Building Belonging through Conversations

In a time when so many are grappling with division and polarization in their communities, where does one start to build connections to better understand when and why do you feel like you “belong” in your community? In this new podcast conversation, we talk with Anjum Rahman and Atarau Hamilton-Fuller from Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono, based in Aotearoa New Zealand. In the aftermath of the horrific Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019, their collective’s work focused on visiting communities across the country to foster understanding, empathy, and a sense of belonging by encouraging participants to share personal experiences of inclusion and exclusion. Anjum and Atarau share about the unique, culturally grounded approach that they developed as their group hosted and facilitated “belonging conversations” across 46 cities and towns. These conversations, created with three simple yet revealing questions, helped create spaces where participants felt safe to be truly heard, learned the power of deep listening without judgement, and helped understand each other's shared humanity. As part of this discussion, we also demonstrate the conversation, exploring the three core questions to help understand why these discussions have been so powerful for participants. This discussion is essential listening for anyone seeking practical ideas for how to build understanding and foster genuine connection across different groups within the same community. Resources and Footnotes: Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono Resource: What does belonging mean to you? Resource: How to Hold a Conversation on Belonging More on Collective Impact Infographic: What is Collective Impact? Resource List: Getting Started in Collective Impact The Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0. The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By. Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/