What we gain by listening now and in the future?

Within the last two years I have been an invited keynote speaker to conferences in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. What I have learned is that while people from nearby countries may have similar and connected histories, the differences can be significant. I have met and listened to people within the same countries with different religions, different cultures, and different practices and understand that they care deeply about world issues. I have been touched by the genuine quest for knowledge, interest in social challenges, and change of worldwide destines.

My last physical conference was in India January 2020, but since then I have been a speaker and patron to at least three virtual conferences sponsored by Eudoxia Research Centre in India. What I have learned by attending these events is that as much as the speaking is needed to share my experiences and that of those I am associated, as important is to listen to the world view of others. My keynotes center on topics related to the future of work and entrepreneurship for the undeserved. At the Eudoxia June 6, World Summit on Social Science and the Humanities Patron opening, I briefly addressed the current crisis of civil unrest and its outcomes for people of color.

At the event, I learned that a Canadian scholar views the US approach to COV19 as inverted. In Canada the approach was to solve the problems, of people, small businesses, and then large corporations; the view from this one scholars' perspective is that the issues of the people should be first.

A different scholar from a European country discussed his belief that the worldwide education system is flawed and that innovations in teaching and learning should be a united global priority. I learned about the challenge COV19 has had on health care systems and practitioners committed to improving outcomes for the caregivers and the patients. I learned that distance and remote learning do have benefits, yet they also have costs fiscally and cognitively that are undetermined as it relates to its long-term success.

While I am often asked to speak, in 2020 I have learned more to listen and hear different voices. Voices may have different perspectives on the same issues and concerns that I do. Voices that I may never see physically but I can hear across the globe.  Voices that are vested in the future that unfolds as we collectively shape it. We must stand united in our humanity against, poverty, racism, sexism, and all the ills that continue to plague our world.

I have learned to listen more intently in my home, to my family and my extended family. In my Thrive Global article published recently, I hear the voice of my granddaughter for more "me time" as she is mandated to remote learning at home. I hear my sister outraged as she cries over, "killer cops, killer COV19, and killer jobs". I hear my 20-year-old nephew who torn away from his HBCU college campus in March -- does not know if he will return because both he and his mother are unemployed. I hear corporations giving more money to fix old problems that dollars in the past left wanting -- and many of those companies have no one of color on their boards to listen to. I hear communities mourn the loss of a society that historically and consistently falls short of justice for all. My heart is heavy but I do have hope because as long as we are vested in listening, someday, we will find our common ground in the future that is truly free and just for all.

I am a board director of the Global Listening Centre, an organization dedicated to increasing listening. Join us by listening to voices in neighborhoods where we live and in the context of the broader community as civil unrest sparks across countries and across continents. Let us all seek more to listen and understand shaping a future that is different from our collective past.

What can you do today to listen to different voices?

#listen #listening #hearing #itstartswithourvoices #thefutureofworkandentrepreneurship #thefutureofaccess #COVID19 #pandemic