Friday 3 February 2012

Greetings

Hello, Hi, Hey….all greetings we are accustomed to and a more or less universal gesture. Greetings are a gesture of communication and they vary from country, and indeed area to area. Some are formal, some informal.  It is my belief that people greeting each other is not as an important part of social life as it used to be. People say it out of habit rather than actually meaning it.  Some countries are renowned for their greetings, the French always kiss on the cheek as do the Italians, and not just the male to female,  men will kiss other men’s cheeks without any prejudice.
I would like to create an even, a ‘Greetings Day’ where people learn a gesture of greeting from another country.  We already have friendship day, so this would be along the same line of that.  This would be aimed at any age group as it would not only be a fun experience, but also an educational one.  A fair with stands, each educating on a different country and their greetings. They could serve local delicacies, as in countries like India they give a sweet treat as a sign of welcoming. Greetings are a sign of recognition from one person to another and this would enable people to become accustomed to other cultures rituals. It would be beneficial for people who are travelling to other countries as what better way to impress the locals with an indigenous gesture of greeting.
Anyone of any age would benefit from this while having fun at the same time. This event could be promoted with a series of advertisement posters, each concentrating on a different area of the world leading up to the event, and then a final poster with an amalgamation of greetings in the corresponding languages used typographically.  This would mean using varying styles of typeface to communicate the gestures and greetings.  Flyers could be created that would be handed out in academic settings as well as local libraries and community centres to attract interest. The event could be aimed at areas where there is a large multicultural population and the local people could be involved in the Fair, helping set up stalls, making traditional food and beverages and having input on their native customs.
The stalls would have posters on each of them saying what area they are representing and the signs would all be created sharing a typographic familiarity so that all the stalls are connected to the one event and not appear separate. This event would, hopefully, create interest and enable people from all walks of life to be able to communicate easier and reach an understanding of each other’s greetings.  It would stand as one day where people from all cultures, religions come together and share a common interest while educating each other in a friendly and fun environment where they can socialise and maybe even make new friends.

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