Revamping the Soliya Connect Program to foster better relations

The Soliya Connect program encourages communication across the globe, but is it doing enough? Their main objective is to facilitate conversations between a diverse body of students through video conferencing. A good goal and a fairly affective process, however, to truly make the desired impact the scale is too small and the time spent, far too short.

Students from the west and east are all schedule to meet at a certain time online to talk about international issues, and to develop a dialog. The time these students commit to the Connect program is two hours once a week. At the end of the week I know I struggled to even remember what we talked about. The program is useful for aiding in giving a face to that “other” side and allowing free discussion of almost any topic. Though, it is not enough. Two hours once a week is forgettable. There are three main problems with the Soliya Connect program. First: the sessions are too short. Second: the overall scale of the program is too small for the desired change and third: the sessions are too crowded to fully explore the opinions of the other participants.

I would recommend, having gone through the Soliya Connect program that the program extend itself to two hours three times a week. This would allow the students involved to avidly participate in the group and with more time the prompts could be discussed more in-depth and in greater length. With the added sessions more could be explored by the groups and a much deeper impression of the experience would be carried away with each student.

The idea behind the Soliya Connect program is to foster a greater understanding between the west and the Middle East. By conversing with people from all over the world one’s thought process’ have to change as the mind is confronted with new data which nullifies the old. The program helps rid the participants of some of the unfounded stereotypes that all parties may hold of the other. In the long run this is extremely helpful to the progress of the relationship between the West and the Middle East, indeed the Middle East and the world. As a multitude of individuals with first hand positive experiences go out and are able to put an end to media fostered untruths. That is change, but it is too slow and too small. The program is more a trickle of sand patiently wearing away a great boulder. To see the change Soliya desires the program must grow and involve a greater number of people. To do this without increasing the third problem with the Connect program, there would simply have to be more sessions held with more facilitators.

Each session typically has ten people actively involved; eight students and two facilitators. The diversity is astounding and allows for the ability to sit back and just listen to what other people are saying. While that is enjoyable, when the issue is a hot one and everyone wishes to contribute to the discussion, there are too many people to be fully heard. The groups need to be more around the number of four or five with two facilitators.

The changes I propose might be a tad intensive for Soliya’s current scale but it could be something they could work up to. I recommend the program I laid out above be used with the students who really show a great interest in the discussions as a more advance version of the Soliya program. This would build a greater interest in the program and aid in the change between U.S. and Middle Eastern relations. Once Soliya gains more momentum they should make this intensive program the standard and elaborate off of it for those seeking further interactions. After that, they should again break and create more sessions of equal intensity to truly make that impact in the experiences of all these curious individuals.

The Soliya program was captivating and stimulating but overtime that wonderment experienced with honestly listening to another’s opinion fades away. The experience is too impermanent. However with more sessions, two hours three times a week, a greater sphere of influence to increase the rate of impact, and fewer students per sessions to allow deeper discussion that joy might linger longer and allow itself to shared and savored.