POWERED BY OUR COMMUNITIES.
OUR IMPACT REPORT FOR 2022
Snapshots from our Dialogue Partners in 2022.
Welcome!
We are thrilled to announce that in 2022, we welcomed our 10 millionth visitor since 2000.
We couldn't have achieved this milestone without you; our Dialogue communities.
Our vibrant communities of guides and facilitators work tirelessly to deliver life-changing experiences daily. Our Dialogue Partners build social businesses against all odds. We can rely on Experts to keep our content relevant and our minds fresh, while our supporters watch our backs and help us power through. Even the paper pushers, toiling in front of their screens to keep the machine running, are precious to us as a community.
Thank you.
This year, we've kept our report short and focused on the core of what we've accomplished as a community in 2022. We believe that this report showcases the essence of our achievements and the progress we've made together.
CHANGE, POWERED BY OUR COMMUNITIES.
Small or big, social change happens daily within our communities. That's what makes us proud and gives us the energy to expand our reach.
Here are some chosen stories from 2022:
REACHING NEW CROWDS IN ISTANBUL
Dialogue in the Dark & Dialogue in Silence.
This year we signed a protocol with the National Directorate of Education in Istanbul. From now on the Dialogue Museum is proposed to schools as an important educational space to help students grow empathy. Also, the bus drivers at Istanbul public transport started to visit the Dialogue Museum regularly, to help them welcome disabled passengers better.
BACK IN FOCUS IN VILNIUS
Dialogue in the Dark.
In 2022, our big event to celebrate our 6th birthday came as a miracle after Covid-19. It's so exciting to see that our come back is a success! People remember us and are coming back. To celebrate our birthday, we 'traveled' the world visiting DiD partners from different countries with music, tastes, traditions, activities and smells. 67 visitors were decorated with the attributes of DiD countries and transformed from shy Lithuanians before the event into highly emotional and celebrating citizens of the world.
HEALING TEACHERS IN SEOUL
Dialogue in the Dark.
Since Korea's "Dialogue in the Dark" was included in the Korean middle school morality book, many students have attended "Dialogue in the Dark" for educational purposes. Meanwhile, teachers have also attended "Dialogue in the Dark" as part of a program hosted by a local autonomous district. This time, the aim was not to guide the students, but to heal the tired and wounded hearts of the teachers. For them the 100-minute journey in the dark became a time of rest, comfort and healing. Thanks to this program, we realized that darkness has meaning for everyone.
A RISING STORY FROM MUMBAI
Dialogue in the Dark.
Husna Abdul Gafoor Shaikh, once hailing from a poor background, is now leading a financially independent life through her employment at Dialogue in the Dark Mumbai. Although Husna faced rejections and lack of opportunities in the job market. We recognised her potential and willingness to move out of her comfort zone to overcome her challenges and took her in. Husna adapted quickly. By now she is a strong self-confident employee. When her family visited her in July and witnessed her experience with DiD, they were immensely proud of what Husna has become. They are delighted that Husna is able to showcase her skills and earn a living by inspiring people to create a more inclusive society. The photo shows Husna (2nd from right) with her family.
BACK, AS TEAM, IN KUALA LUMPUR
Dialogue in the Dark.
The year 2022 started on a gloomy note as we had to close our exhibition venue in January. Most of our team members, including Lynn, our project manager for the last ten years, had to be laid off. It was sad to let them go, but it was also encouraging to see that they were able to start a new career path not long after they left. In the last quarter of 2022, when the pandemic restrictions were eased, we performed three more events in the dark. And almost all team members who left us before came back to offer their facilitation services on a part-time basis. So we assured that the show will go on - despite all odds.
SUPPORTING VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN HONG KONG
Dialogue in the Dark & Dialogue in Silence.
During the COVID wave in early 2022, thousands of elderly in China were isolated and prohibited to leave their homes. We mobilized our hope ambassadors – well-trained individuals with visual impairments – to make emergency calls and reach out to the elderly to ensure their well-being during this crisis. It was an amazing experience that our WeCare service was able to provide help during those critical times.
DIALOGUE WITH DISTANCE IN MELBOURNE
Dialogue in the Dark.
Since COVID we can’t operate in person anymore, so we run workshops virtually. Not Dialogue in the Dark in its traditional form, but rather dialogue with distance, via virtual interaction with turned off cameras. Even if the impact isn’t the same since COVID, we continue talking about how dialogue can look and feel in a post-pandemic era. We've been fortunate to hold our place as a provider of culture and leadership for our clients. This is primarily due to our outstanding team supporting us
MANAGEMENT COURSES IN MOSCOW
Dialogue in the Dark & Dialogue in Silence.
Thanks to our whole team we were able to overcome the pandemic crisis and even improve our performance compared to 2021. We won new clients, with whom we conducted a series of training courses on ‘Management in the Crisis’. One client commented on our workshops saying: "The concept of the program is quite unique. You learn in absolute darkness to move towards the same goal."
Read on, for more stories from our Dialogue Partners👇
OUR IMPACT IN 2022.
We make an impact by breaking down barriers and re-thinking social norms in order to drive sustainable change.
In practice, we empower people through transformative learning experiences at our museums and through our corporate training programs.
In 2022 we've strengthened our global footprint:
cities where Dialogue Partners were present in 2022:
23
locations (re)opening in 2022:
2
(Mumbai, India
and Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Dialogue Partners are local social entrepreneurs or organizations that operate Dialogue programs globally:
Australia - Melbourne - Dialogue Partner since 2019
Austria - Vienna - Dialogue Partner since 2009
Brazil - Sao Paulo - Dialogue Partner since 2015
China - Hong Kong - Dialogue Partner since 2010
China - Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen - Dialogue Partner since 2010
Egypt - Cairo - Dialogue Partner since 2019
Germany - Frankfurt - Dialogue Partner since 2005
Germany - Hamburg - Dialogue Partner since 2000
India - Mumbai - Dialogue Partner since 2022
Israel - Holon - Dialogue Partner since 2004
Italy - Milan - Dialogue Partner since 2005
Japan - Tokyo Minato-ku, Tokyo Shinjuku - Dialogue Partner since 1999
Lithuania - Vilnius - Dialogue Partner since 2016
Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur - Dialogue Partner since 2013
Mexico - Monterrey - Dialogue Partner since 2014
Russia - Moscow - Dialogue Partner since 2020
Singapore - Dialogue Partner since 2009
Singapore (Dialogue with Time) - Dialogue Partner since 2017
South Korea - Seoul - Dialogue Partner since 2010
Taiwan - Tapei - Dialogue Partner since 2011
Turkey - Istanbul - Dialogue Partner since 2013
This year, COVID restrictions still forced us to close down some locations. But we opened back up, step by step:
people reached in 2022:
419 432
x2 compared to 2021 🎊
people reached since 2000:
+ 10 Million 🎉
This year, we safeguarded jobs against all the odds:
employees in 2022:
597
% employees with a disability:
62%
employees with disabilities transferred
to the open job market:
24
Love numbers? We have them.
We publish an extended benchmarking report for our closest partners. Reach out to get access.
WHO WE ARE.
We're a mission-driven organization that has its roots in the creation of Dialogue in the Dark in 1988.
We inspire dialogue that involves everyone and we create a world where inclusion is the driving force for a more equitable society. Every day we work to empower people through transformative learning experiences. We break down barriers and re-think social norms in order to drive sustainable change.
For social entrepreneurs, museums, universities or foundations, we're a social franchiser. We deliver consulting services to help them operate programs of the Dialogue portfolio in their local context. They, the Dialogue Partners, make the magic happen.
For organizations and businesses, we deliver experiential engagement and training programs that help them roll out successful Diversity and Inclusion strategies and build a new generation of inclusive leaders.
OUR IMPACT MODEL
# of Sustainable Development Goals
directly impacted by our work:
3
OUR PORTFOLIO
Our portfolio is centered around four main programs:
DIALOGUE IN THE DARK takes the audience out of their familiar environment and places them in the hands of a guide who is blind. Visitors experience these environments and daily routines in new and unfamiliar ways. The exhibition creates a reversal of roles with people who are blind providing visitors with a sense of security and helping them orient in a world without images.
DIALOGUE IN SILENCE follows the same principles. The setting is a sound-proof room in monochromatic white, and visitors wear sound-cancelling headsets. Visitors are instructed before entering the exhibition not to speak but to use only non-verbal communication with the guide who is deaf. People quickly learn to listen with their eyes and express themselves with gestures.
DIALOGUE WITH TIME aims to foster an inter-generational dialogue and to overcome prejudices, wrong assumptions, and stereotypes regarding old age. Guides are age 70 and older, and they lead visitors through the exhibition acting as facilitators with their expertise in aging.
DIALOGUE ONLINE is a series of online experiential learning sessions designed to help organizations and teams build inclusive work cultures that are more creative, resilient and productive. We get people engaged about Diversity and Inclusion, and give them the soft-skills they need to embed inclusion in every thing they do. Sessions are built around the same transformative learning principles as our exhibitions and are mediated by a team of experts with lived experiences of disabilities.
IMPACT, SMALL AND BIG.
We've asked our CEOs and founders, four direct questions about how we achieve impact, small and large. Here's what they shared with us:
ANDREAS HEINECKE
Founder & CEO (until March 2023)
WHAT'S YOUR STORY OF IMPACT FOR 2022?
2022 was a year full of challenges.
DSE has managed to adapt to the adverse circumstances and, above all, has developed new digital forms of learning that are being tested successfully and will now expand our spectrum. It’s wonderful to see that even in an online setting the encounter between people with and without disabilities leads to a shift of perspectives, and encourages all participants to an open-minded exchange.
The online dialogue has a huge potential and will complement our Dialogue exhibitions in the future.
SVENJA WEBER
CEO (from October 2022)
WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN FOR YOU, WHEN WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITIES?
I always understand my work under the aspect of appreciative cooperation. For me, networks are a natural and integral part of this. And this only works if the view of cooperation is directed far beyond short-term success to long-term cooperation. This creates added value for everyone involved. This is sustainability.
Of course, sustainability is also a commitment at all levels: nature, people, society, family, networks. This commitment creates trust and mutual growth.
ORNA COHEN
Co-Founder
WHAT'S YOUR SECRET SAUCE TO PROMOTE BETTER VISITOR EXPERIENCES IN OUR MUSEUMS?
For me, four ingredients come together to offer an attractive and impactful exhibition:
First, the visitor is both the object and subject of the exhibition: Visitors are part of this experimental set-up. They must act, interact and make decisions.
Then, the space is unexpected and unusual. The experimental set-up should be designed as an emotional space to attract visitors' attention. In this world visitors will be disturbed, have to interact and leave their comfort zone.
Also, the exhibits must be invitations to play. Exhibitions should offer playful and joyful situations in which people tend to be more open to taking risks, to be vulnerable and to question their attitudes.
Finally, communication and cooperation are essential to the visit. The exchange between visitors creates an emotional bond and promotes cohesion with the satisfaction of accomplishing something together.
MATHIAS TERHEGGEN
Partner
WHAT CAN WE ALL DO, EVERY DAY, TO SHOW MORE EMPATHY TOWARDS THOSE AROUND US?
I try to role model to my children in the hope that they get better than I am. I focus on cognitive empathy. Each one of them may have his or her own way to be more empathic.
For myself, keeping up curiosity towards other people in my professional and private surrounding and making a conscious effort to get to know them better is a way of “practicing” my empathy.
Like all practice, I don’t do it enough.
And like all practice, it gets easier with time.
WHAT'S NEXT? MORE CHANGE.
A new CEO and new faces (and their accompanying brains and energy) at DSE. COVID restrictions finally out of our way. More and more organizations putting Diversity and Inclusion on top of their agendas. Our network of experts opening up to more diverse life experiences of disabilities. New exhibitions under development. New potential partners we are talking to...
Let's see what 2023 can throw at us. We're ready, because we know you are as well. Some sneak peeks at what's coming:
INNOKLUSIO
National model project in Germany.
Innoklusio is a model project in which 14 brave, diverse pilot companies joined forces to create a more inclusive working world. We offer our partners specific building stones on their company sites: In addition to a mobile interactive exhibition on the issues of inclusion and disability, we offer inclusive leadership seminars and an in-depth educational program for inclusion managers.
Major corporations such as Bayer, Generali or Boehringer Ingelheim sit down with mid-tier enterprises such as Hamburg Airport or Deutsche Welle and enter an exchange with organizations of the social sector such as Ashoka. The dialogue that takes place within this platform fertilizes DSE and our partners, and plants a seed of inclusive work in the German economic community.
OPENING IN RIO!
Dialogue in the Dark is back.
From April 2023, Dialogue in the Dark is back in Rio de Janeiro!
This is the second location opened by Calina Projetos, the Dialogue Partner in Brazil, within a few months.
This time, they are cooperating with the Museu Histórico Nacional and thanks to a network of strong local partners, the entrance is free!
If you can't make it to Rio, you can still have a look at their website.
A BRAND NEW CEO
Change coming up!
That's a big change. Since April 1st 2023, Svenja Weber has taken on the responsibilities and the joys that come with being CEO of our social business. She's adjusting well and can't stop smiling when talking about the great people she meets. Her energy will bring about some interesting change this year.
KIDS IN DIALOGUE
Our new exhibition for the next generation of adults.
The development team at DSE has just put the finishing touches on a brand new exhibition targeted at children 4 to 7.
The interactive space is designed to help children build individual and social identities, to stimulate their curiosity towards diversity, to foster empathy and to develop their openness.
Tests are underway in Dialoghaus in Hamburg.
Curious? Let us know.
What are we going to do in 2023, together?
What do you think of our 2022 impact report?
Reach out. Let's talk.