Interested in becoming a facilitator? Info. Sessions for the spring 2022 team are happening NOW — PSU students register HERE! DIALOGUE? REALLY? YES! REALLY! If you are reading these words, we are speaking to you--no matter who you are, no matter what your ideological view, no matter where you are from, what your ancestry or race is, what your religious affiliation or sexual orientation, or age, gender, skills, talents, mistakes or limitations. Our mission involves creating opportunities for people in small groups to share exactly who they are and what they see in a way that benefits and builds our interdependent future. No group can build collective well-being alone. As facilitators, we see that when humans think together, they are able to make better decisions together, and thus actually live together. That is why conversation matters. “Dialogue is not like talking to friends—or even talking to enemies. It is a complex technology used by trained professionals that has the implicit goal of disrupting toxic narratives that tend to hurt individuals, relationships and even collectives.” — DR. LAURIE MULVEY, DIRECTOR Students of history can see the dangers of destabilization and violence that can emerge with too much polarization. Dialogue disrupts objectifying narratives of any kind and opens the collective mind to complexity and creative collaboration. This is a moderating force that exists in tension with polarizing forces in order for collective progress and well-being to be realized. With all of that said, the foundation for solving problems across deep and enduring social divides starts with dialogue participants being able to stand explicitly in their particular social positions. But that rarely happens without facilitators who invite people to engage the spectrum of perspectives because they know each contributes something of value to our interdependent future. Facilitated dialogue is not a space for correcting other peoples’ beliefs and narratives; it is a space for examining those beliefs and narratives--because falsehoods will not stand up to thoughtful examination. While people see and care about different things based on their unique positions in society, it is In this intersection of their unshared concerns that they actually have the ingredients necessary for getting closer to what is true—which is essential for solving problems—and making better decisions together. To learn more about how this is possible, READ THIS ESSAY MISSION To host groups that allow people to “think together” across borders VISION To make visible the crucial role of small group facilitators in every sphere where people conflict and collaborate METHOD Small group facilitators manage information, communication and interaction patterns between people so that they can explicitly and meaningfully “think together” on the basis of their different social positions. DONATE LOG IN © World in Conversation — 2021