The Dora Love Prize 2023

Posted On: 22/06/23

Students presented their project at the grand final of this year's Dora Love Prize at Essex University. 

Dora Love, a Holocaust survivor, spent much of her life raising awareness that the attitudes which made the Holocaust possible – intolerance, discrimination and outright hatred of those who are regarded as ‘different' for whatever reason, are still alive all around us. It is vital that we speak up!

Our group aimed to focus on the way in which the same negative messages that the Nazis spread about Jewish people and other minorities during their time in power are being spread by the media today about refugees and migrants.

They want everyone to know that:

Ordinary people faced persecution by the Nazis​

Ordinary people still face discrimination today, fuelled by certain politicians and the media​

Ordinary people can make a difference, by standing up to prejudice

 

The group presented a variety of ways that they chose to express this message to the school and the wider community. They chose various mediums: Art, Fiction, Technology and Film.  Later there will be a CRGS podcast featuring the students involved.

Technology - App

A web-app was developed in C# to give a visual representation of persecution​.  This app presents the biographies of several ordinary people of the 20th century who stood up to discrimination on a map of Europe. ​To fit the theme of 'ordinary people' the biographies are on those who have little to no media coverage. ​The use of a map suggests that discrimination is not limited to any country or culture. You can explore the app here: https://tibi-negrea.itch.io/interactive-map  and it's available on theGoogle Play Store for free too.

Film - 'Below Society'

We decided to use the visual medium of film to convey the struggles of a 15-year old immigrant's first day at school, who is faced with bullies. ​

Through structure, the film explores and compares the main bully and the immigrant. The viewer sees most scenes through both characters' viewpoints, allowing the viewer to understand each character's motives, and by comparing them, this allows the viewer to realise that, although culturally and ethnically people are different, they are still human beings and may still have some similarities​

Our 23 minute short film is on how ordinary people can be affected by prejudice.​  It's also about the choices we can make to help prevent this – by the end, the audience is asked to consider what they would have done.​  Please watch the film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe93AgRecuw

Artwork - displayed on screens and boards around the school.

This work entitled ‘Where To Go?’ was created to demonstrate how the British right-wing press are shaping people’s views on migration through making people scared of a threat that isn’t a threat. The press instead makes British people into a threat to migrants, shaping the culture and world view of the United Kingdom into something much more unwelcoming. See images.

'Two Sides of the Story' presents the representation of minority groups in the media versus the sort of people they are like in real life.  It helps to demonstrate the prejudices created through the way the media represents minority groups as dangerous or threats.

This collaborative work was one of the most exciting aspects of our project as we had the opportunity to work with two other schools, Paxman's Academy and St. Helena School.  Inspired by the work of Ed Fairburn, this work aims to show the interplay between ordinary people and prejudice in our past, present and future.  See images.

 

Fictional stories

"The ones with power, first Stalin and now Khrushchev, have no ears to hear us even if we could speak! But we will make them listen.”​

The selection of semi-fictional short stories take the reader from across the globe, moving from the 1950s to modern day as people fight against oppression however they can. These stories aim to show not just the famous faces, instead displaying the possible struggles, victories and tragedies that ordinary people within these societies experience.

The people in the stories themselves are not real, but the people who inspired them are, as well as the events they live through. In doing this, we can hopefully inspire you too.  Link to the stories.

 

Congratulations to Debenham High School for their winning project.

Further information about the prize can be found here: https://www.essex.ac.uk/news/2023/06/23/dora-love-prize-inspires-students-to-take-action-against-discrimination