UNIT 2: CREATIVITY AND CRITICAL THINKING This learning units focuses on how statelessness is portrayed in the media and allows learners to contemplate on how stateless people go through life. By reflecting on what photographs tell the viewer and comparing this to how newspaper articles discuss stories of statelessness and what vocabulary they use, learners can evaluate and compare how each source of information communicates the issue of statelessness. 2.2 A: REFLECT ON A PHOTOGRAPH Photographs can be used to express the realities of a life without a nationality. As each individual is unique and complex, stateless persons do not experience a onedimensional life as sometimes assumed. In this sense, photographs can be used to educate, send messages, and share experiences by saying a story through images in a different way to words. Reflect on a photograph is a creative activity involving a discussion of photographic portraits of stateless individuals, helping participants to discover the power of images to convey information and emotion while deepening their understanding of a life without a nationality. 2.2 B: STATELESSNESS IN THE NEWS Reading the news and other media is a great way to learn more about the world and societal issues. However, it is equally important to be a critical media consumer as there are different viewpoints and different ways of reporting. Sometimes the media can help a cause through fair and accurate reporting but other times it can reinforce prejudice and exclusion. Statelessness in the news is a critical literacy assignment in which participants review news articles relating to statelessness to identify what message is being communicated and how. Participants are also encouraged to evaluate how media portrays stateless people, the subconscious effects of media representation and the multifaceted ways of presenting information. 36