Breaking bread, beyond borders

Recently at dinnertime Gowri Om a 22yearold Bangalorean pursuing her Masters in Development sat in a room with five colleagues from Campus Diaries a youth initiative that focuses on publishing and storytellingNo one was eating and all eyes were on a laptop which flashed the status of the Skype call which was underway to a similar group in Islamabad Pakistan In seconds seven 20something members from Islamabadrsquos tech startup Aloo Clan waved at Om and the group They discussed what they were eating the biryani chhole makhni dal et al and got down to businessThe groups were part of The Virtual Dinner Guest Project started by Eric Maddox a US documentary filmmaker who believes that a dinner and dialogue on relevant matters can create cultural shifts between nations mdash especially those in conflict mdash ignore biased news reports and create a more reliable media of their ownIn 2010 while Maddox was filming a documentary along the USMexico border he connected a family in Ciudad Juarez Mexico with another in Santa Fe New Mexico ldquoIt struck me that a meaningful discussion with people across borders is more meaningful than reading news reports about themrdquo Since February 2012 Maddox has connected 14 countries across five continents including the MENA region The premise is simple mdash Maddox asks the teams to choose news reports about each other published in their national media and the teams discuss their portrayalsTop The team from India and Pakistan above with Usama Tauqeer third from right at the virtual dinnerThen both teams go back and film a documentary exchange the film and meet again to discuss itldquoInitially I would just connect people over dinner but I soon realised it wasnrsquot sustainable cut off from the laboratory of the real worldrdquo says MaddoxWhen India met Pakistan onlineldquoI was curious to see how teams from two countries perennially in conflict react to each other mdash would there be heated debate innate animosityrdquo Om remembers The ambiance she says was cordial Each team stuck to their stand when it came to the news reports but discussed Kashmir the BJP womenrsquos issues and the Partition amicablyIt was revealing says Om when the Pakistani team emphasised on the need for the world media to paint a realistic picture of Pakistan ldquoThe world sees Pakistan only as a state in turmoilrdquo says Usama Tauqeer the 21yearold founder of Aloo Clan who organised the Pakistani team He explains that the meal gave the two teams a chance to discuss the Pakistani society which enjoys access to opportunities social networks and has an informed wellrounded outlook ldquoThe discussion made me realise how skewed media portrayals are and that they do not reflect the views of youth mdash Indian or Pakistani mdash on groundThe team from Brazil at the dinnerAt the end of the dinner the Pakistani team suggested the Indian team make their documentary on what an average person on the street would like to tell Pakistan The Indian team wanted the Pakistani team to film one on the misconception Pakistan thinks the world harbours about themFor the documentary Maddox insists that the teams speak to a crosssection of the society which they did Both documentaries featured messages ranging from accusatory to affable but it was the result Om and Tauqeer say they are concerned aboutldquoWe are a bunch of educated privileged liberal people mdash but the fact that we chose our words so carefully during the dinner hints at subconscious prejudicerdquo says Om thoughtfully ldquoThis means nobody in either country knows everything Just because we donrsquot hear certain kinds of voices doesnrsquot mean they donrsquot existrdquo she adds referring to the voxpopuli in the documentariesTauqeer says he has friends all across the globe but admits that he did tend to paint India in black and white something he cannot do anymore ldquoWe have more in common than Coke Studiordquo he smilesAffecting changeFor the project to implement real change feels Maddox these videos must be institutionalised replicated on grassroots level go viral in educational institutions and become media outlets in themselves ldquoIf global citizens could turn to such alternative media instead of the traditional they would walk away with a richer cultural education These videos are a standalone news source and if people who want to know something about a country turn to them instead of the media they would be exposed to a whole new narrativerdquo says Maddox He believes that a reactionary approach to the media culture will not work and the best way to combat unethical journalism is to give people a platform for dialogueDinner with BrazilThis week Maddox will release the video featuring Indian and Brazilian teams that dined last week Fathima Harris a 22yearold IT consultant at Thoughtworks Bangalore has participated in the discussion ldquoWhat do Indians really know about Brazil except the last football World Cuprdquo says Harris Lilian de Munno who works in the companyrsquos Brazil office says she was keen to know the similarities the nations sharedthe Bangalore team filming their video for The Virtual Dinner Guest Project with Eric MaddoxThe discussion involved topics neither team expected to touch upon mdash female infanticide in India casteism the Commonwealth Games India hosted and rampant racism in Brazil The most significant part of the exercise for both teams however was encountering some unflattering ground realities in their own countries as they filmed their respective documentaries Harris who asked people on the streets of Bangalore how opportunities for women in India could improve ran into misogyny and support in equal parts ldquoI have learnt more about my own country and neighbourhood by being part of this projectrdquo she saysDe Munno on the other hand was out on Satildeo Paulorsquos streets asking locals how the racial divide could be bridged ldquoI was both frustrated and bewildered to know that most locals arenrsquot even aware of how critical the race issue is here Others passed the buck to the government and gave vague lsquosolutionsrsquordquo she says Harris and De Munno are now working on organising the virtual dinners with teams at their international offices and beyondldquoThe best part of this project is that it uses existing technology mdash some may trivialise it saying it is nothing new but how many have channelled this opportunity on a global level and seen their worldview changerdquo asks Om