Hellenic American Union students participated in the awareness raising exhibition and workshop “Dialogue in the Dark”, which changes the way we “see” things.
The students were led by blind guides in groups through specially constructed dark rooms at Badminton Theater, in which scent, sound, temperature and texture conveyed the characteristics of everyday environments. The daily routines became a new experience.
A reversal of roles was created: the ones who could see were taken out of their familiar environment. Blind people provided them with security and a sense of orientation by transmitting to them a world without pictures. As our students said, the event may have lasted about 60 minutes, but its influence will last forever. The impression students formed was that “Dialogue in the Dark” encouraged them to see the world through their other senses.
Dialogue in the Dark is an experiential learning activity of discovery, trust and development of the power of our senses, which aims at changing mindsets on disability and diversity, and at increasing tolerance for “otherness”. Since its first opening in 1988, over six million visitors from more than 30 countries and 130 cities all over the world have experienced “Dialogue in the Dark”.
