The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
Perhaps the greatest response we hear to the question "what keeps you from pursuing more intercultural friendships?" is "I'm concerned I'll say something offensive or insensitive without meaning it as it's perceived." The barriers between us are real enough, although perhaps not as visible as they were 100 years ago. We gather our information from a distance and have little real depth in conversation across cultural lines. The Breakfast Club was developed to work inside three key factors in breaking down the barriers we find: proximity, worldview, and conversation. Many of us would have a difficult time entering into a long term conversation with a person of another culture because our present lives rarely bring us into close proximity with people who are not, for the most part, very much like us. And if we are in any sort of proximity, we often find ourselves divided by our particular opinions on how the world works. If we do happen into a conversation, it often ends up polarizing and strengthening our previous positions, rather than opening our minds and hearts to the point of view of the "other", whomever that other might be. Our program is a 12 month conversation starter. It pairs up two people of different cultures in once a month meetings over breakfast, brunch, coffee, dinner...whatever might allow for an hour or two of uninterrupted time together. Each month there are questions to discuss, starting fairly simply in month one, and moving deeper and into more complex topics as the months progress. There are also suggested reading and viewing materials to use. The Breakfast Club can bring the cultural understanding of all participants to far deeper and more intimate places than we tend to naturally. It's not a seminar or a workbook. Its success is dependent upon the long term conversations of all involved. It is important for organizational leadership to be involved in the process, as well. To inquire about The Breakfast Club for your organization or group, please send an email to nate@cureconsulting.org or call 312.286.7190.
