Sixth-grade students at the Murcian neighborhood school bury texts and photos in a box that will open in 2030
Can you imagine where they will be in eight years? Have the trees grown in your street? Are your neighbors still there? Will they remember what they were doing while reading these lines? The 6th grade students of CEIP Barriomar 74 in Murcia did. The children of the last year of this phase before high school buried a time capsule in the schoolyard on Wednesday with photos and texts written by them that symbolize all their wishes for the future of the neighborhood. They did it for a group of kids from Early Childhood Education who by 2030, 8 years from now, will be in charge of opening that capsule and checking that their classmates’ wishes have come true. An initiative born of joint work with the students of the Master’s Degree in Artistic Production and Management of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the UMU. Aurora Alcaide, professor of the master, coordinates this artistic and cultural action that, after a series of previous activities, led to the act of today.
In her speech, Marian, student representative, wanted to show the diversity and tolerance of this educational center in the capital. “Almost we are all Arabs, others are Gypsies, Venezuelans, Algerians or Ukrainians. We live in the area and here we are all the same,” said this 11-year-old girl, explaining the positive aspects of an activity that has helped raise awareness about environmental care and develop a critical mind. «This inclusive and intercultural center has been closely associated with artistic manifestations for 25 years. Through art, in addition to working on values, children can express many other things that they cannot achieve with traditional subjects,” says the director of the education center, Ana Luisa Pedauye.
The wishes of the participants varied widely. Some were carried away by the sentimental and wanted to keep in the capsule the desire to maintain the good friendships that have developed between lessons and breaks. Others have turned to the environment, asking that the plants that now grow next door to their homes be left there and that their environment become friendlier and greener. In addition to preserving the good, the children also want the waste on the street to be cleaned up, more sports fields to be built and the neighborhood safer.
This educational innovation project is part of a new line of collaboration that aims to bring the activities of the University of Murcia closer to the public. In concrete terms, this proposal was carried out by the students of the Migration Aesthetics in Contemporary Art course, within the Master in Artistic Production and Management, and has different phases. “First we took a tour of the neighborhood,” says project coordinator Aurora Alcaide. “That walk inspired several works: a psychogeographic map was created, dialogues inspired by the texts nearby, such as graffiti or posters, artist’s books about the contrast between nature and waste, or an Instagram in which they told their vision of nature ”, explains Alcaide.
“Another group”, the teacher recalls, “looked at the pubs on the main street, practically the only meeting place for the local residents”. In addition, they distributed disposable cameras to the children, who saw the results of their snapshots during a guided visit to the Faculty of Fine Arts, which are now part of the time capsule buried today, in an act that has been shared with master students Diego Gutiérrez, nurse and anthropologist; and José Luis Gómez, craftsman; as well as the tutor of the students of the center, María Ángeles Marín. Although he was not present today, Professor Giovanni Croatto was also involved.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
