‘Let’s not only respect but actually cherish our differences’

That’s our mission statement, by the way. Short and sweet. It’s not always going to be easy, but we’re going to try our best and have fun along the way.

And our values…

Because ‘Over Here, Over There’ will be discussing the different ways people from other countries approach things, we want to be sure that our purpose is clear: we seek to understand what others are doing ‘over there’ which might work, or at least help us in some way, ‘over here’. Note, we say ‘might’, not ‘definitely’, not ‘absolutely’, or ‘you must do it this way, you thicko!’. We may not agree with someone else’s approach or how they do things in a different country or even within our own, but they may inspire us and give us an idea of how we may solve an issue. So, we’ll begin each podcast with an open mind, a good deal of curiosity and ready humour.

Here, therefore, are some of the values we’ll try to uphold in each podcast:

Openness – opinions expressed will be listened to and respected, both on air and in OHOT communications with listeners.

Honesty – perspectives will be given in a straight-forward and helpful manner, without agenda and sincerely expressed.

Humour – we’re going to have fun and a good-natured laugh, if possible. There’s no point in doing the show otherwise.

Tolerance – we are going to listen to other people’s views of ourselves and others in a respectful way. In the end, we’ll do our best to learn and accept each other’s differences.

Creativity – by listening and taking one or more perspectives on board, we might find a better way of doing things for ourselves. Original thoughts aren’t frequent, but tangential thinking formulated by external stimuli is usually how progress is made. Hence, when a thought is expressed from over there, grasp it and learn from it.

Innovation – seeing ourselves through other people’s eyes is both daunting and fascinating. We’ll be able to learn from different perspectives that we weren’t able to do from where we were sitting.

Ecological – just listen to Greta.

Togetherness – think of astronaut Bill Anders’ Apollo 9 picture Earthrise looking back at the earth. No matter what our differences, we’re all in this together on one cosmic ride through space and time. Do we want to spend it arguing, or advance ourselves to be better, happier and more in tune with our world? Without being too melodramatic or self-righteous, OHOT hopes to help in that journey.