• Learned:
    • The “identity” concept: we expanded it to include more diverse aspects, way more than just geographical location of birth and ethnicity. The layers to identify myself are much more complex than a few words. The TED Talk (Don’t ask me where I am from, ask me where I’m local) showed glimpses of how someone can carry different identities that are all of them; what matters is where you feel connected to, and this is where you can say you are local to. The concept is great for me as it breaks the limits we usually draw the moment we know someone’s nationality or ethnicity and introduces a deeper way of connecting with each other.
    • Adding to the identity point, it was also good to explore the concept of single story and how it usually affects one’s perception of something. If the person does not open the way to criticize the story and information he listens to and does not add another layer to it, he usually becomes delusional and biased. I can say that the examples set in the TED talk (The Danger of a Single Story) were thorough and delivered the idea clearly.
    • Learned about creative licensing and the use of the different categories, where we expanded more on the idea of copyright, and we carried out the activity to show the benefits of the (Creative Commons License) against just copyrights, which is needed in our digital world today with the type of variety of work and sharing options. We tested the difference with the activity we did in class.
    • The last topic I will add is Empathy, the ability to feel others. Regarding this topic, we had several activities, from the (Spent) and Forum games to make us feel like the person who is in the situation in real life, to the exercise where we annotated the reading of the Syrian woman in war. The idea itself of being able to put yourself in the shoes of the other person and seeing the matter from their point of view is a quality I would love to see more people possess. Also, the concept of microaggressions and microinterventions was a good application of how bias works and how to deal with it. It opens ways of dealing with fixed societal aspects without forcing our way through them and introduces a way of discussion.
    • The Soliya experience is a chance to engage with new people who carry various cultures and knowledge; so, it is a good chance to explore knowledge, ideas, and other perspectives. I would like to see the ideas we discussed brought to life by other groups that are foreign to me and see how they perceive it from their end. Maybe I will find myself as a minority in another place in the world, or I am from a discriminated group in another part of the world, or even more privileged in another part. This, in my opinion, will give me good perspective and engagement with the topics.

 

  • What I learned about myself and my identity.
    • I will say that my perspective about my identity was strengthened because I never saw myself as one bound to land; rather, I was always referring to the identity I can connect with anywhere and be involved in its strengths and weaknesses across the globe. I will move toward the principles and won’t go back on them. I have always defined myself as Muslim, so every place where I can be a Muslim is my place; my community is the Muslims because of the easy connection that can be initiated from the common belief. So, how I define myself just became stronger, where it is not framed just by a biased opinion or a fixed set of related stereotypes. Regarding the Soliya program, I do not think that my identity will create a barrier; however, it may be perceived as one. Also, one has experiences from life that will surely affect one’s opinions and stands, which I believe will be interesting since we will have a diverse collection of identities.

 

  • About different cultures.
    • I was involved in community activities from a young age; hence, I was introduced to a wide range of different communities and identities. Then, I had to interact with these identities not just in a shallow way but as a mentor, where I was training some of their children. The experience I gained from such involvement at a young age kept growing with me, and that is why I was able to expand this quality through my life in different fields and developed the ability to deal with differences and handle them in a diverse environment. Moreover, capitalize this difference and produce a shared product where all the group is part of. So, to answer the question, I will say that I believe that differences are always good but to capitalize on the benefits, I first should stand clear by my principles, not compromising them for the sake of the other, after that, I should perceive the others according to my identity and my scale but give the opportunity to expand this scale, again without compromising my core principles. Regarding the Soliya program, as I said before, it will be a great opportunity to expand this identity scale and add more perspectives to it, allowing me to see more angles and views for each different culture.

 

  • Political issues
    • Regarding the current global political state, I think that it is an urgent matter that each one should have a stand since it involves other human beings’ lives and it will most probably have consequences on people around the globe; hence, it is good to have a discussion about it. If it were for me, I would give the discussion the opportunity to flourish, reflecting on the humanitarian, economic, and security aspects. It will be good to then have if people back up their opinions with historical facts and statistics.