Every December for over a decade, it has been my custom to hop on an Amtrak train bound for New York City to participate in the Annual Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict, sponsored by the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies. HDHS is a global, transdisciplinary network of scholars, practitioners, advocates, artists, and students committed to advancing human dignity and reducing the experience of humiliation.
This is a spirit-renewing event for me, largely because of the wonderful company of good people engaged in good works. As I wrote last year in a photo essay about this workshop (link here), many aspects of it have become something of a ritual, starting with the subway trek to Columbia University Teachers College, whose conflict resolution center hosts our gathering.
This year, the coronavirus pandemic interceded and rendered a face-to-face workshop an unwise option. So we decided to do this as an online event, spread over three days. It was a monumental and exhausting planning task, led by HDHS director Linda Hartling and HDHS founder Evelin Lindner, and supported by an ensemble cast of characters. Here’s a screenshot of many members of our planning group:
Photo credit: Anna Strout
You know something, it worked — very well, I might add! At any given time, some 50-60+ participants were online, with folks logging in from as far away as India and New Zealand! Please go here if you’d like to check out the details or watch videos of talks and dialogue sessions.
HDHS has become an increasingly important part of the work I do, and it has fostered many cherished friendships and connections. This community is very dear to me, and I wish that circumstances would’ve permitted us to gather in person. But I must say that the pandemic has brought out a fierce determination within this group to sustain and grow our network in spite of the circumstances. I hope that 2021 will allow us to return to New York, but I also know that we can build this community via online communications.
Related posts
“A workshop as annual ritual” (2019) (link here)
“Tribes for engaging in positive change” (2015; revised 2019) (link here)
“Conferences as community builders” (2015) (link here)
Minding the Workplace 
Absolutely a well done job! I am enjoying reading and watching it! Thank you all for putting this together. Love and care, Angelica