Covid-19 first went down through the far east countries. The Dialogue in the Dark exhibitions which had to close first were those located in China, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. What to do if real physical encounter is not possible?
A Dialoguer hardly ever gives up! Resilience is what make us unique. DiD Japan shows us that it is possible to take the Dialogue home and continue accomplishing our social mission.
The heart of the Dialogue experiences lies in the encounter through real interactions. But currently the real physical encounter is restricted to keep everybody’s health. That is why DiD Japan has launched the Dialog Online Study, which is a free of cost platform for online learning for blind DiD guides to interact with kids whose schools are closed due to Covid-19.
The Dialogue online program consists of three main subjects: “let’s rely on your voice,” “learning how to study without eyesight,” and “you can Dialogue even in a not real place.”
The blind collaborators at DiD Japan have developed this lessons and are ready to share and teach to children. Among those blind collaborators is Hiyama, who online interacted with the kids for the first time: "Before it started, I was very nervous because I was worried. But I am glad they enjoyed it. I could feel that I could make use of my attending experience in the dark. I think that the process that I unfolded was the same as guiding people in the dark, following what people said on the other side of the screen.”
Producer of the Dialogue Online Study, Kiyoe Shimura, explains why they decided to start: "I can imagine from my experience as a parent, it is hard for kids who cannot go to school suddenly and forced to be at home. While we are also self-restraining, I wondered what we could do and how we can entertain children at home to have just a little fun. I decided to make the dialogue according to the current situation. DID is entertainment. We are always hoping for a better world.”
What our Japanese partners are teaching us is reframing. Shimura explains: "Since the government has talked about self-control, we have been refraining from the DiD event since last month. I figured out that way to connect our attendants and children online. Not necessary to come to this place but still kids can experience the dialogue with the attendants. The experience of darkness can be used anywhere. "
The online study program, which starts on the 6th, will be held twice a week. Like the event in the dark, the number of participants is eight. It will be distributed separately on YouTube.
Crisis is an opportunity to change, evolve and develop. Over the last 30 years we have presented the Dialogue experiences as tool to cope with uncertainty. Now it is time to proof this. And our Dialogue partner in Japan is a great example of reframing, resilience and innovations! Congratulations for that and thanks a lot for inspiring us to overcome this dark together!