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Youth Dialogue Corps. invites conversation on divisive issues

Teens Hone Listening Skills as They Engage Fellow Citizens

July 15, 2015 By Francesca Norsen Tate, Religion Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Back row, left to right: Youth Coordinator Abir Hussein, Daniel Caspi, Ismael Ali, Abdou Barry, Adam Neto, Salomon Cohen. Front row: Elizabeth Xochimitl, Darryahn Knight, Alyssa, Tasneem Mohammad, Thanushka Bachan and Grace Oladayo.
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The 2014-15 Youth Dialogue Corps. (a program of The Dialogue Project)  took to the streets outside Councilmember Brad Lander’s office in June to ask adults to engage, face-to-face, in conversations about difficult issues both here in Brooklyn and around the world.

Composing the Youth Dialogue Corps are new immigrants and longtime young citizens alike, ages 13-18, who attend school in Brooklyn. They are Mexican, Indian, Eastern European, Palestinian, Pakistani and African American. Their diverse faith practices range from secular humanist to Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Catholic.

The 14-member group attends 10 workshops to develop active listening and reflection skills. The teens learn how to move beyond pointing fingers and instead to “speak from the I.”  They are challenged to confront their own bias and do this by sharing personal stories and their responses to the many issues that impact their lives, such as police profiling, violent and nonviolent protests, bullying, immigration laws, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

Drawn from diverse schools across Brooklyn, the youth cross neighborhood and ethnic boundaries as they visit mosques, synagogues and other schools in neighborhoods with which they are not familiar. Partner Schools this year include M.S. 88, the Brooklyn International High School, the Al Noor School and Edward Murrow High School.

Playback Theatre’s written and spoken word and interactive exercises that promote team building and empathy for each other are utilized throughout the nine-month program.

The Dialogue Project is a conflict transformation organization that seeks to develop mutual trust, relationships and partnerships among long time citizens, new immigrants, Palestinians, Israelis and people of diverse faiths and cultures. Dialogue programs explore differences and common values and the intersection of new immigrant traditions with western cultures, and also support people as they move from personal empowerment to community empowerment. Learn more at www.thedialogueproject.org, or email [email protected].

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