In a hands-on, interactive workshop students are encouraged to ask: What is empathy?

What happens when we empathise with people different to us? How does it change us and our society?

Experientially we learn to transform our perspective, our schools, our community and our world.

Empathy is the ability to step into another’s shoes, to look at life from another’s perspective. By transforming our sympathy into empathy, we may begin to see as others do. This is easy with friends, but to empathise with a stranger is much harder. But, as the unknown becomes known, we may see that we are all the same. This insight empathy brings makes it a tool for change, having the power to transform ourselves and maybe even some of the biggest issues facing our society.

At The Intersection, we strive for an empathetic world. Our two decades of work in Melbourne have brought us into contact with the stranger (homeless/addicted/marginalised) and inspired us to imagine what life is like for them. These acts of empathy have helped us to see ourselves in them and discover our shared humanity. We invite you to step into another’s shoes with us and see life from their perspective. This session draws on The Intersection’s ongoing empathic work to challenge and inspire students to not only have empathy themselves but use it as a tool to inspire change in the world.

This session runs as a 90 min workshop and costs $455 (plus GST) when hosted at our CBD venue.

It can also be provided at your school (or another venue) at no additional cost for bookings of 2 or more sessions on a single day.

It is highly recommended that groups also participate in our “A City Walk” session.

For enquiries & bookings information email bookings@theintersection.org.au or make a booking request.

Can be provided at a level suitable for Grade 5/6 students or other non-standard groups. Ask us!

We sort ourselves into like groups, allowing us a sense of belonging and connection with like-minded people. But this can also create a division of 'us and them' and a mentality of, you're either with us or against us. At The Intersection we believe that right now we need to not live in a divided world and that we need to embrace difference and diversity for our own growth, health and healing.

In this workshop, we will begin to re-humanise the other, through a series of interactive activities, media and discussions. Discovering that people are hard to hate close up and that strangers really are fiction.

This workshop runs for 2 hours, costs $455 plus GST, and is only on offer to those students who have participated in a "The City Walk” and compliments our "Empathy Workshop".  

For enquiries & bookings information email bookings@theintersection.org.au or make a booking request

Students practice the skill of empathy through a panel style Q&A conversation with a small group of people from diverse backgrounds and experiences of marginalisation in our city venue.

By connecting with people we may have false assumptions about, students realise that these people are more than just stereotypes, they are our neighbours and we are all connected.

At The Intersection, we recognise that curiosity is key to empathy. To understand the different ways that people see that world requires more than just imagination, it requires exploration and inquiry into real people’s experiences.

We have developed a unique new session called Meet The Neighbour — students can meet one of 10 people who have experienced disadvantage or discrimination in Melbourne, in a 20 minute collaborative conversation.

Meet The Neighbour creates safe spaces for dialog where topics can be discussed openly. We take you on an active journey of empathy building, dissolving the stereotypes that divide us and discovering that, underneath, we are all the same. This opportunity to connect with and learn from people in all walks of life reveals to us the transformative power of empathy and connection as tools for personal and social change.

For enquiries about & bookings for this unique offering please email bookings@theintersection.org.au or make a booking request.

Enjoy a game of backyard cricket in the city’s backyard — a laneway.

Through the intersection of a game of cricket and a laneway, you will be asked to meet the other. Invite a stranger to join and see what happens when different people come together to play sport. Barriers, assumptions and stereotypes get removed and broken down. No more are we a homeless person, business person or school student, we are just people; neighbours sharing a game of cricket.

This game is umpired by one of our oldest friends who has struggled with many of the issues discussed in our A Most Liveable City walk.

This session runs for 90 minutes or 2 hours, costs $475 plus GST, and is only on offer to those students who have participated in a “A City Walk”. It also compliments our "Empathy Workshop".

Please note: due to council restrictions we are not currently able to offer this session (as of February 2023) however if you are interested in booking it please enquire.

For enquiries & bookings information email bookings@theintersection.org.au or make a booking request.

This session invites you ‘walk in the shoes of another’. A self guided experience of chose your own adventure. Follow the map and interactive audio around the city to hear a different story of people living and working in Melbourne.

For enquiries & bookings information email bookings@theintersection.org.au or make a booking request.