Class Of 1991

ZIA DANIELL WIGDER directs an unusual chat group.

Two groups of women gathered around videoconference cameras last October—one in New York City and one in Gabes, Tunisia—to speak for an hour and start bridging the cultural divide. It was the first in a series of 12 biweekly discussions on topics ranging from the groups' perceptions of Americans and Arabs to comparisons of discrimination in their respective countries. "I felt that videoconferencing was this incredibly powerful technology that was completely underleveraged as a way to help people from different cultures communicate," says Wigder, founder of 12 Hours of Dialogue (www.12hours.org).

There were some animated discussions about feminism and women's legal rights, Wigder says, since Tunisia is still a very traditional society. Not surprisingly, however, the two groups shattered some stereotypes. "The Tunisian women view the United States based on what they see in TV shows like Sex in the City," says Wigder, who heads up the media practice at Jupiter Research in New York City. "But instead of Carrie Bradshaw, they got bleary-eyed grad students wearing sweatshirts. And the Americans were surprised at how outspoken the Tunisian women were and how much they controlled their own destiny."

Wigder spent two years getting the 12 Hours program off the ground, utilizing contacts she made while earning a master's at Tufts' Fletcher School and during years of international development work (Columbia University grad student Elizabeth Cullen '39 was a New York participant). The program will return next year to Tunisia, and Wigder is working to secure permission to launch in Jordan and Iran.