From Difference to Connection
11 MINUTE READ The tagline of this online project, Belonging Across Cultures is From Difference to Connection. Author Across Cultures, Yang-May Ooi, started this project to highlight the things that bring us together from our Differences across social and cultural divides towards meaningful human Connection. But as this project has continued over the last months,... Continue Reading →
9 MINUTE READ Following on from the Belonging Across Cultures podcast with Chef Norman Musa where he talked with Author Across Cultures Yang-May Ooi about beef rendang as the iconic dish of Malaysia, Yang-May’s curiosity was piqued about the origins of this, one of her favourite dishes. How did it come to be a Malaysian... Continue Reading →
10 MINUTE READ Following on from her feature on The Dark Side of Belonging: Extremism, Identity and Purpose, author across cultures Yang-May Ooi writes frankly about the time in her youth when she was drawn into an extreme corner of the Evangelical movement at a time of loneliness and desperation. While not violent or extreme,... Continue Reading →
When we travel to a new country to live for a long period, maybe as a student or because of our work, most of us feel homesick at one point or another. We miss our friends and our mums - and actually, often many of us miss the comfort of familiar food from home. Is... Continue Reading →
11 MINUTE READ We followed the violent emergence of tea in Tea and Power Part 1, when we saw it become a coveted trade commodity that consolidated the reach of the British Empire. Here in Part 2 of the story, Belonging Across Cultures author Yang-May Ooi, looks at how this initially new high-end product impacted... Continue Reading →
12 MINUTE READ Belonging Across Cultures is fascinated by the connections between nations, peoples and ideas. You may be sipping a cup of tea while settling down to read this story. As you can imagine, this evergreen shrub, Camellia sinensis, used to grow in the wild. Until the Chinese discovered what it could offer us... Continue Reading →
7 MINUTE READ Author Across Cultures, Yang-May Ooi, visits Melton Mowbray, the home of the eponymous pork pies on a special pilgrimage to the original shop where this British specialty was born. Read on for some social history and culinary innovation packed into a crunchy, yummy foodie delight... Belonging and Maverick Thinking in Melton Mowbray... Continue Reading →
8 MINUTE READ When arguing with someone in an extremist group or caught up in conspiracy theories, we might counter with facts and scientific evidence or cite (to us) reliable sources such as mainstream news media, university research, the medical establishment, the laws of physics. But to no avail. Following on from The Dark Side... Continue Reading →
Is a feeling of Belonging solely defined by place or a community? What happens if you find yourself a stranger in a new place with no support system due to circumstances you cannot control? What if your home life is chaotic and you have no-one stable you can turn to for guidance or help? Is... Continue Reading →
8 MINUTE READ While Belonging Across Cultures aims primarily to celebrate Difference and to highlight how a sense of Belonging might be created in a positive way we also need to understand how cultural and social division occurs. In this article, author Yang-May Ooi shares some of her investigation - based on scientific research -... Continue Reading →
7 MINUTE READ Following on from the feature Can We Be Friends with People Who Disagree with Us? Author Yang-May Ooi reviews *The Next Conversation* by Jefferson Fisher. The book offers practical and constructive advice on how we can bridge the gap between differences of opinion. The tagline is: Argue Less, Talk More - exactly... Continue Reading →
5 MINUTE READ In today’s divisive world, it is all the more important that there are charities that work across conflict and political or religious lines. One of them is Beyond Conflict, a small charity offering mental health support for people impacted by war and conflict around the world. Started only eight years ago by... Continue Reading →