Exploring interdependence.

The people that we encounter in the places that we frequent daily are, whether we are aware of it or not, part of our community. Through the ways in which we interact with these people, we have the power to either validate or challenge the predominant social narratives that characterize our cultural context.

In 2024, AWAKEN, en.v’s community-building program, explored the nature and quality of everyday interactions. In collaboration with its Community of Practice, en.v developed and piloted an experimental research tool designed to foster self-reflection on how individuals engage with people they encounter daily but do not consider part of their social circle.

Through gently disrupting the social norms that shape these routine encounters, the initiative examined what underpins them. Participants were invited to shift simple exchanges, such as greeting a barista, cashier, or neighbor, into moments of curiosity by asking a personal question. The experiment explored how such small changes influenced relationships, perceptions, and individuals’ sense of self.

This collective inquiry generated valuable insights into how transactional relationships can evolve into ones grounded in care, both for oneself and for others. It highlighted how even brief, everyday interactions can strengthen a sense of shared humanity and interdependence.

On 15 November 2024, en.v hosted the third edition of AWAKEN in the Desert. The gathering brought together participants for a day of playful, artistic, poetic, and reflective experiences centered on care and community. Through a series of rituals and activities, attendees explored new ways of connecting, with one another and with the wider environment, deepening their understanding of collective belonging.

Our facilitators

  • Founder of Art Scene, Areej Saleh is a Palestinian-American writer and creative who mixes cocktails of music, memory & mathematics to touch on subjects of culture & creativity, while cracking jokes in-between.

  • Cari is a poet, environmentalist, kindergarten teacher, community organizer and baker… but, in the context of AWAKEN, she's known for the Stone Soup!

  • Training and Relationship Manager at en.v, Eleanor has been working in training, design and rights-based community building for the past 25 years. Eleanor believes play and storytelling are beautiful tools for facilitating community connection.

  • Fatemah is a vibrant Filipino-Kuwaiti passionate about building connections through transformative conversations and storytelling.

  • Fatema (founder of Arttt Addiction) is an artist and educator. Her approach to education emphasizes integrative learning, inspiring creativity, fostering holistic development and empowering communities.

  • Hafsa is a 24 years old Pakistani explorer who’s all about art, culture, and meaningful connections. Passionate about learning and sharing, she brings a love for teaching, a boundless curiosity, and a warm heart to every experience.

  • Hawraa is a writer and teacher who is deeply passionate about writing women's worlds and building creative communities.

  • Hussam is a writer, educator, researcher and lifelong student with a passion for social justice.

  • Operations Manager at en.v, Khadija also creates spaces where food, stories, and traditions could bring us closer and spark social change.

  • Maryam is a homemaker and coordinator who creates safe and empowering spaces for teachers and students through the Nudge Club.

  • Mishal is a Kuwaiti-Egyptian who aspires to be a chef. He’s a die hard animation enthusiast who loves everything creative and hopes that he can leave a smile and provide comfort to those he may come across.

  • Mohammed Ahmed is a pianist, composer, playlist maestro, and a long-standing member of the AWAKEN Community of Practice. He is also the Vice President of Art Scene, where artists and creatives connect, collaborate, build community, and amplify the symphony of art and creativity.

  • “Just cuz he somehow pulls off with good food, thinks he’s a chef now”

  • Norah is a literature graduate turned into an early years teacher. She is fascinated by the concept of healing through inner child work for both individuals and communities.

  • An artist and writer who loves meeting and connecting with others.

  • A multidisciplinary Kuwaiti-Indonesian designer, creating through diverse mediums to explore new perspectives.

  • Razan is an artist, curator and educator with a passion for organizing and protecting the environment.

  • Sarah is an educator of small humans and a talented drama therapist.

  • Salem is an expert in international relations, interested in creating spaces for social awareness and cultural diversity.

  • Yasmeen is a designer and writer who engages with the aesthetic, the intellectual, and the everyday.

Our collaborators

  • Anonym(us) is a platform where people can share their stories and experiences without fear of judgment. Their goal is to create a community among anonymous storytellers, artists, and poets who find comfort in knowing that other people think like them.

  • Trashtag is an environmental grassroots initiative dedicated to raising awareness about Kuwait's outdoors through sustainable, community-based activities and excursions.

Activities

  • A communal eating experience reimagined to transcend cultural barriers and build meaningful connections.

  • Take a moment to join everyone else at the festival to share joyful, funny, deep and thoughtful stories with one another! This is an all-community event but allows you to meet people one-on-one and foster new relationships.

  • The Annual AWAKEN Games is a lively, team-based event celebrating community spirit. This year we focus on the theme of caring: our participants will join in races and activities promoting empathy, compassion and connection.

  • How do we transform transactional interactions into human relationships? How do we use a simple question as a tool to learn about people's inner worlds? How do we humanize the people we interact with daily, whose name we don't even know? This creative writing workshop aims to use a shift in perspective along with a focus on everyday objects to transform thought into kindness, into gratitude, into community. 

  • Our friends from the Ethiopian Domestic Workers Association will be sharing their beautiful Ethiopian coffee ceremony and delicious coffee with us all afternoon.

  • Discover the joy of connecting one-on-one with a stranger through play! Come, sit on a bench, choose a mini-game, and explore the different ways in which fun allows us to open up to one another and strengthen our bonds. 

  • We invite you to explore the defining moments that have shaped your journey and brought you to AWAKEN 2024. Through creative expression and thoughtful introspection, you’ll uncover how your personal experiences connect with the larger collective, reminding us that we are all part of something greater. Join us for a meaningful moment of self-discovery and bonding.

  • This activity invites up to 20 strangers to engage in a unique, guided conversation experience. Inspired by the concept of "36 Questions to Fall in Love," this session is about fostering connection and understanding through open, thoughtful dialogue. Set within the theme of "rituals of care," the goal is for participants to leave with a sense of closeness, empathy, and perhaps even the beginnings of new friendships.

  • A fun game where we will encounter one another in a playful way that acknowledges all the experiences represented in our community. 

  • ‘You Live in a Context’ is an exercise that engages the minutiae of your morning routine with the complex, vast, and interdependent web of people, materials, and history that surrounds it.

  • A throat activation and a journey in opening and utilizing the voice as an innate powerful healing instrument, unblocking and allowing the sound vibrations of the throat to take us on a journey of harmonization and symphony.

  • This activity is designed to explore how everyday ceramic objects—such as mugs, plates, and vases—serve as vessels for community connection and personal care. We will examine the rituals associated with these objects and how they reflect the processes of relationship-building within communities, while also making cool things with our hands!

  • Let your hearts guide you through this simple, childhood nostalgic craft as we discover connections and familiarity through storytelling, and the power of gifting a friendship bracelet to a stranger.

  • Tracing Each Other is an activity that creates a space for you to engage with a stranger in a silence that isn’t awkward. You will draw a portrait of the person in front of you without looking at your own paper—that way, you know that everyone’s drawings will be just as bad as yours. What happens when we slow down in the vulnerable space of encountering another person? What happens when we focus more on their essence than on our representation of them? 

  • Through the use of prompts, a big canvas, some pushpins and a thread, we’re going to map the ways in which the people that we meet and interact with in our lives contribute to our emotional growth. Join us in this thoughtful journey!  

  • Step into a world of warmth and tradition with "Chai & Chill" – an interactive tea journey that invites you to explore the "Rituals of Care" across cultures. Gather around a single table where teas from Pakistan, Kuwait, Japan, Britain, and Kashmir await, each steeped in stories and timeless practices. Craft your own cup, sip slowly, and settle in on a cozy space to engage in soulful conversations. Each tea is a pathway, a moment to connect and savor the unique care that flavors every culture. Join us for a sip, a story, and a shared experience of comfort and connection.

  • A practice aimed to give the participants a space to “let loose”, connect with others and gain tools to handle the many demands of life through laughter, an essential ritual of care. 

  • Through simple origami we’ll fold tiny samosas filled with words to warm the heart. Inspired by the care woven into the rituals of making food for loved ones, we’ll write, fold, and exchange these small parcels of kindness. A gentle gesture to remind us that care is both to be given and received.

  • The Stone Soup is an old children's storybook that illustrates the magic of showing up as a community, starting a humble fire, sharing ingredients, cooking together and eventually celebrating a meal that was made by everyone. Join us in preparing this year's soup, made from all the vegetables and ingredients brought in by participants, while exploring connections through food and engaging in meaningful conversations around memory, taste, culture, comfort and identity.

  • To wrap up a day of community, creativity, and connection, ARTSCENE invites you to join us by the fire for the closing show! We’ll kick things off with a round of Antakshari, a game of shared music and laughter, followed by a Nepali dance performance by Shramik Sanjal. After that, the mic will be open for anyone to share—whether it’s music, poetry, or any other performance. You’ll also enjoy a Samra-inspired set by Yousef Mutawa and Mohammed Ahmed. AWAKEN is all about celebrating expression and connection, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll bring. If you'd like to perform, sign up through the form sent via email or on the day-of.