Alicia Akins
Public education, Cross-cultural literacy, and Asia expert in Washington, DC
Our worlds needn’t be monochromatic anymore.
From my first taste of cross-cultural immersion the years I spent working in China nearly a decade ago until now with almost two years spent in Laos, there's one thing of which I have become certain: there's no better instrument of growth than close and intentional contact with those whose different ways of living challenge your assumptions. There’s also no more exciting way to view the world.
It’s not just about going abroad, either. Our communities are far more diverse--ethnically, economically, religiously, ideologically--than ever. Understanding, celebrating, and reflecting on the strength of our diversity makes us better. The arts provide a platform for those discoveries to happen.