I will present and discuss recent results obtain with FLAMES on VLT,
highlighting the power of detailed chemical abundance patterns of
large samples of stars to unravel the various evolutionnary paths
followed by dwarf galaxies and the Magellanic Clouds. Similiarities,
differences, and their implications for the formation and evolution of
small systems will be discussed, as well as their role in building
larger galaxies such as our own Milky-Way.