THINKposium

The theme of this year’s annual Diversity THINKposium, held at the Friday Center on September 4, was Voice. The event addressed how we use our voices to contribute to the sense of belonging for, and the retention and engagement of, all stakeholders at Carolina. Attendees participated in interactive workshops, insightful panel discussions and small group breakout sessions that explored the impact of using our voices to effectuate change.

Praticipants had the oppourtunity to hear from campus leaders, as well as Dr. Maria Armoudian, lecturer at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, who delivered the keynote, “From Human Potential to Genocide: How Media Helps Contracts Society.” Specifically, how do media and their messages influence political violence and reconciliation? How might media messages influence individual and societal potential? At a time of polarization, misinformation and the diminishing of traditional media, this talk explores the possible consequences of the mainstreaming of outrage, intolerance and extremism.

Drawing from some of the world’s worst-case scenarios—the Rwandan Genocide, the Holocaust and the Bosnian War—Dr. Armoudian discussed how media messages can interact with other sociopolitical conditions to stoke hate, rage and violence. What types of media messages did these scenarios have in common? What can we draw from these events in our modern, Internet age?

She then turned to what might be possible with another kind of media—with messages that can promote deeper understandings, reconciliation, and help protect the human rights of all citizens in a diverse society. What would be necessary to build such a media? How can we—as active citizens with media now at our fingertips—take part in this type of construction?

Breakout sessions engaged participants in role-playing and discussions about how to connect the Blueprint for Next with strategies for providing a space for “voice” in everyday practice, policies and programs.