Johany

We all have our own individual identities. No two people are ever the same, despite our similar ways of thinking or similar cultural norms and traditions; we are all still different. The Laurier International Cultural Conversations (LICC) provided us with a group of individuals that consisted of people from different walks of life, including myself. We were provided the opportunity to explore values that make up our identity and engage in conversations that led to cultural inclusivity. Our group insisted on making sure everyone’s culture, beliefs, and ideas were welcomed, valued, and respected. We made sure our conversations encouraged everyone to express their true identities, and the concepts we had discussed in our LICC workshops were well-analyzed and translated into our group discussion.

In the midst of our discussion, we were able to go deeper into the topic of identity and cultural inclusion. We realized that although we were different in many ways, we were still connected through our discussion, in spite of our differences. As we took the opportunity to further understand each other's identities, we used topics such as characteristics of white supremacy and intercultural conversations as a way to educate each other and form our own bubble of cultural inclusivity, as a way of gaining a deeper understanding of each other's cultures, we can the intercultural conversations.

The LICC helped us appreciate multiculturalism in a more inclusive way. My group members and I realized that we have had many of the same life experiences and values that contributed to cultural inclusivity, and despite our similarities, we still had different interpretations, but we still felt a sense of interconnectedness. The Yin and Yang symbol represents our time during the LICC. The image symbolizes the dynamic balance we held within our group; we represent the interdependence and interconnectedness that the Yin and Yang symbolize. As a result of creating LICC, we wanted to create a safe space where such opposite individuals could express their identities and engage in culturally inclusive discussions in a space that we had created, where we could share our cultures as well as express ourselves.

Johany Moise, HR 261, Human Rights & Human Diversity, Brantford