BUILDING A CULTURE OF PEACE THROUGH ONLINE DIALOGUE: THE SHAPING OUR FUTURE EXPERIENCE

Karen Ross, Shaping Our Future CoordinatorPJSA 2008

What is Shaping Our Future?

Started in 2006 as expansion of “Living Room Dialogues”

Online, asynchronous dialogue

2-month sessions, each focusing on a new topic

Sample Shaping Our Future Session Topics:

Do people need to have enemies? Why or why not? (Fall 2006)

Personal experiences with migration (Spring 2007)

Migration and its shaping of cultural/social norms (Summer/Fall 2007)

Is Peace Possible? (Winter 2007) What can we do to engage individuals in

dialogue? (Spring 2008)

Shaping Our Future Characteristics

Number of members Googlegroups format Session timeline:

Recruitment/participation confirmation(1-2 weeks)

First question sent out Follow-up questions and facilitation

as needed Wrap-up question (1-2 weeks)

Using High Quality Dialogue

What is High Quality Dialogue?

I. Responses which show an honest expression of one’s own opinion Participants express their own opinion rather than talking about

“them” or in universal truths. Participants relate a similar feeling or story to what has been said. Participants state different opinions in a non- threatening way.

II. Responses which show empathetic and attentive listening Participants paraphrase the others point of view. Participants ask clarifying questions Participants make statements recognizing the feelings of

the other.

High Quality Dialogue (cont.)III. Responses which show an effort to

understand the other Participants respond to others insights with questions,

agreements or respectful disagreement. Participants do not try to convince others to change

their point of view.

IV. Responses which show willingness to be transformed by the experience Participants state what they have learned from others. Participants acknowledge changes in their points of

view. Participants search for and acknowledge their own

hidden assumptions

High Quality Dialogue in Shaping Our Future Overview for participants each session

Used as basis for dialogue evaluation Elements of HQD included in each session Particularly strong areas and gaps

Overall: attempt to make High Quality Dialogue the focus of Shaping Our Future

Outcomes: What have we learned? All elements of High Quality Dialogue are

present in our conversations IA: Participants express their own opinion rather

than talking about “them” or in universal truths IIIA: Participants respond to others insights with

questions, agreements or respectful disagreement

Evidence of developing understanding: Online dialogue no longer sufficient (Summer

2007)

Outcomes (continued)

Advantage of diverse viewpoints key to success Participants from multiple backgrounds and countries

Transforming lives“…opening dialogues permits me to learn from these issues in ways that merely

experiencing these impacts [of migration] could not. And in turn with that knowledge I can navigate these changes in ways that benefit the people around me and they in turn can make more interesting, more involved, and more aware decisions about how they deal with the new shifting realities. ” (J, August 2007)

“Clusters” of dialogue activity during each session

The Uniqueness of Shaping Our Future’s format: “I've participated in dialogues in many

different formats, and I have to say that this has been one of the most fulfilling, yet most difficult. Because it doesn't take place in "real time," I find I have the time to give the topic of discussion much more thought. Yet, by this same token, I think much more in depth about my response and often revise once or twice before hitting ‘send.’” (K, December 2006)

Challenges

New recruitment

Consistent, active participation

Challenging topics Ownership of dialogue topic Moving from dialogue to action

“We have a good description of what's happening. Where can we take our discussion from here? Any ideas?” (P, March 2007)

What’s next?

Questions? Comments?

Thank you!

Network for Peace Through Dialoguewww.networkforpeace.com