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Recognizing What We See and Don't See: Bridging Communities through Nonviolent Communication and Storytelling

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The first stage of the “Bridging Communities” project strived to teach individuals new approaches to respond to discrimination by using techniques from intercultural and nonviolent communication.

This project, by enabling individuals to initiate conversations in safe spaces and to relate emphatically to those they disagree with, activated the dialogue and included trainings on intercultural/nonviolent communication in France and the U.S. They are aimed at transforming how participants relate to “the Other” and provoking them to consider their respective privileges, vulnerabilities and implicit biases.

 

These pieces of training led to the project’s second phase: a digital initiative including photographs and videos highlighting the lived experiences of members of marginalized groups. This digital storytelling worked to start an honest conversation on race and racism in France. The videos are collaborations from activists, journalists, and academics to broaden the conversation about race and systemic racism.

These conversations are aimed at transforming how participants relate to “the Other” and provoking them to consider their respective privileges, vulnerabilities, and implicit biases.