Welcome to “Let’s Talk About It”, Episode #66 of Co-creating Peace, a series about conscious communication and conflict transformation.
The difficulties we have with one another are very often the result of lack of insight and understanding. In the absence of information we make assumptions about one another – assumptions that often lead to conflict.
There is a cure for this phenomenon, and that is dialogue – sitting down with one another to have conversations that help us to learn about one another at deeper levels. When we put aside our assumptions, our biases, and the fears on which those are often based, and enter into dialogue with not only a willingness, but a desire, to learn about others and the way they experience and see the world, and then deliberate together to arrive at paths forward that can better meet the needs of all, we begin to build bridges of peace which can one day span the world.
Joining me today to talk about dialogue and deliberation is Courtney Breese, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD), a network of innovators who bring people together across divides to discuss, decide, and take positive action together to address today’s toughest issues.
In addition to serving as the Executive Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD), Courtney Breese is a trainer, mediator, and facilitator with extensive experience working on state and municipal engagement efforts. She started facilitating dialogues as an undergraduate at Franklin Pierce University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in social work and Counseling.
To learn more about the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation, go to www.ncdd.org.
If Dialogue & Deliberation is something that you would like to experience, you can begin as early as this coming week by participating in the National Week of Conversation – a week of events and activities that bring people together across differences. The 2022 National Week of Conversation takes place April 24-30. More information is available at https://americatalks.us/national-week-of-conversation/.
Here’s how to contact the organizations Courtney mentioned in our conversation:
Please support Co-creating Peace:
Visit BridgesofPeace.com to learn more about Kathleen and her work.