Unpacking Interconnectedness: The Experience of ‘Creating an Inclusive Narrative’
By Ida Walker
The COVID-19 pandemic has impelled people around the globe to reflect on the character of the societies in which they live and the world we share. It has raised fundamental questions about individual and national identity that will remain relevant long after the most acute effects of the pandemic have receded. As the Governance Befitting statement noted, “rapidly shifting global realities” are prompting “a deeper appreciation of humanity’s interconnection and interdependence.”
This is as true of my home country of Australia as anywhere else. Careful attention to discourse here—from personal conversations to national debates—reveals that people tend to group themselves into three distinct streams of social identity: those of Indigenous heritage, European settlers, and modern migrants. This view has implications for our sense of belonging and how we are expected to participate in shaping our society. It also leaves us grappling with questions around our collective identity as a country. Who are we? Are we one people, rather than a collection of backgrounds? What values do we share? What kind of future society do we want to create?
To explore such questions, the Australian Baha’i Office of External Affairs, with which I am affiliated, hosted a series of more than 50 consultative roundtables across the country. Representatives were invited from community, cultural, and religious groups, NGOs, all levels of government, media, academics, and thought leaders. Participants were invited to share views on the national story we are or could be telling together, and to learn from others’ perspectives—all with the aim of identifying aspirations for the future that we hold in common.
Some 500 participants spoke on topics ranging from the deeply personal to the consciously global. Among them: the need to be ever mindful of our interconnectedness and the implications that individual choices have on the collective; diversity being not just a fact of life but an asset in the construction of a harmonious society; the important role youth play in breaking down long-held prejudices and constructing more inclusive societies; and the need for the flourishing of society to be considered in light of our relationship with the environment and the finite resources of the earth.
It became clear that if we are to be striving to understand our oneness more fully, we must also be considering historical injustices, explicitly and honestly. Participants offered personal experiences with displacement, gender-based violence, prejudice, disunity, youth-related challenges, historical trauma, and poverty, to name a few. From grassroots neighbourhoods to the halls of government, the perspectives of those who have experienced injustice are indispensable in efforts to construct a more just society for all.
Contributions from the many conversations that took place were distilled into a publication titled Creating an Inclusive Narrative. This sought to weave together the many stories of our country and to articulate a narrative of the future we wish to create together. It endeavored to not only describe aspirations we hold in common, but also to help us appreciate how diverse ideas and experiences assist in finding solutions to complex challenges. All those who generously offered their time and thoughts were encouraged to continue this national conversation with their own spheres of influence. Our hope was that all would see themselves in this publication and feel a sense of ownership over its findings and suggestions for further inquiry.
Among the lessons we learned in this project was the importance of process being based on principle. All of the roundtables, for example, were organized around a conception of consultation that involves detachment from personal opinions, commitment to a collective search for truth, harmonization of candor and courtesy, and prioritization of the common good over particular interests or constituencies. Prevalent in our country is the belief that democracy is built on the clash of debate and argument. But antagonistic modes of operation can dissuade thoughtful people from taking part, and can set diverse groups up for conflict instead of insight. Baha’is do not claim to be experts in the art of consultation. But in striving to employ this approach alongside our compatriots, these roundtables offered a chance to explore a different way to achieve effective outcomes and build consensus.
Cultivating unity at higher and wider levels is an ongoing process. Humanity itself is going through a time of transition and instability, uncertain not only of how it will emerge from a pandemic, but how it will address a changing climate, growing economic inequality, and similar challenges. A profound reorientation towards values based on the oneness of the human family offers the promise of releasing stores of untapped capacity needed to meet such challenges. This is a time for courage, noble aims, and high resolve. It is our hope that this long-term vision for action will bear witness to greater degrees of unity being forged in our national context.
Ida Walker is a representative at the Australian Baha’i Community’s Office of External Affairs. Her work focuses on social issues including social cohesion, gender equality, youth and social transformation, the role of religion in society, and the environment.