The Roots Exchange: Different Lives
Abiola and I, here at The Roots Programme, are getting ready to start another round of our gently held exchanges from March. Our Roots Exchanges are over around 6 weeks and involve us pairing up people from different places with different lives around the UK to ‘see how the other half live’. Some of the time it might feel like having a pen pal, and at others it feels like taking part in a Human Library, it involves sharing and reading and listening to another perspective. We believe a more connected, curious and compassionate society is possible, and our exchange offers ‘unlikely’ connections with people from across our society, that you otherwise might never stumble across, with a life experience different to your own to be curious about.
It can be difficult to step outside our social bubbles, we tend to surround ourselves with people who share similar beliefs, values, and experiences as us. This is often referred to as ‘homophily’, the tendency to associate with people who are similar to us. Our social bubbles can be formed by a variety of factors, including our geographic location, our education background, our occupation, our socioeconomic status, and our interests and hobbies. We may also be influenced by the media we consume and the online communities we participate in.
Stepping outside our bubble is an opportunity for personal growth and learning. It can help us to develop empathy and understanding for people who are different from us and to broaden our perspectives. It can also be a way to build relationships and connections with people who we may not have otherwise encountered. Roots ensure people come together as equals, we give you the common goal of connecting compassionately with your partner and allow you space to cooperate, all whilst held gently and supportively together by the Roots team.
Some people on the exchange find themselves sharing and communicating with someone entirely different to themselves, and others, despite our best attempts to pair across a range of differences, find a multitude of similarities with their partner in the end. Some people don’t reach the end, and that’s ok too. Any which way, to dare to try is the exercise we support – to take a step outside of the safety of your social bubble and to exchange our unique perspectives and life experiences with others is what we all need to do more of to dispel our fear of ‘other’ and to build a more connected and compassionate culture.
We don’t tend to give too much detail up front around our activities across the six weeks usually, to keep things fresh and interesting, but we’ve felt moods change. The social world and worlds of work that we must step back out into don’t feel quite as comfortable now, perhaps, as they once did, and so we have tweaked the exchange activities and made them more approachable and thought-provoking, we hope, with the psychological safety of knowing that the activities are very carefully thought out and won’t create tension between you.
In week one we pair you and you learn only your partner’s name and you may hear a recording of their voice, but you won’t communicate directly for another few weeks. Week one should feel like a very, very gentle introduction. Again, in weeks two and three, you will share written or transcribed information about your tastes, your daily routine and your passions and interests, with Roots doing the actual exchanging of materials between partners, as intermediaries.
From week four partners begin to communicate directly, without Roots as intermediary, but to ease you in, we initially set a task to discuss on a phone call or an online call. After that, the final two weeks are conversations around themes that Roots believe we do not discuss often enough, our senses of belonging and of difference. The Exchange does not pitch people against one another, we want to reduce debate and argumentative conversation as our first port of call – we encourage and support compassionate curiosity and dialogue, that is what this space is for, to practise those things mindfully and with intent to go away and plant seeds within your own worlds for the same. As I said before, we believe that a more connected, curious and compassionate society is possible.
Join us on an exchange
