🤝 Building bridges and creating unity where there is a natural divide can be challenging and even uncomfortable. Just ask Özlem Cekic.
Born in Turkey with Kurdish roots, she was among the first women with a Muslim immigrant background to be elected to the Danish Parliament, where she served from 2007 to 2015.
During her time in office, Özlem Cekic was inundated with hateful emails for being the first female Muslim to achieve this milestone. Initially, she deleted the messages, attributing them to fanatics. However, a friend proposed an unconventional idea: to extend invitations to the authors of the hate mail for coffee meetings. ☕
After eight years serving the Danish Parliament and hundreds of “dialogue coffee” sessions with criticizers, Özlem publicly shared her insights on the transformative power of face-to-face conversation in diffusing animosity. Her 2017 TED Talk is worth a listen, as she describes some of those early encounters.
Last week, I was privileged to bring Özlem to the main stage at Meeting Professional International’s European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC) in Luxembourg. A bridge builder with a message worth spreading, Özlem spoke with authority and humility about the power and potential of empathic listening and connecting meaningfully with the world around us – especially those with little in common. She encourages everyone she speaks with to embrace dialogue with those they disagree with, challenging the status quo and fostering understanding.
Building bridges requires courage and perseverance. It involves challenging ingrained prejudices and amplifying all voices to create a more inclusive and equitable society. Race relations advocate Daryl Davis is another incredible speaker who delivers a message about building bridges instead of barricades. Listen to my podcast with this celebrated musician, inspiring TEDx speaker, and improbable interviewer of Klu Klux Klan members to discover what it takes to close a gap and build a bridge.
💭 Have you ever built a bridge with someone with whom you thought you shared only differences? Share your story to inspire us.
Are you interested in inspiring your audience to be more empathetic and receptive to unlikely connections? Learn more about Özlem Cekic and Daryl Davis by visiting their profiles or contact me for more information about their keynotes and fees.
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