Background
In our society, we are increasingly confronted with large numbers of people with a distinct cultural background.
Many Dutch people experience this increase, sometimes simplistically referred to as “the migrant problem”, as the greatest threat to our Western culture.
Not only for the current residents but also for the newcomers, the new situation is often stressful due to stressful factors, such as language deficiency, a small social network and living in a new environment.
When a society has to deal with people of a different mindset (or culture), this can lead to clashes or friction.
How to deal with this is, an increasingly important issue within society. Where other initiatives focus on ‘doing’, undertaking activities with people from different cultural backgrounds, Proment focuses on the mentalization process. That is, attuning the different minds to each other so that they can come to work and live together.
Methodology
By nature, people react from a ‘primary mode’ (based on what you already know) when they experience something new or something different (often from the attitude “unfamiliar makes undesirable”). When people are in the ‘right mode’ (not prejudiced), new contacts can be established and a common goal can be achieved. People can be brought together from the common goal.
Clashes and friction arise when people look at “reality” from different perspectives and cannot come to a common intention. To prevent such ‘collisions’, it is important that:
- there is attention for emotions (heart)
- an image of “reality” (reason) is obtained
- the wishes and desires of each are lifted onto a common, higher “intentional plane”
- There is action and interaction (dialogue).
If you want to go deeper into the theoretical background, read the article by Jacques van Hoof.
On Youtube there is an English film about the work of the Proment Foundation
An article about the Proment Foundation has also been published in the Guardian (21 June 2019)
