ALX Spaces: Taking On Tough Conversations

Trevor Kiplagat
Sep 1, 2018 · 3 min read

Last week, ALX hosted Mr. Boniface Mwangi, a political activist and photographer, who gave a bold and insightful talk on how to be “unreasonable”. This was during our guest speaker series dubbed ‘The Art of Being Unreasonable’ — TABU. While most of our focus at ALX is centered around leadership and career development, we do realize how important it is to recognize the contributions of people from different walks of life in a bid to build a stronger society.

For this reason, ALX strives to create a space of discourse and debate on important issues, without necessarily representing a single side and ignoring the other. Sometimes, the people we invite may or may not agree on certain issues. For example, Mr. Boniface Mwangi is a political activist and could have some very bold sentiments on certain matters. To some people, this may have been too controversial or unlikely to be discussed in a space like ALX.

For one, ALX does not support or advocate for any particular ideas or opinions. However, we do believe in the creation of forums for open discussion and examination of issues without bias. But why do we think it’s important to build this kind of spaces? Here’s why.

It Allows For Various Voices To Be Heard

Debate and discourse offer an opportunity for people from different backgrounds and affiliations to speak out and be listened to. Everyone has a different way of looking at things, and an open space like ALX allows them to share these different perspectives. It allows us to interact and engage with various views that we may sometimes find uncomfortable. And that’s okay. Our open conversations allow everyone to venture outside of his or her own ideological bubbles and begin to view things from different perspectives.

It Allows The Community To Come Together

The community always will have people of diverse and contrasting opinions. Rarely then would it be easy for them to exist in a single sitting, simply because they do not agree on certain issues? An open-minded sitting like ALX brings everyone together, irrespective of what opinions they hold. Little by little, people get to understand each other’s perspective through debate and open discussion. This kind of understanding helps to foster peace and harmony, a very key ingredient of progress in society.

It Helps To Build A Safe Space

During the ALX guest speaker series, we have witnessed how comfortable our guest speakers have been while tackling some difficult questions and topics. They find it easy to express their opinions and beliefs without fear. This is exactly what a safe space can do. Safe spaces are a huge opportunity to talk about issues, vent about injustices, and try to find solutions — openly. They allow people to provide answers to society’s biggest questions, in their own way, without the fear of being judged, criticized, or shamed.

In The Long Run

ALX is a life-long learning community which brings people from various backgrounds together. We want to build a space in which all these people can interact and engage openly, sharing their views on issues without reservation. We want to create a community where it is safe to challenge ideologies and the status quo. This is the community that will be ready and empowered to solve Africa’s big problems.

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