The document discusses the importance of open dialogue and critical engagement with different perspectives. It proposes that no single perspective can claim to be absolutely right or valid. An open space for dialogue allows participants to explore different perspectives without commitment to any single view and for the purpose of self-transformation through exposure to differences. Dialogue and inquiry are meant to question our assumptions and understand reality from new perspectives by seeing through the eyes of others.

1. Presenters: Virclaisa Méndez Zulbely Miranda

2. “ If I think that only my truth is valid, I’ll close myself off to others and will not learn anything new. The right way to improve my perception and capacity to think and to hear with respect is to be open to differences and to refuse the idea that I am absolutely right. And if I am not the ‘owner of the truth’, I need to be permanently open. I need to be open to approach and being approached, to question and being questioned, to agree and to disagree”.

3. The OSDE methodology offers a set of procedures and ground rules to structure SAFE spaces for dialogue and enquiry about GLOBAL ISSUES and PERSPECTIVES focusing on INTERDEPENDENCE . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCAonWD6pwk

4. Everyone brings valid knowledge to the space. All knowledge is partial and incomplete. All knowledge can be questioned. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky61CGOsMRQ

5. An OPEN SPACE is a safe space where everyone is welcome and different perspectives can be explored. No one establishes the boundaries of what one should think or do in their lives. In an open space for dialogue and enquiry, participants are not committed to an identity, to an ideology or to achieving consensus, but to a process of self-transformation through the encounter with difference. DIALOGUE is an encounter with those whose view of the world is significantly different from our own: an encounter of worlds. The primary purpose of this opening out is for each to gain a new insight into reality. Such a dialogical encounter enables each of us to view ourselves, others, and the world, as well as our understanding of it, from a new perspective, enriched through the eyes of others*.

6. An ENQUIRY is a questioning process where we ask ourselves what our assumptions are, how they have been constructed and what are the implications of our ways of seeing and being. We also ask these questions in relation to the perspectives of others - as all perspectives (and knowledges) are partial and incomplete. This is done in order to open our hearts and minds to difference and to train our imagination in other (un)imaginable ways of relating, seeing and being. . CRITICAL ENGAGEMENT with perspectives is the opposite of critical disengagement (where perspectives are silenced) and uncritical engagement (where 'anything goes'). Engaging critically with perspectives is a respectful attitude that promotes attentive and serious listening and tracing of assumptions and implications. CRITICAL LITERACY is the capacity to trace assumptions and implications. It is knowledge about knowledge construction, the connection between knowledge and power and the implications of this connection to the ways people see and act in the world and relate to others.

7. Where is this perspective coming from? To whom it is addressed? How could this be thought otherwise? Other people´s perspective Our perspective Engage

8. Traditional Reading Critical Reading Critical Literacy Language : is fixed, transparent and gives us access to reality Language : is fixed and translates reality Language: is ideological and constructs reality Reality: Exists and is easily accessed though sensory perceptions and objective thinking Reality: Exists and is accessible, but it is often translated into false representations Reality: Exists, but is inaccessible (in absolute terms) – we have only partial interpretations constructed in language Knowledge: Universal, cumulative, linear, right versus wrong, fact versus opinion, neutral versus biased Knowledge: False versus true interpretation of reality Knowledge: Always partial, context dependent (contingent), complex and dynamic Focus : content and authority and legitimacy of the speaker and the text. Focus : context, intentions, style of communication Focus : assumptions, knowledge production, power, representation and implications Aim : to develop an understanding of the content To establish the truth-value of the text Aim : to develop critical reflection (ability to perceive intentions and reasons) Aim : to develop reflexivity (ability to perceive how assumptions are constructed)

9. … to see things from different perspectives … to acknowledge the political responsibilities we have as educators … to imagine other possible relationships and futures … to perceive ourselves as educators (not only as teachers/lecturers ) … to move beyond concepts and structures that are understood as givens … to examine the origins and implications of worldviews , values, beliefs and attitudes … to analyse the construction of knowledge , cultures, identities and relationships … to make connections between global and local contexts