Architects of Diversity: How One Organisation Is Bridging the Gap Between Identity Groups in Malaysia

By Aidan Ooi Zi Kin

How do you teach diversity? It’s not tangible like Maths or Science; it’s something that is best learned through life and experience. While we all know diversity and inclusivity are important, frequently, they remain just buzzwords. In reality, Malaysians often fall back on what’s comfortable, and that is, going back to their own cultures and communities.

Trying to spread the message of diversity, non-profit organisation Architects of Diversity (AOD) has started a programme called the UWC Short Course: Sekolah Diversiti. The camp, free of charge for participants, aims to explore perspectives of identity, diversity and inclusion.

Funded by the US Embassy Kuala Lumpur, the 5th edition of UWC Short Course: Sekolah Diversiti was held in May. It saw 30 participants aged 15 – 17 from all around Malaysia spending five days in Janda Baik. There were games and discussions exploring the topic of inclusivity. In addition, the diverse group of facilitators also shared their experiences on the same topic.

“The main purpose is to promote cross-cultural understanding among youth so they can better foster inclusivity in their own leadership,” explains Azif Fazriq Azizi, who also goes by the name Doro.

“Diversity and inclusivity can be abstract concepts, especially if people are not familiar with them, but everything becomes clearer when you make friends from diverse backgrounds. Then, you naturally want to do what's best for diversity,” he adds.

According to Doro, AOD was founded in 2018 by Jason Wee and Sanggeet Mithra and a group of volunteers. They were all university students at the time, and they saw a need to champion diversity, especially for students going to local universities.

The facilitators are all volunteers who are university students. They believe in an inclusive future for the next generation.

“We started off with only a short course once a year, but we’ve since expanded. This year, we’ve run two and are planning to have a third in September,” says Doro.

Joining the camp is not as easy as just filling up a form. The application process is rather lengthy and it requires the applicant to record a 1 – 2 minute video of themselves. There are various topics they can talk about on camera, including a problem they want to overcome in their community.

Camp participant, Edson Cheah Ee San, 16, from Terengganu, shares, “It was nerve-wracking. I thought I wouldn’t get a spot in the camp. When I got to know that I was chosen for the short course, I was over the moon.”

Most of the participants’ favourite activity was “Fishbowl”, where everyone shared their perspectives on various issues as a way of discovering differences based on background and community.

Vincent Siaw Yi Cheng, 17, from Sarawak, said that Fishbowl “provided a space for everyone to share their personal views and perspectives on topics that are not often discussed in our daily lives.”

He also mentioned that he enjoyed the Community Agreement activity, which took place on the first night. This activity involved participants getting into groups of 6 – 7 to write down “laws” they would like to discuss and pass within the community of 30. The aim was to pass the most laws as a group, with the group passing the most laws getting goodies such as Maggi Cup Noodles and Super Ring packets.

Apart from the activities organised by the facilitators, participants also bonded over shared accounts and personal stories. Although it was only five days, the teenagers found themselves getting to know each other on a deeper level than they expected.

According to Vincent, “The short course changed me a lot. The camp made me realise what it takes to be open-minded as a member of a conservative community. It also changed my way of thinking, and lessened my discriminative and stereotype thoughts that are nurtured by my surroundings.”