Connecting Intentionally: A rad journey through 10 Days of Connection
- Luisana Zambrano -
The first 10 days of May were intense, in a good way! For the 6th year in a row, hundreds of leaders (and our partners in impact) created dozens of safe spaces for everyone in the community to show up, learn about a topic or two, and connect with someone that they might have not had the opportunity to know outside of the 10 Days of Connection movement.
I’ve had the opportunity to be part of the 10 Days of Connection organizing team for 3 years now. Each year I was able to experience the movement from a different perspective and all of them have left me with learnings that I’d like to share with you all.
My very first experience was as a “virtual participant” in 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. At that time, I was feeling homesick and isolated. I was craving conversations and connections. I was feeling overwhelmed by the uncertainty on what we all were going through. I was also craving community and a pause from the conversations that kept me glued to my phone, social media, and the news.
It was the first time I actually had the time and space to participate in the 10 Days of Connection. I had the chance to listen to failure stories with Fuckup Nights, learn about women in entrepreneurship with Bridge and Symba, and talk about civic engagement with my friends from Global Shapers Miami and Civic Dinners. I learned that if you are willing to step up and engage, you will find a community willing to listen and welcome you as who you are.
Jumping to 2021, I was part of the Radical Partners team as a Program Associate, which gave me access to behind the scenes. I supported the team producing the initiative, ideated with them, and helped bring hundreds of leaders to create spaces for everyone to connect. For the first time, I was learning about what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.
This was the very first time in my life that I was having a conversation with a returning citizen and learned that “one person should not be defined by their past mistakes” - I thank Amanda and Legend from 300 Letters for helping me break my own stigmas. This was also the year when we were encouraged to create a space for people with all different types of abilities - thank you Alison, Mark and Beth for teaching us all how to really make inclusive spaces for all.
I also participated in intense conversations about refugee experiences and the status of women in the military service with the Refugee Assistance Alliance and United Way Broward. I got to listen to powerful immigrant stories with the ACLU of South Florida, run a 5k with ThumbsUp International, and learn about our Miami’s History with the HistoryMiami Museum. I was able to connect with the community through music and drumming with the South Florida Center for Percussive Arts, and learn about the power of listening intentionally with Listen Courageously.
Year # 3 = 2022. I led this year’s 10 Days of Connection as a Program Manager. I had the fun job of supporting our host partners to curate Connection Experiences for the community. I’d say that my 10 Days of Connection experience happened before the 10 Days itself: I loved to discuss and brainstorm about the spaces that hosts would create for everyone to show up to learn from and about others.
This year, I challenged myself to attend experiences that would continue to burst my own bubble. I had the opportunity to hear migrants stories on different languages with the Office of New Americans, SantLa and Hispanic Unity, learn about American civics and the importance of properly retiring a flag with the Girl’s Scout of South Florida Troop 305, and meet the different faces and cultures of our city with the Haitian and Muslim communities (thank you HistoryMiami Museum and COSMOS). I also got to hear stories about how to heal trauma through prose with Every Soul Has a Story, learn about the state of gentrification and housing insecurity in our city with SMASH and The EVE Consulting, and explore the different Colors of Miami with our friends at The Underline and other Rad partners in impact.
What a rad journey it’s been! I wanted to walk you through my 10 Days of Connection experience to share with you all how you can get involved at any level and capacity; in whatever way you are ready. Inside and outside the 10 Days, there are always opportunities to connect, be kind to one another, and just lower your guard to say hi and meet someone new. For me, it’s been incredible to get to know the amazing bold people that power this movement and their willingness to fight hate and discrimination by going back to the basics: listening.
My invitation to you is to never stop connecting, learning, and listening with an open heart (for real). You will be surprised when learning the stories of strangers. As we always say: be bold, say hi, and love loudly.
