***English text below. Remove this message when translating, otherwise the page may be overwritten:***no frame The Today We Travel To speaker has a role that might look deceivingly simple, but in fact, it's quite advanced because it will force you to examine your own prejudices. Above all, be aware that this is not a speech about a tourist destination or a nice trip. This is a speech about an internal journey that you and the club have to make. This is also a role that cannot be improvised - it requires research and preparation. If someone asks you to fill in for a "Today we travel to" speaker that didn't show up, it's best to decline politely. On the other hand, this is one of the most gratifying roles because it will help you train your skills as an empathic, open-minded, and tolerant leader who can reach out across chasms and build bridges. When you have this role, it's imperative that you read completely the Today We Travel To activity description. After that, you should: 1. Pick a demonized or discriminated collective you want to explore. Ideally, you should pick one from your own internal demons. If you've spent all your life thinking that gypsies are thieves, maybe you should pick that collective. If you've spent all your life thinking that Russians are enemies bent on the destruction of the Free World, maybe that's your collective. If you've spent your life thinking about the brutal and dumb American Imperialist Aggressors, maybe that's your collective. No one is free from prejudices; we all have our internal demons. Be brave, and confront them head-on. 2. Once you've selected a collective, select an area that interests you in general (independent of that collective)., Maybe you're interested in art? in science? In literature? in theatre? In music? in history? In philanthropy? medicine? 3. Now, you have both a demonized collective and a subject you're passionate about. Explore that particular subject for that collective, and make a list of all the facts that you've found interesting, remarkable, or surprising. Pick between one or two of them that are positive. Don't try to do more, as probably you won't have time, and remember that the need of any speech is to be razor-sharp in its message. 4. Finally, prepare an informative speech about them. It's critical that you don't try to persuade people to change their minds about the collective, nor make them pity it. Your speech should NOT have a call to action. An informative speech is not a synonym of a dry speech that's basically a dump of facts. You can add suspense, emotion, tension even to an informative speech. See the correct example below for a way to build a whole story from a single fact that you wish to share. Here are some incorrect examples and a correct approach. Many people believe that the gypsies are thieves. I myself used to be one of those people. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong...This approach is wrong because it identifies the collective explicitly and tries to persuade people to change their minds. ` Throughout history, the nomadic lifestyle and traditions of the Romani people have caused them to be ostracized and unjustly vilified...This approach is wrong because it identifies the collective and tries to elicit pity or sympathy towards them. In 1977, one of the geniuses of Cinema and a world reference that put movies on the map as a whole new entertainment category was lying in his bed, about to embark on the ultimate journey. When the massive stroke took Charles Chaplin's life in his sleep, he left behind one of the greatest mysteries of cinema -the one about his own birth and early childhood. The fact that he had struggled with poverty and had entered a workshop at a very early age was widely known. Still, no one could pinpoint any details about the specifics of his birthplace. It took 15 years for the mystery to be solved. When Victoria Chaplin - his daughter - inherited her father's desk, one of the drawers was locked for good, and there was no key to be found. After enlisting the help of a locksmith, she finally managed to open the locked drawer, and therein lay a letter that provided an answer to the eternal questions. In that letter, a gentleman named Jack Hill was writing to Chaplin to inform him that he had been born in the Black Patch in Smethwick, in a gypsy caravan that belonged to a gypsy Queen. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Charles Chaplin was a member of the Roma people. ...This approach is correct. It focuses on a surprising and definitely positive fact - that one of the greatest world talents of Cinema was, in fact, of Romani origin. It doesn't identify the collective explicitly, it doesn't try to elicit pity or to make people change their minds. It simply presents an amazing and positive fact and leaves everyone on their own to reconcile their prejudices about the gypsies with the fact that such a bright and loved person was, in fact, a member of them. no frame