The language of barriers
The Innovation Services’s Diversity and Inclusion project “Reflections” advances efforts to drive cultural change within UNHCR and the wider humanitarian eco-system to increase diversity, inclusivity, and gender equity.
The project seeks to dig beneath the surface of our conversations around inclusion to understand how we innovate in the space of inclusion. We have reached out to people inside and outside of UNHCR, where vibrant discussions are ongoing, to find the stories and experiences that support the drive for structural and behavioural change.
In this interview, Gabriela argues, “Language is not just a tool for communication. Language also carries a lot of weight; cultural, social, and economic.” We often talk about the language of diversity, but lesser discussed is the diversity of language.
When Gabriela brought up the topic of language barriers and dynamics in her multi-cultural team in Geneva, an unlikely and lively conversation ensued about biases, linguistic advantage, and subtle barriers to communication. Gabriela walks us through her experience with language barriers in Afghanistan and Mozambique, and calls for solutions to communication hurdles.
