At times, conversations run deep at Gaslab. “It’s absolutely not a discussion”, says Margit van Tuijl of Tint Foundation. With Studium Generale and Eindhoven in Dialogue, Tint has organized the event. “We want to exchange experiences in order to bring people closer together.”

What’s special about tonight is that there are tables for English-speaking participants. These are the only English tables in the region, where more than forty talks will be organized for Dialogue Week. The international table talks about Uganda and Nepal, Benin and Indonesia. About how easy it is to share things on the train, because you know you’ll probably never see your fellow traveler again. But they also discuss things that happen at home, like how to raise an issue with your supervisor, neighbor, or best friend.

Participants who had attended a dialogue before warned others that it might be intense, and there might even be tears. But that doesn’t happen tonight. Regular laughter can be heard from some tables, even. According to Sjaak Evers of Eindhoven in Dialogue, strong emotions don’t warrant a good talk. “It’s a dialogue, not therapy.”