By Veronica Stone, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Team Team Lead, Scouting Ireland
Many of us are used to talking about Safe Spaces, but Safe Spaces don’t always give us room to grow, to engage in dialogue with each other without worrying about how we might be judged or if the words we use are not the words our youth members and younger adults use.
When we journey into Peace Education, we realise that sometimes we need to be challenged, in a positive and supportive space, a space where we can explore the issues for a deeper connection with the people we share that space with.
Dialogue for Peace was designed to give us the tools we need to grow in our understanding of each other, and, more importantly perhaps, ourselves.
This is the next step from being Safe, this is being Brave. It is not about trying to convince someone of your point of view. It is not about being right. It is about seeking understanding and connections with those on the journey with us.
I was introduced to Brave Spaces while studying Dialogue for Peace and Free Being Me. Both of these programmes run at a WOSM/WAGGGS level and will hopefully become part of your Scouting journey of self-discovery and active citizenship. I want to share this with you. We need to look at how we talk and communicate with each other if we want to break old cycles of misunderstanding, everything from a personal disagreement with an old friend to the outbreak of wars.
Veronica Stone, EDI Team Lead
equity@scouts.ie
