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What is an Interlocteur?

Paulo Freire’s revolutionary text ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ highlighted the necessity of dialogue in emancipating the oppressed from the structures imposed by the oppressors. Dialogue is the key to freedom, not just from macro-oppression (racism, sexism, poverty, etc.) not just from the systemic oppression that we see across states and nations, but from internalised, individual psychological oppression (mental health issues, guilt, shame, etc)

Friere discusses the ‘banking method’ of education. Where the teacher/student binary is defined by those ‘with’ knowledge and those ‘without.’ The problem with this binary is that it assumes that those ‘without’ knowledge actually have no knowledge. This is incorrect, as those who do not fit in; those who are othered, who have opposing ideas, who are without the language to fight their corner, already have knowledge. The problem is that the teacher within the ‘banking method’ have to assume that the knowledge that they have is greater, or better, than the students. Therefore, it is the teachers job to shape the students into being better people, by making them adaptable to society and the knowledge that they impart.

The solution to this problem is to throw away the assumption that some people ‘have’ and some people ‘have not’, and recognise that everyone is human. We all carry our own stories which have been written since the moment we were born. Our value is not tied to the things we have amassed but to our basic nature as humans. We are all valuable and should be valued. To value these stories, we must listen and we must share.

An interlocuteur is one who speaks but speaking is much more than just making sounds with your mouth. It is giving, it is gestures, it is offering a part of yourself to your fellow humans to build a connection. The role of the interlocteur is as integral to our newly flourishing society as a doctor or a mayor was to the old. The interlocteur channels conversations, brings out the stories from the people and helps them see their own worth and value.