Culture is everywhere, from the streets to the workplace to behind our front doors. It influences our clothing, art, music, food and even our interactions with each other. Symbols, heroes and rituals give us hints about how people function in a society. Swiss psychologist Carl Jung stated, “Anything that irritates us in another can help us understand ourselves better.” How does someone on the outside see us? Who are we essentially? Our mental heritage determines how we interpret words, phrases and stories. We see through our own cultural glasses. What does this mean for our role as citizens? We are mostly unaware of culture. It is like air: indispensable, but invisible. This makes it difficult to define. An Arabic proverb says, “We don’t know who invented water, but it certainly wasn’t a fish.” The fish swims in its water and knows nothing else. Only in a different environment, with warmer or colder, saltier or sweeter water, does he realize, “This is different! This is not my water!” The fish experiences that there are other waters. The same is true of cultures. Cultural differences really become noticeable when they clash, when they are diametrically opposed. This can lead to discomfort, misunderstandings and even polarization. Not because people are unwilling, but because there is increasing division. We have a natural tendency to judge the behavior of others through our own cultural lenses. We often rely on stereotypes, which are often half-truths and lead to prejudice and misinterpretation.
Therefore, the Connect2Us Foundation’s goal is to help everyone, and especially children, engage with each other and guard against prejudice. We want to share stories to learn that while there may be cultural differences, they don’t have to be “scary” or “weird,” but “fun” and “interesting.” We want to learn that in the end we have much more in common than we have differences. Connection instead of surprise.
This annual report is about rolling out Empathy Land internationally, including to other language areas. The game is already being used in some schools in Italy. Talks are underway in Canada, Sweden, Germany and Dubai. In Canada and Dubai, the Lions club also seems to be the entry point to get started.
Remote outreach is very difficult. We have not yet found the right form to manifest ourselves through Instagram and TikTok. Partly due to the limited time of volunteers, but also due to the lack of knowledge. In 2024, we will consider the goals of the Foundation and how to use the limited funds.
President Jan Vincent Meertens and volunteer Divya are writing a book based on the stories we also use at Connect2Us. The publicity surrounding that book could have a positive impact on the Foundation’s reputation. It is being investigated how the book will be published, perhaps under the management of the Foundation.
On behalf of the board, Jan Vincent Meertens
President
March 2023
Read the 2023 annual report here