacles, often in solitude

With this project I want to help women to share their story as immigrants in London and allow them to express themselves, telling about their dreams, hopes, expectations, victories and disappointments... .  

Every woman, in this project, is considered as a flower, a beautiful flower that has faced a journey, sometime a very long journey, to arrive here in London and to “take root” in this new land.

Why a flower? It is very common that the woman is compared to a flower, and I like this comparison; the flower not only attracts with its beauty, but surprises us by its strength and endurance, to be born overcomes earth and is resistant to rain, wind and sun. There are flowers that are born in the snow, others bloom in the most arid deserts, that is why, comparing the woman to a flower, for me, can be considered appropriate.

The flower is a perfect alter ego, an avatar would say today, able to make easier, for the ladies, to tell about themselves.

Each woman will choose her flower, and the flower, at the end, will tell her story; the cathartic, liberating value of this passage is evident.

Thanks to a specific program it is possible to animate images of flowers and make them talk with women's voices telling their story.

The animation of the images (the flowers), in this context, is a new and funny way to facilitate the telling.

 The goal is to promote the integration processes helping  people knowing each other better by encouraging a deeper understanding of the “other”,  in a friendly environment

Other goals: self-confidence, language development, a new social network of reference 

Self-confidence: public speaking is not easy and to talk about themselves in public is even harder; overcome this challenge, that for some is very hard,  helps to gain self-confidence.

Language development: The project provides, in addition to the “telling”, a step in which it is required to write and read. For those who have difficulty in express themselves in English, will be an opportunity to practice the language in a nice and friendly setting, having the opportunity to gain greater linguistic competence.

Social networking: The project aims to give the possibility to the ladies to make friends, building relationships that will continue after the end of activities.

This is only the abstract of the project. Those interested in the project proposal please contact me at this email address: sabrinavprojects@gmail.com