Cultural Diversity and Conflict Resolution Program
On September 10 and 11, 2020, Sisters Elisa de Fátima Zuanazzi and Eliana Aparecida dos Santos gave a seminar on “Cultural Diversity and Conflict Resolution” to 30 employees of Nossa Senhora de Fátima maternity hospital in Curitiba. In order to maintain the social distancing and to facilitate the sharing of experiences the group was divided into two.
The program addresses topics such as: spirituality; communication; non - violent communication (NVC); culture and diversity; healthy relationship experience; conflicts and conflict resolution; careful listen; critical engagement with the different; the role of empathy for understanding and right relationships in a diversified institution; tenderness and life commitment were adapted to reality and organized in two steps. The next step will be on October 19th. A theme added to the content was the Congregational history of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, charism, spirituality and their presence in the world.
First of all, the employees were invited to bring a symbol that represented them and speak about themselves. The sharing was rich and it also helped us to know each other a little more. Some said that " it was a wonderful experience because we don't have the opportunity to hear each other in this way in our day to day life ". We used a window as a symbol, inviting them to restart. The motivation to “open the window” and restart in some aspect of life aroused expressions such as “I need to start loving again, start dreaming again, start relaxing, start smiling again etc.…”.
And how is my communication going? What is communication? How do I communicate? These were questions that led to profound reflections; an opportunity to look at oneself, daily actions and often-unhealthy relationships. Someone expressed “I never thought of putting personal relationships on my list of priorities. Now I realize how essential they are”.
The method of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) created by Marshall Rosenberg was presented and discussed at length. The four pillars: Observation, Feelings, Needs and Request, were worked on, including concrete examples that the employees brought after a group work. The NVC method was well received and above all the participants had the idea of &8203;&8203;creating a discussion group on the method used in Maternity. This will help them to identify how they are communicating and how they can apply the pillars of NVC in their daily experiences at work.
The last theme reflected was on diversity and culture. After a brief introduction with a video about different cultures, each of the employees was invited to identify traits of their personal and family culture in the images shown in the video and thereafter repress to which trait they most identify with. This was also an important moment for the participants for their self-awareness.
The next step, will take place in October meanwhile the group is asked to put into practice something which they identified in these two days and which needs a restart in life.
Sr. Eliana Aparecida dos Santos
