Searching for Convivencia
Convivencia: a beautiful word that originated in Medieval Spain on the Iberian Peninsula. It refers to the ability to live together; to co-exist in a society where difference is appreciated, and conflict is navigated from a space of mutual respect and acceptance.
Convivencia is a state of being for a community. In modern times, the ability to live together and coexist is underpinned by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Philosopher AC Grayling describes human rights as opening a space around an individual human being so that they can make something of themselves – a life worth living, a meaningful life - and share it with those they care about. (Big Ideas Episode)
It means ensuring an individual receives the respect that he/she deserve just by virtue of being a human. In addition, human rights provide the space in which to breathe as an individual and give everyone the advantage of a “good light”. I love that concept: everyone deserves the benefit of a “good light”. The assumption is that everyone is a good person worthy to be seen, heard and known.
"However, our human rights are conditional: we need to live up to the respect, trust and belief that underpin those rights in order to receive them. By doing so we create Convivencia, the ability to live together in complex but harmonious communities."
But this requires hard work.
Firstly, we need to create the time to think slowly and deeply, and use social media wisely.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer, once wrote: “In this age of social media, where a story travels the world in minutes, silence sometimes means that other people can hijack your story and soon, their false version becomes the defining story about you. Falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it.”
AC Grayling describes social media as “creating silos, aggravating anger and inflaming things that should be dealt with in a calm way”. (Big Ideas Episode) I would say that social media does not encourage us to pause and breath. It encourages us to scroll, like, and post swiftly all while carefully curating our images so “we look good”.
In my speech on presentation day I asked the students the following: How many times have you accepted the opinions of others – of an influencer online – as the truth? How many times have you believed a Snapchat message about a friend and not given that friend the benefit of the doubt?
This is what Adichie is referring to when she wrote: “falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it”. When we stop thinking critically, we risk hijacking another’s story or having our own hijacked.
By contrast, we want students to slow their thinking. We want students to acquire knowledge, argue a claim and then pivot and argue a counterclaim because that is great thinking. There is a reason we value logic and reason as dominant modes of learning in schools; they require you to use evidence that is reliable and valid and explore alternative perspectives to test the strength of your ideas. Other ways of knowing are equally valid – emotion, intuition, imagination – but they need to be balanced by our ability to step back, take stock of a situation, look at all available variables and make informed decisions.
Here is my recommendation for students: over the summer, pick up a book, put down phones, and slow your thinking as you read deeply, engage in dialogue and struggle with ideas different to your own. Across our schools I hope we can work together to help question the stories that travel the world in minutes and look for the silences between the telling of the story and the reality of those who live them.
This is the first piece of hard work.
The second piece of hard work is to think and act with compassion.
Cultivating compassion is an essential ingredient in creating a more sustainable and peaceful world. But compassion is not passive. To be compassionate involves a motivation to care, the ability to think compassionately about others and to reflect on the impact of our thoughts, words and actions. It involves acting with dedication and generosity but not being submissive.
Paul Gilbert in the Compassionate Mind states that to be compassionate, “we need to stand back and think through the compassionate options in any situation, giving ourselves space enough for thought and discussion as we try to avoid being overly persuaded by our emotional reactions, no matter how intense they are.” (Gilbert 473) This speaks to the importance of slowing down, taking the time to read deeply and not always seeking out the quick social media fix.
Compassion also involves listening deeply and knowing ourselves well enough to recognise when our own biases are impacting our capacity to genuinely listen and hear voices different to our own. Cultivating a compassionate mind involves recognising our shared humanity and connection and the need to intentionally build compassionate communities. It involves moving beyond labels to engage in dialogue, one person and one group at a time.
It is at the heart of Convivencia as it involves putting aside judgment but having the courage to name actions and words that do not embody compassion. As Paul Gilbert says: “Each and every one of us can get involved in our workplaces and as consumers to demand kindness and ethical practice.” (Gilbert 504)
Why is the work important?
We live in a VUCA world, one that is VOLATILE, UNCERTAIN, COMPLEX, AMBIGUOUS. We also live in a world that at times can feel polarised and fractured, and where we are surrounded by negative news stories that drive us into the arms of social media. Social media, AI, smart devices are all part of our reality. Conflict and complexity are also part of life.
As is our innate desire to know, to think critically, to engage in dialogue and connection with each other, and to think and act compassionately.
When we are surrounded by the opposite of Convivencia – the opposite of a belief in our shared humanity – we must look for symbols of hope. Every day, I bear witness to our hope for the future in the form of our students, which is a privilege of the work I do. Every day I bear witness to our shared humanity and inalienable rights to dignity and respect.
Remember: together we are better. Together – in all our differences – we can sustain each other, our community, our world. Together, we can debate ideas from a place of mutual respect and understanding.