How Do We Show Up Differently? Creating a Shared Vision to Serve Displaced Learning Communities
MIT OpenCourseWareCreating collaborative ecosystems for displaced communities requires shared vision, language, and a compassionate approach to address systemic challenges.
Key Insights
Effective collaboration is essential to address the complex global migration crisis, as no single organization can solve it alone.
Displacement is an age-old issue, but current global mobility and perceived differences exacerbate friction and require a focus on shared humanity.
Simply providing access to educational resources is insufficient; genuine partnerships and localized adaptation are crucial for serving displaced communities.
A 'zero-sum game' mindset of competition for resources hinders progress; a shift towards collaborative ecosystems and equitable distribution is needed.
Overcoming systemic challenges requires building collaborative capacities through practice, slowing down, and fostering shared understanding.
Holding a clear vision while remaining acutely aware of current reality (creative tension) generates energy for change, but managing associated emotions is key.
Effective listening and shared vulnerability within supportive communities are vital for sustaining efforts and addressing complex, daunting challenges.
ADDRESSING THE MIGRATION CRISIS THROUGH COLLABORATION
The global migration crisis, characterized by massive numbers of displaced people, is too complex for any single entity to address. Peter Senge highlights that while collaboration is widely acknowledged as necessary, it is often difficult to achieve due to institutional forces and competition, especially in areas like fundraising. The summit aims to initiate a process of creating the conditions for more effective collaboration, emphasizing the development of shared language and tools to bridge fragmented efforts and foster a coherent ecosystem for displaced communities.
INNOVATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISPLACED PERSONS
Lorraine Charles, co-founder of Na'amal, shares her journey rooted in research to understand refugee challenges in education and employment. She identified a gap in reconceptualizing work opportunities, especially in the pre-COVID era of remote work. Na'amal aims to bring global work opportunities to individuals irrespective of their location, challenging narrow views of employment. The COVID-19 pandemic validated this approach, highlighting that talent knows no borders, and the current focus on refugee support, especially post-Ukraine crisis, emphasizes dignity and resilience beyond just humanitarian aid.
RETHINKING REFUGEE EXPERIENCES AND EMPOWERMENT
Demetri Fadel from Karam Foundation emphasizes that the refugee crisis itself is in a state of crisis, with marginal changes in the refugee experience over decades. He advocates for empowering those needing aid to shape and deliver services, moving beyond managing displacement phases to transforming refugee lives. He notes that despite policy and technological advancements, forcibly displaced individuals struggle to recover learning and earning opportunities. The summit is seen as a call for innovation, acknowledging the immense challenges faced by refugee-led initiatives, particularly concerning funding and recognition, and advocating for a shift in how solutions are discovered, developed, and deployed.
THE INTERSECTION OF KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTIONS AND LOCAL WISDOM
Dr. Lana Cook from MIT Open Learning frames the 'why' of the Migration Summit around MIT's extensive knowledge and resources. She questions how to build spaces for collaboration and exchange between institutions like MIT and communities possessing local expertise and wisdom. Cook challenges the prevalent 'zero-sum game' mindset, where resources are seen as scarce and competitive, advocating instead for a collaborative ecosystem that maximizes impact and learning. She also introduces the 'compassionate systems framework,' stressing the importance of developing conditions for generative communities, seeing the ecosystem, and cultivating compassion despite overwhelming challenges.
UNDERSTANDING DISPLACEMENT AND OUR COLLECTIVE BLIND SPOTS
Peter Senge initiates a discussion on displacement as an ongoing issue throughout human history, not a recent phenomenon. He poses the question of our societal 'disregard' or 'blind spot' towards displacement. Lorraine Charles notes that past migrations involved people moving to similar cultures, whereas current global migrations involve greater perceived differences, often leading to discomfort and racism. Demetri Fadel adds that the acceleration and causes of displacement should provoke action, citing examples like hurricane-induced displacement in the US, underscoring that displacement anywhere is a global tragedy that demands progressive adaptation and addressing the fact that barriers to movement are higher than ever.
THE PRACTICE OF CREATIVE TENSION FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE
The summit transitions into a practical exercise on 'creative tension' – the process of holding a clear vision for the future alongside a deep, honest awareness of current reality. Peter Senge explains that this juxtaposition generates energy for change, contrasting it with simply problem-solving or reacting to crises. The practice involves personal journaling on one's vision and current reality for a specific initiative, followed by sharing in small groups using a 'check-in' method that emphasizes active listening and non-interruption to interrupt habitual conversational patterns and foster genuine understanding and connection.
NAVIGATING EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPES IN SUSTAINED EFFORTS
A key takeaway from the group discussions is the challenge of managing the emotions that arise from creative tension, such as frustration, anger, fear, or despair. Peter Senge emphasizes that while positive emotions fuel action, it's crucial to acknowledge and process the difficult emotions without letting them control behavior. He suggests that emotional maturity involves allowing these feelings to exist without denying them, enabling individuals to sustain their efforts and maintain hope. The importance of supportive communities, like those formed during the summit, is highlighted as vital for sharing these struggles and finding collective strength.
BUILDING A COHERENT AND COMPASSIONATE ECOSYSTEM
The discussions reveal practical challenges, such as administrative hurdles that impede progress, as shared by participants. The session underscores the need to move beyond individual efforts to build a more coherent, collaborative, and compassionate ecosystem. This involves fostering a sense of interconnectedness, recognizing the valuable contributions of all involved – from founders to volunteers to educators and learners – and actively nurturing supportive relationships. The summit aims to be a catalyst for creating ongoing spaces for such dialogue and collaboration, reinforcing that collective action is essential for untying complex knots and achieving meaningful impact.
Mentioned in This Episode
●Organizations
●Books
●Concepts
●People Referenced
Practicing Creative Tension: A Quick Guide
Practical takeaways from this episode
Do This
Avoid This
Common Questions
The main challenge is that while collaboration is essential due to the complexity of global migration issues, internal institutional forces often pit organizations against each other, particularly through competition for funding. This leads to fragmented efforts instead of unified action.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
Co-chair of the panel and works with the Karam Foundation. He focuses on empowering individuals needing aid and services to shape and deliver them, drawing from his experience with organizations like One Laptop per Child and MIT REACT.
Quoted regarding his approach to suffering and laughter, emphasizing not adding one's own suffering to the world's.
Co-chair of the panel, social entrepreneur, researcher, and co-founder/executive director of Namal. She focuses on linking displaced people with remote work opportunities and is a research associate at the University of Cambridge.
Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives at MIT Open Learning, Program Manager for the MIT Refugee Act and Hub. She focuses on incubating new work in education and building collaborations.
Author whose book 'Some of Us' is mentioned as illustrating the concept of a zero-sum game mindset where people compete for scarce resources.
His letter from Birmingham Jail is cited by Dr. Peter Sengay to illustrate the principle of creating constructive social tension.
Senior Lecturer at MIT J-WEL and co-founder of the Center for Systems Awareness. He is a systems thinker and author, introducing the panel and guiding the discussion on collaboration and creative tension.
An organization co-founded by Dr. Peter Sengay, focused on systems thinking and developing conditions for change within communities.
Lorraine Charles is a research associate at its Center for Business Research.
Dimitri Fadel was a vice president of this initiative, which aimed to provide laptops to children in developing countries.
Cited as a source for projections on environmentally displaced people.
An organization mentioned in relation to Dimitri Padal's work, focusing on empowering individuals needing aid and services.
Lorraine Charles is a member of its advisory council, and Dimitri Fadel was its founding executive director.
Lana Cook is the Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives here, where she works on incubating new educational initiatives.
An organization where Dr. Peter Sengay is a Senior Lecturer, focused on world education.
An organization co-founded by Lorraine Charles that links displaced people with remote work opportunities.
An organization where Dimitri Fadel formerly served as Executive Director, focused on education for displaced communities.
Lorraine Charles is a technical advisor for its East African Livelihood Program.
An institute-wide effort at MIT, managed by Lana Cook, focused on developing global education programs for underserved communities.
The central theme of the discussion, focusing on their challenges, needs, and the importance of listening to their voices and providing dignity and resilience.
A practice Lana Cook works with through the Center for Systems Awareness, focused on developing conditions for more generative communities.
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