Frequently asked questions: short answers
1. How do we connect with people outside of our circles?
Start by acknowledging the unconscious bias that causes us to favour people who share the same interests, backgrounds and experiences as we do. We are generally more comfortable with people who are similar to us.
- Host booths/tables to talk to new people!
- Engage with other groups. Find out about their activities, attend their events/meetings and, if appropriate, share about a campaign or project they might be interested in collaborating on.
- Recognize that different types of relationships are possible. We don't need to force total agreement and alignment. A group or individual may want to start by collaborating minimally, perhaps because they need to confirm the intentions of the group or individual approaching them (e.g., Tokenism, social capital).
- Keep in mind the importance of making collaboration enjoyable (and desirable). Don't make it a chore to collaborate!
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