Before I left Ottawa I participated in two days of training with the Center for Inter-Cultural Learning. Although I was already aware of many of the concepts discussed as part of the training a topic came up which I thought was worth discussing on my blog before writing about my experience in Uganda.
During the first afternoon of training we watched a TED talk called "The Danger of a Single Story."
The talk is given by Chimamanda Adichie, a writer from Nigeria who discusses the concept of a "single story." Basically what a single story is, is an explanation or story which we have developed for ourselves about a subject (such as a country or person) on which we do not have all of the information. So, for example, when many Westerners think about Sub-Saharan Africa, they often think of pictures of starving children with flies all over their faces. Of course such situations exist but it is not the only story. Indeed, there are also stories of power, of being rich and of overcoming adversity without the need for an interventions by muzungus (white people) or anybody else.
If you have been following my blog for a while you know that I try to discuss a variety of topics from a variety of angles (except for politics) (haha), but I would hope that the stories that I do present do not create a single story for anyone reading it.
So of course I encourage everyone to read more about Uganda, peace building and any other topics which might come up on this blog so that you have more than just a single story.
Here's the link for the TED talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg
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