Saturday, 17 September 2011

Raising awareness about third culture kids: a brilliant idea.

Recently I stumbled on an interesting article in the Denizen online magazine. It is an interview with Alicia Ingruber (an ATCK) and the titel of the article is Sharing the TCK Experience through Design. I was impressed by the content of the article and even by the title.

Alicia is an adult third culture kid, she was born in Australia, and lived in the Philippines, Canada, Cyprus and New Zealand. I was also excited to discover that she is partly Dutch too! At the age of 22, she discovered she was a third culture kid (TCK). She is a graphic designer and she created an information package for young TCKs moving to New Zealand.

There are 3 parts to the TCK information package:
  1. A children's book for 6 - 10 year olds. It is a story all about moving and going to a new school.
  2. A booklet for parents, with on one side the positive aspects and on the other side the negative aspects of being a third culture kid. It includes tips for parents.
  3. It is a card game: all about creating a sense of belonging. It is a conversation starter.
 


Alicia "We need to get more awareness out there. Being a TCK is something you should be proud of, and that there are so many people going through the same things you’re going through."  






I am excited about the information package. Is it not possible to make it an international project? A global information package available for parents, teachers, international schools, expats, companies etc? What do you think? Could it be possible? Do you have suggestions? Please let me know. Thanks.
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7 comments:

  1. Clissa8918 September 2011 at 15:49

    I've come across this before and think it's a fantastic idea. Would love to see one for older TCKs, and yes, something international!

    Would be curious to know the cost of having them printed - would be great to have them translated etc as she mentions. Fantastic thing about the TCK community is the wealth of language skills available.

    I can see this as something that would be helpful, e.g. for sponsoring organisations to have at each 'base', for international schools to purchase. There are also TCK-specific summer camps/weekends which could find it a useful resource, however I think this is usually for older children (and therefore would be useful to have a selection so that it's age-appropriate).

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  2. Clissa8918 September 2011 at 15:53

    P.S. Let's get in touch with Alicia and see what we can do! I'm in! Obviously this is an area I know lots about from personal experience, but I'm hoping that my research will give me an even greater understanding.

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  3. DrieCulturen18 September 2011 at 16:03

    Thank you Clissa for your comment. I think it is a really great idea too! Even if we could have it globally available in English that would be a good start.

    I do agree with you that there are lots of people within the TCK community that speak many different languages, that getting it translated in several main languages must be possible. I do want to research this possibility. If anyone wants to join in or has any good ideas I would love to hear them!

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  4. DrieCulturen18 September 2011 at 16:08

    ps. I have emailed Alicia, I am waiting for her reply. I'm also looking forward to your research! Let's keep in touch.

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  5. Christy Childers18 September 2011 at 23:28

    i love this idea, i want one!

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  6. DrieCulturen19 September 2011 at 06:26

    Thanks Christy for your comment. Good to read that you're enthusiastic too.

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  7. Clissa8919 September 2011 at 15:25

    Fantastic! Please keep us posted :)

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