APP 10: Stories and narrations
In our activities, we very much value the importance of stories and narrations as a dynamic dimension to consider the centrality of the individual. Narration is the way we make sense of our reality and is dynamic in the sense that it changes continuously in our relation with the environment as well as that every narration is produced by someone who is narrating and someone who listens. From this experience, we concluded that it is impossible to consider the centrality of the child without comprehending his/her narration.
Following the previous APP, also the CRC could be intended as a narration which could propose a real or unreal change in children’s life but also in our own life.
Literature provides an immense capital to be used in our training since it applies to the reading of reality a biographical perspective which recalls the importance of considering things always through the relative and dynamic perspective of human experience. We suggest to use stories and narration as a key dimension to convey CRC principles and provisions, for example through case studies from which we could achieve general and objective assumptions but that remain always cases with their specific and unique meanings.
Considering stories could help us in avoiding stereotype thinking or grouping children in categories mainly identified by their needs. Of course we can identify patterns but these will always assume different meanings according to individual experience.
In order to underline the centrality and the relevance of children’s narration in defining strategies and actions, it could be interesting to build meta-stories on cases which are involving the narration of the child and the narration of the professional who is coming into contact with the child.
Narration could represent a means but also an end in the sense that promoting the CRC would mean to provide the person with the possibility to enrich his/her story and narration by providing him or her elements derived from the Convention to enrich and articulate his/her personal story.
Please also consider that creating spaces for narration could provide a real opportunity for participation and expression which are key to value the CRC system.
