A comfortable place to feel uncomfortable…
What is Enlightenment Cafe?
- The goal of our project is to discuss topics of solidarity in an inclusive and educational forum. We hope to share and expand the concepts of the Solidarity Economy to those who have never heard of this kind of economics.
- What we hope to share is a knowledge of the Solidarity Economy and its processes, discussions on progressive ideologies and contemporary topics that affect us, continuous forum of discussion that acts as a safe space for students for express opinions and feelings without being judged.
Our story
We were having conversations about the things we learned in class with a friend and she apologized for an opinion that she had. This led us to talking about people feeling the need to apologize for their thoughts and not having a safe space to debate and learn. We decided to start the Enlightenment Cafe. With the Enlightenment Cafe, no matter the space being occupied, people are safe and free to share their opinion because the people are open minded and ready to learn.
Guidelines for each seminar
- Don’t assume harm – assume the person wants to learn
- Nothing is off limits
- Respect others, especially when you disagree
- Allow others to speak completely
- What’s said in the Cafe, stays in the Cafe
- We leave when everyone has said their fill
- Challenge the opinion, not the personal experience
Learn more about how to start your own Enlightenment Cafe: Enlightenment Cafe
Find our FaceBook page and contribute to the discussion here!
For more information about the topics, challenges, and successes we had with Enlightenment Cafe, please review our SOLIDARITY PROJECT WRITE-UP.
Wellesley Solidarity 