J-STORIES – The space is not just dark but 100 percent dark. Guides lead participants through a series of activities, forcing them to rely on each other and their other senses. It is strange and not easy. Yet, the guides themselves are in their element because they, unlike the participants, are blind every day.
The “Dialogue in the Dark” program was devised in Germany in the late 1980s by philosopher Andreas Heinecke to change mindsets on disability and diversity. Since then, over 8 million sighted people in more than 50 nations have taken part to briefly experience what it is like to be blind.
The first activities in Japan were launched by the Japan Dialogue Society in 1999. The organization now has two facilities in Tokyo and has hosted over 230,000 people. It offers programs to both members of the public and companies — and is even using its spaces to help with post-pandemic anxiety.
Dialogue in the Dark participants must rely on their blind guides as they use white canes, feel with their hands and feet, and carefully listen to the voices around them. They learn and experience many new things while boarding a train, crossing grassy ground or other simulated activities.
Dialogue Japan Society director, Shinsuke Shimura, says that he wondered at first whether sighted people would really tolerate being in pitch-blackness. But he soon realized Dialogue in the Dark was an excellent chance for the sighted to understand what it is like to have a disability and interact with disabled people.
Many companies use the organization’s two Tokyo facilities for team building and communication activities. Now, in the wake of the global pandemic, the organization has a new initiative.
“These last two years, due to Covid-19 and other things, everyone is very anxious and they are not sleeping well,” says Shimura. “We had requests to have a go at sleeping in the Dialogue in the Dark pitch-blackness.”
The society now offers “naps in pitch-black.” The naps last 10 to 20 minutes during a 90-minute session, with participants sleeping on a special “Muatsu+” mattress provided by Tokyo bedding manufacturer Showa Nishikawa.
“In this activity, participants can take an afternoon nap alongside people with visual impairments and meet them on an equal footing,” says Shimura.
“Many participants say that [they have] become a little more aware of diversity and it has improved [their] productivity.”
Translation and Editing by Tony McNicol
Top page photo by twenty20photos/Envato
For inquires about this article, please contact us at jstories@pacificbridge.jp
Click here for the Japanese version of the article.
