M’Hamid, Morocco: Your Heritage, Your Future Children Workshop

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Children gathered round a table drawing local heritage they feel attached to and writing.
Workshop participants draw local heritage elements they feel attached to, writing why it is important for their future.

Last January, Dr Giamila Quattrone and Claudia Briguglio ran the children workshop M’Hamid, Morocco: Your Heritage, Your Future, attended by 23 schoolchildren between 8 and 12 years fromKsar Ouled Driss, M’Hamid Oasis. The aim was to share knowledge and raise awareness about the cultural heritage of the oasis, while enhancing knowledge of specific elements of the curriculum through heritage-focused activities. Through model-making, drawing, collaging and quizzes, kids learnt about geometry and construction in local traditional architecture, couscous preparation, oasis agriculture and their role in the CO2 cycle. A survey conducted at the end of the workshop revealed that children "learnt about their heritage and understood that they must cherish it because it embodies traces of their ancestors". They learnt how to make architectural models and drawings and expressed unanimous interest in learning more about the subject. The workshop delivers on the UN’s SDG4 Quality Education, Targets 4.4., 4.5, 4.7.