Culture Capsule
Culture Capsule is a flagship project of ASEFUAN that involves cultural exchanges between students aged 9-17, from elementary and secondary schools in Asia and Europe. The initiative promotes friendship and better understanding among students, by giving them the opportunity to trade local items, cultural symbols, letters, and photographic records to their counterparts in the other region. The Culture Capsule initiative hopes to encourage students to gain a broader perspective by seeing other parts of the world through the eyes of a fellow student. The exchanges enable students to compare lifestyles, debunk existing stereotypes and misconceptions, and most importantly, gain appreciation and respect toward different cultures.
Overview
ASEFUAN Culture Capsule is a partnership among two classes at the primary or secondary level one in Asia, one in Europe; the exchange of parcels the so-called Culture Capsules that contain culturally relevant items; contacts between students who describe one’s daily life using letters, emails and pictures; and, a look at life in another country through the eyes of a fellow student.
Project Goals
- Promote friendship, better understanding and respect for each other’s culture among students in Asia and Europe;
- Encourage students to gain a broader perspective by seeing other parts of the world through the eyes of a fellow student;
- Enable students to compare lifestyles and debunk existing stereotypes and misconceptions through concrete and fun exchanges;
- Contribute to the improvement of foreign language proficiency of students;
- Promote communication among teachers as well as cooperation in the field of education;
- Offer the opportunity to schools to build enduring and fruitful relationships with Asian or European counterparts.
Exchanges
A Culture Capsule starts with ASEFUAN members contacting schools and proposing them to take part in the project. Once a class in Europe and one in Asia with about the same number of students of the same age have been found, they are put in touch through the Culture Capsule website.
Teachers agree on a schedule for parcels to be exchanged. Students are asked to gather objects that best describe their environment, to write letters introducing themselves, their country and an object of their choice. One student in each class may be given a disposable or a digital camera with which he or she records the course of a normal school day.
Once parcels have been received, the local ASEFUAN member participates in the opening of the Capsule and the distribution of objects and letters. He or she also provides extra explanations on the other country as well as on the items that were included in the box.
The exchange of a Culture Capsule is hopefully only the beginning of an enduring relationship between students, classes and schools of Asia and Europe!
Participation
Participation in a Culture Capsule is open to primary and secondary schools of ASEM member countries. It is intended to establish a partnership between classes with about the same number of students of the same age. A common language of communication among students has to be decided upon. In this respect, ASEFUAN members as well as language teachers of involved schools could help with translation work. Mail parcels and letters, but also internet and Culture Capsule’s online discussion board can be used as communication means between students and teachers.
Further information
To find out more about the project visit the Culture Capsule website at www.culturecapsule.org or contact us at info@culturecapsule.org. The information on this page can also be downloaded as a flyer in PDF format.
