Description of the educational tool
The reality of a Congolese or Peruvian minor may seem very far from our daily life in Belgium. And yet! Without us always being aware of it, we come into contact every day with numerous minerals that come from these countries. The minerals are mined in regions such as eastern DR Congo and then exported in their raw form. They then arrive here in Europe in transformed form in most of our consumer items: computers, smartphones, cars, but also coffee machines, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, etc.
It is important to question ourselves about the origin of the resources we use, their operating conditions and the way in which they are transported to Europe. We forget, or even often ignore, what is hidden behind our objects. This file invites you to lift the veil on these forgotten dimensions.
In practice
Themes: conflicts, natural resources
Tool type: Educational file
Target audiences: Teachers of geography, history, economic or social sciences, French, science or religion, but also supervisors, educators, facilitators or interested citizens
Practical arrangements : This file is available free of charge in digital version, or for sale for your school, youth center, association at the price of 10 euros.
Audiences
This file is mainly aimed at teachers wishing to analyze the exploitation of mining resources with their students, as part of a course in geography, science but also history, humanities/economics, philosophy and citizenship or even an interdisciplinary project (French, visual arts, languages, etc.) . This file may also be of interest to people who work in supervision, training or animation with young peoples, as well as anyone curious to deepen their civic engagement and learn more about the world around them. Educational activities as well as theoretical concepts are accessible from 15 years old.
Click here to discover the annexes to the “Behind our screens” file
The file offers various educational activities to address the issue of mining and its consequences. Below you will find all the documents necessary for their implementation. Explanations of these activities can be found in the file itself.
• Annex 1 : What does my smartphone contain?
• Appendix 2 : Metal, its properties and uses
• Appendix 3 : “ Become aware of the omnipresence of minerals“
• Appendix 4 : “ Map analyzes“
• Annex 5 : “ The supply chain from the mine to my mobile“
• Appendix 6 : Videos
• Appendix 7 : “ The consequences of resource exploitation: press articles“
• Annex 8 : “ Photo language to express your feelings“
1. From mining to GSM: the players
2. Unscrupulous multinationals: the case of Banro in DR Congo
