Dialogue In The Dark

Dialogue in the Dark (also presented as "Dialog in the Dark" in American materials and "Dialog im Dunkeln" in Germany) is an awareness-raising exhibition and social business in which blind and visually impaired guides lead small groups of visitors through a series of everyday settings staged in absolute darkness. Visitors navigate without sight, relying on their remaining senses, and can question the guide during and after the tour. The concept is built on role reversal: inside the exhibition the blind guides are the oriented party and sighted visitors are dependent on them.

The brand is owned by Dialogue Social Enterprise (DSE) in Hamburg, Germany, and is distributed internationally through social franchising. Beyond the core exhibition, the offering includes corporate and executive business workshops, "Taste of Darkness" set-meal dinners in darkened rooms, and, at some franchisees, adjacent formats. The Hong Kong operation, for example, created a Concert in the Dark and developed "Dialogue in Silence" activities (including executive workshops and dinners in silence) that employ people with hearing impairments. Stated goals are to increase public awareness of and tolerance for "otherness" and to create employment for disadvantaged people.

Founding story

Dialogue in the Dark was founded by Andreas Heinecke in 1988, premiering in Frankfurt, Germany. For more than ten years it operated as a travelling exhibition shown in museums or as a special event at fairs and festivals, before Dialogue Social Enterprise converted it into a franchise. The first permanent exhibition opened in Hamburg in April 2000.

Business model

The organisation operates as a social business: Dialogue Social Enterprise owns the brand and licenses it to local operators under a social franchise model. Franchisees run ticketed experiential exhibitions and paid business/executive workshops staffed by blind guides and trainers, converting a perceived deficit into a marketable service. The Hong Kong franchise was capitalised entirely with private equity capital rather than government or philanthropic funding and applies a "three-thirds" profit distribution: one third retained for development, one third donated to the Dialogue in the Dark Foundation, and one third paid to shareholders.

Revenue comes from admission to the darkness exhibitions, corporate and executive workshops, and food-and-beverage formats such as "Taste of Darkness" dinners and, at some sites, dinners in silence; the brand owner additionally derives income from franchising the concept to local operators. Concert in the Dark events in Hong Kong were underwritten by a corporate sponsor with ticket proceeds donated to the Dialogue in the Dark Foundation.

Traction

More than 9 million visitors have taken part in an experience in the dark, and thousands of blind guides and facilitators have found employment through the exhibitions and workshops. The Hong Kong franchise raised HK$5.6 million from 19 shareholders, broke even in month seven, became profitable in year two, began paying dividends from the third year, and had paid over HK$1 million in tax by 2016; it held six Concerts in the Dark by 2016.