Children play with words at IPL’s leisure time programme

On the 3rd of September, 25 children aged between 6 and 11 participated in an activity organised by the UNESCO Chair in Communication, Media and Information Literacy, and Citizenship of the School of Communication and Media Studies (ESCS) at the Polytechnic University of Lisbon (IPL). This activity was part of the leisure-time programme organised by CLiC (Centre for Languages and Culture) for the IPL community and other audiences. 

Under the theme “Words Also Play,” the UNESCO Chair’s team challenged the group to reflect on the power of words in shaping how we relate to one another and how we perceive ourselves. 

The session began with the projection of the children’s story “Butterfly Ears” (“Orelhas de borboleta”, in the original). The children reflected on the main message of the story, noting that the main character, Mara, uses creativity to reinvent the words her classmates use to tease her. The group enjoyed this moment so much that they asked to hear the story twice. 

A game was organised where the children had to move around the room, forming groups based on characteristics mentioned by the facilitators (clothing colour, favourite food, sport practised, etc.). The aim was to understand that words do not confine us to closed groups — in different contexts, we share common traits with different people. 

To bridge the connection between words and images, the children were then divided into groups and challenged to choose a name for their group and take a photograph representing that identity. The other groups had to guess the name based on the photograph. This game demonstrated that it is possible to represent a word or identity in various ways. 

The session moved on to the reverse game, where the children had to suggest words or titles for the images projected on the screen. The discussion led to the understanding that people have different feelings and interpretations when looking at the same image. 

At the end, the children had fun singing songs with lyrics – words – that were familiar to them. 

The session “Words Also Play” is part of the UNESCO Chair’s community-oriented initiatives, contributing to education and lifelong learning, and fostering communication characterised by mutual respect.