Intercommunal Collaborations is a critical tool facilitating reflection on Eurocentric values and assumptions that dominate the international development sector. It asks "What if multiple world views co-exist?" and challenges the user to redefine development and work from different value systems.
It's all About Power
“There is widespread consensus that in partnerships for development, too much power is in the hands of donors and international NGOs, while partners in the South lack agency. Despite the consensus, power imbalances persist.” (Shift the Power, n.d.)
Imagine a tilted table; regardless of how much you push, it does not level. Can something be stuck underneath?
In the case of development, there are many things intertwined and stuck under that table, and one of the most consequential is the Eurocentric values and assumptions that are dominating the projects.
Intercommunal Collaborations challenges this domination by creating a space to imagine and work from alternatives.
What if everyone at the table is foreign to the values and norms you are expected to work by? Can we level the table by removing the block underneath and putting a mystery box in the middle?
It's Beyond a Sector
The starting point of the project is the international development sector; however, Eurocentric values and assumptions are in every aspect of our modern-day lives.
What do we consider qualified education? How do we judge success? Who do we consider trustworthy? The underlying values of society influence our answers to these questions. They foster our implicit biases and create predefined "goods" and "bads," eventually influencing our social interactions, professional decisions, and life choices.
As we are striving to transform into a sustainable society, we need to question the values that steer our thoughts; acknowledge different values others can hold; and imagine alternative ways our society can function.
Here's the First Step
The Intercommunal Collaborations workshop holds a mirror for you to reflect on your underlying values and assumptions. Working on case studies, we will experience how different values influence our processes and create different power dynamics - in both our professional and personal lives.
The workshop will help you take the first step towards questioning and acknowledging the values that influence our everyday decisions. Using the online platform, we will exercise working from different value systems and world views.
How would our lives change if society had different values? How would we perceive our current life if our reference frame was different? Seeking the pluriverse, we will imagine our own alternatives, and practice how to create a world where many value systems can co-exist.
