2008/2009 Fellow | Alice Salomon University of Applied Science | Berlin
The project that I worked on during my time as a BUKA fellow involved a conflict management curriculum to promote intercultural awareness. Since then, I moved to Denmark and have developed this initiative by starting an organization called Mellem Education. Mellem Education offers workshops to transform ‘tension into reflection’ in order to address the growing polarization that comes out of different perspectives. I have worked with various organizations, corporations and schools, including an inter-faith initiative between Muslims and Jews in Denmark, work whose fruits are especially crucial in these divisive days. This work could not have taken place without my BUKA experience, where I not only experienced the cultural connection of interfacing with Americans, Russians and Chinese but got the resources to develop offerings to bridge communities through deep work with conflict and tension. It would be a shame to cut such opportunities off for future generations who wish to implement similar initiatives towards intercultural understanding and awareness. These types of programs, although they can appear as only ‘fun’, in fact plant hugely important seeds of connection that make a difference in global cooperation and understanding of ‘the other’. They are not to be underestimated in terms of their impact. I strongly support restoring the BUKA program and enabling cultures to connect in a meaningful way.
