Husker Dialogues 2020: Aime Nishimwe

Curt Bright Author

08/24/2020 Added

14 Plays

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Husker Dialogues is a diversity and inclusion event designed to introduce first-year students to tools they can use to engage in meaningful conversations to help create an inclusive Husker community.

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[00:00:00.221](upbeat music)
[00:00:13.630]We've all heard the stories about
[00:00:15.430]aliens visiting the Earth
[00:00:17.120]and kidnapping people and animals.
[00:00:19.520]But just for a moment, imagine that this is not just a story,
[00:00:22.720]but it just happens to you.
[00:00:25.020]The aliens have invaded the Earth,
[00:00:26.940]you are handcuffed in a chair with a taped mouth
[00:00:30.140]so you cannot easily speak.
[00:00:32.750]Outside the room where you are locked up,
[00:00:34.810]you can only hear some creatures
[00:00:36.560]talking in their own language.
[00:00:39.190]How would you feel in that particular moment?
[00:00:42.750]Helpless, frustrated and terrified,
[00:00:45.530]right?
[00:00:46.630]This is how one of my friends,
[00:00:48.860]an alienated individual, an international student, felt.
[00:00:53.480]This is how many international students
[00:00:55.110]actually feel as well.
[00:00:57.392]I have a Chinese friend who watches a lot of sci-fi movies,
[00:01:00.980]and he used that cinematic scene to describe his experience
[00:01:05.780]when he found himself stuck in a study group
[00:01:09.120]as the only one with the different nationality.
[00:01:12.580]Unfortunately, I was part of that group,
[00:01:14.750]and we usually discuss group activities
[00:01:17.460]in my mother language, Kinyarwanda.
[00:01:20.530]He felt very frustrated and alienated from the group.
[00:01:25.740]At first, when he shared the story,
[00:01:27.650]I failed to sympathize with him,
[00:01:29.640]until I attended the Inclusive Leadership Workshop.
[00:01:33.700]From the retreat, I learned how to ask
[00:01:36.610]the two of the most important questions.
[00:01:39.340]First, what does inclusivity mean?
[00:01:42.590]Inclusivity means actually leveraging different ideas
[00:01:46.120]and perspectives and backgrounds
[00:01:48.150]to formulate and deliver a common value.
[00:01:51.200]Second, who is an inclusive leader?
[00:01:55.320]An inclusive leader is a person
[00:01:57.890]who respects and harnesses team diversity
[00:02:00.930]to achieve the highest potential of everyone on the team.
[00:02:05.060]We failed to do that.
[00:02:07.660]Although we had the common goal as a group,
[00:02:09.930]we failed to incorporate our friend's ideas
[00:02:12.450]and perspectives into our group work,
[00:02:14.940]because we did not care much about his needs.
[00:02:19.040]We could have done a better job
[00:02:20.530]of making him feel included in the group.
[00:02:23.820]We could have decided to use a common language
[00:02:26.320]whenever we had to discuss group activities.
[00:02:28.360]That's just so simple.
[00:02:30.460]There are so many different ways that
[00:02:32.120]international students may feel alienated or excluded
[00:02:35.850]and stuck in a strange land with strange creatures,
[00:02:38.760]just like you and aliens.
[00:02:41.230]It can be because of different skin colors,
[00:02:43.374]different religion, different sex, gender orientation,
[00:02:47.530]different food preferences,
[00:02:49.120]a different socioeconomic status and so forth.
[00:02:52.610]So how do we foster meaningful conversation
[00:02:55.490]while creating an inclusive community?
[00:02:58.610]I can share a few tips.
[00:03:00.850]First, stay curious about other people's experiences.
[00:03:05.010]Second, express your views, but recognize
[00:03:08.420]other possible views about anything.
[00:03:10.920]There are even multiple views
[00:03:12.430]on how to peel a banana effectively and appropriately.
[00:03:16.380]Recognizing different perspectives
[00:03:18.830]protects you from setting your perspective
[00:03:21.200]as the standard on which you should charge others,
[00:03:24.250]which is not good.
[00:03:26.240]Thirdly, apologize in case of conscious
[00:03:29.810]or unconscious biases.
[00:03:31.460]We all make mistakes,
[00:03:33.190]especially when we're exposed to a new way of life.
[00:03:35.950]What you watch and listen to
[00:03:37.920]can drive you into making false associations
[00:03:40.740]of stereotypical behaviors to a specific group of people.
[00:03:44.970]Which is not good at all.
[00:03:47.120]Lastly, amplify what makes us one and united.
[00:03:52.710]Thank you.
[00:03:53.798](upbeat music)

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Husker Dialogues 2020: Aime Nishimwe

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