Cross-cultural Dialogue

The challenge:
In the United Kingdom, the relationship between the government and the Pakistani community is far more strained than the relationship between the U.S. government and the Pakistani-American community. The British government recognizes that increased isolation of communities that feel threatened increases hostilities and the potential for hostile actions.

Our role:
We were tasked with assisting the Department of Homeland Security in exposing Pakistani-British leaders to Pakistani-American leaders. Our feeling (one shared by the British government) was that the lack of positive role models in the U.K. increased the isolation of the Pakistani community there and that the Pakistani-American leaders could help the Pakistani-British leaders by sharing their experiences in the United States.

This process included a series of meetings in the United Kingdom and United States in which participants compared their knowledge, understanding and attitudes to find common ground to address common challenges. Outreach Strategists' approach was first to bring these groups together and then to help to moderate their conversation to steer it in a productive direction.

Working with senior members of the Department of Homeland Security and their counterparts in Great Britain, Outreach Strategists helped to organize the Transatlantic Dialogue. The Dialogue helped build a long-term network of Pakistani-American and Pakistani-British community leaders that will serve as a catalyst to foster integration and civic engagement among current and future generations.

The results:
The process continues today. Participants have responded positively and we believe that the increased dialogue between the two sides will continue to yield positive results in building resilient communities on both sides of the Atlantic.