I was lucky enough to be able to present at the recent 2021 Global Conference of Empathy presented by Virtual School of Australia. Here is why I wanted to participate;
Our brain develops in a social context.We need others around us so that we can interact with and experience life with them. It is through this interaction one can develop a sense of themselves with the sense of the other whom they are interreacting with.
We are all now living in an intense world. It is becoming harder each day. The advancement of technology, although has brought many benefits to our everyday lives, has also been instrumental in significantly reducing the interactions that we are all having with each other. If we stop in a variety of different settings whether this is a restaurant, a café, a party, a school or a gathering of sorts we can quite clearly see the impact, demanding us to do something about it.
I’ve spent the last five years studying empathy and its importance. Since 2019 I have been facilitating social and emotional development programs in both primary and high schools in Victoria to students who are thirsty for knowledge. I have enjoyed every bit of this process. Now, more than ever before, we need to do something urgently to support our young people and their future.
In this poem, I will share my views to demonstrate why empathy is essential to our growth and healthy development and how we need to can cultivate it in our lives in all settings.