It's a small world, after all

I found myself thousands of kilometres from  Cape Town having a conversation with a Swedish woman in traditional Midsummer dress, and the UAE ambassador to Sweden, about Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie’s book, Half of a Yellow Sun, which we had all read and enjoyed.

My son and I have spent four days in a small town in Sweden attending the Tallberg Forum. Tallberg is situated on the edge of Lake Siljan, a three-and-a-half-hour train ride to the north of Stockholm.  It has 230-240 permanent residents and eight hotels, all of which started out as farmhouses. The green hills surrounding the water, and long days of sunshine far from the bustle of the city, are conducive to interaction, reflection and absorption.

Every year since 1981 the Forum has been convened around the theme “How on earth can we live together?” It was established to provide a platform for free and open exchange of ideas and experiences. Participants come from all walks of life, from over 70 different countries. The people who attend are committed to finding solutions to improve the state of the world and are involved in businesses or NGOs which support that commitment. 

This year the focus was on globalization and how it relates to education, technology, culture, religion, race and identity. Huge problems exist globally around issues of the environment, education, health and human rights. I was struck by how South Africa is a microcosm of the concerns around the world.  

Our society is still so deeply divided and we are suspicious of those from whom we have been separated by apartheid. Before we can interact with the rest of the world, we need to learn to interact with the people who we live side by side with. We need to take time to get to know our neighbours, the people we go to school or university with, and the people we work with. We need to create an environment that invites sharing; a sense of community on a local and national level before we can truly be part of and participate on a global platform. Stereotypes and prejudices exist because we don’t take the trouble to move out of our comfort zones to get to know each other.

There’s hard work still to be done, necessary if we want to move forward. While we may not all agree on the issues, it is important to start talking. We may find that we are not all that different after all.