Colleague Activities
We are always looking for people doing interesting, intractable conflict-related projects to feature on our Colleague Activities Blog. See the Blog Homepage for information on how to submit your work.
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What If Listening Isn’t the Key to Persuasion – BCB #119
Listening may not change minds like we thought it did. Still, there are many other effective ways to build understanding and collaboration among those who disagree with you.
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The Wisdom of Cicadas
Those of us paying attention to various social movements for love, dignity, and justice should recognize the natural wisdom of a periodic convergence of broods.
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The Great Betrayal: How I messed with Progressive Perfection.
Our colleague Ashok Panikkar explains how he came to believe that progressive beliefs are not always correct -- and what happened when he said so.
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Leading Systems Change from Within
Stepping into the work of changing systems is not just an additional set of activities and strategies; it is also a dramatic and intentional shift in how you show up in your own leadership.
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Dignity Wins at the VP Debate
The Dignity Index scored the two US Vice Presidential Candidates at their debate, finding that both candidates scored well, treating the other with respect.
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Hahrie Han | Tanner Lecture 1 | Stories of Democracy Realized: Becoming, Belonging, Building
A series of lectures exploring the ways in which different communities (including Christian faith communities) practice democracy,
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More Polarization, More Election Distrust: Why We Must Avoid Temptations to Call Elections "Rigged"
Starts with Us argues that we must see that when we call elections “illegitimate” without very strong reasons, we hurt America.
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Business for Democracy: A Call for Courage and Action
There is ample evidence that democracies around the world are being threatened by authoritarian populist forces, and that the best antidote to stemming this tide is broad-based, “big tent” organizing to stand up for democratic norms and freedoms.
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A Revolution of the Soul
An article about one effort to craft a vision for adapting democracy to the challenges of the 21st-century.
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2024 Healing Starts Here Retreat
Essential Partners' reflection on the New Pluralists retreat, together with the inspiring video shown at the retreat.
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Bipartisanship Reinvigorated
From the journal Democracy, a symposium and set of papers on top down and bottom up ways to invigorate bipartisan democracy.
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Convenings, Cohorts + Communities: Notes on so-called "impact" gatherings
Previous models of conferences and events are getting blown up and replaced with an array of experiences, interventions, connectivity practices and celebrations to foster deeper engagement and more substantial change work.
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Democracy plays no role in the UN’s Pact for the Future
The Pact for the Future, adopted at the United Nations Summit of the Future on 22-23 September in New York, is a pivotal framework designed to address global challenges with a long-term vision extending beyond 2030. Surprisingly, this vision does not include democracy.
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Can Humor Cure Outrage? Jonathan Bernstein Thinks So
David Beckemeyer talks to Jonathan Bernstein author of Election Day, a book that uses satire to inspire voter turnout and encourage civic engagement.
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Horizon's VISTA
An amazingly rich compilation of resources every month, but the September 2024 issue was particularly full of excellent resources on threats to democracy and responses to those threats.
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The State of Civil Society Peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians
An astonishing report with detailed data showing that civil society peacebuilding is thriving in Israel, even during the war.
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21st-Century Democracy: Building a Transnational Innovation Ecosystem
From the Stanford Social Innovation Review, an argument that pro-democracy actors and movements must move out of their silos and create strong cross-contextual connections.
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21st-Century Democracy: Building a Transnational Innovation Ecosystem
From the Stanford Social Innovation Review, an argument that pro-democracy actors and movements must move out of their silos and create strong cross-contextual connections.
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Responding Across the System
To tackle complex challenges, we know we need to go from disjointed isolated responses, to coordinated multi-point strategies – or from confetti to spaghetti as Ingrid Burkett would say.
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New Survey Results Find That Worry About Hostility Is on the Rise Among Local Elected Officials
New survey results indicate that concerns over harassment, threats, and physical attacks have significantly increased in the wake of high-profile incidents like the shooting of former President Trump.
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Making the Climate a Blue Issue Was a Mistake
Climate change can and should be a cause that people across the political spectrum are invested in. The key to making that happen may well be in how we frame conversations about the issue.
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Eighty-Member Bipartisan National Citizens Panel Uses The Dignity Index To Score the Presidential Debate between Harris and Trump
"Our nation’s divisions are not caused by our disagreements," said Shriver, co-creator of the Dignity Index. “They’re caused by treating others with contempt when we disagree."
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Challenge-Led Innovation: Organising for Systems Innovation at Scale
To be alive in this moment is to be innovating by necessity. We need to organize many diverse innovations across institutions and geographies to address our most pressing challenges.
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What Is It You Just Called Me?
Ashok Panikkar says "insults work better if you know what they really mean. So he explains -- the meaning of democracy, socialism, conservative, liberal, progressive, etc. Not really "insults," but…
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Within Collaborative 2024 Election Preparation
This guide is designed to help people identify sources of resilience and sustainable action. Their goal is to nurture hope, build connections, promote care and focus, and be prepared for different election outcomes.