Anti-Racism Persuasive Conversation Training (+ Doorknocking)

“By now, I think most of us recognise that respectful one-on-one face-to-face conversations are the best way to change people’s hearts and minds.

But when you’re talking to someone who’s deeply prejudiced, it’s sometimes hard to know exactly what to say.

So, we propose to run a two-hour training session on persuasive conversations, with a particular focus on pushing back against Islamophobia and engaging constructively with people who hold racist perspectives.

Brisbane’s Muslim community is crying out for non-Muslim allies to step up and do the hard work of reaching out to people who have been swayed by misinformation and lazy scapegoating.

The best way to learn how to talk to people about racism is actua…lly to just get out there and have a go. So, after the training session, anyone who’s interested is welcome to head out into the suburbs in pairs to try a bit of doorknocking.

This will be an opportunity to see what attitudes towards Islam are like in a relatively progressive suburb like Greenslopes, and get comfortable having open-ended conversations where rather than preaching to people, we learn to listen and connect with their hopes and fears, thereby creating the discursive space to change their perspectives.

We’ll lock in exact details closer to the date, but for now, please keep the afternoon free and start inviting your friends. If you’re concerned about racism and Islamophobia, this is a practical, constructive pathway to take action.” Jonathan Sri, Councillor for The Gabba