I brought this talking piece as a symbol of co-creation. I made it from reindeer skin, but you can also use a ball or pen or anything else as a talking piece. A talking piece is decolonial, it is democratic, it is equal, it represents everything that comes to mind when I think about co-creation, because you don’t need a word-manager. You don’t need one, because this talking piece is the word-manager. The talking piece challenges us to listen more than talk, because in our modern world, in our academic world, we are really focused on talking, and maybe not so focused on listening anymore.

On one side it is written Hala, which is Sámi and means talk, and on the other side it says Talk in English. So it is international. I think this is a fantastic tool for the modern world, as the talking piece manages the way we speak with each other. It allows us to make room for silence as part of our communication. I think we have forgotten how to do that. And by agreeing that only this or that person is allowed to talk, while holding the talking piece in their hands, the other must listen. I think this is co-creation for me.