Overcoming Divisions
Courageous Dialogues: Moving Beyond Polarization is a project that aims to build skills, capacity and willingness to understand how we as a society have come to be so divided on so many issues of social concern and what we can do to overcome these divisions.
It is important to find ways of helping us all move beyond polarization so we can bring our best selves forward to collaborate around solving the big social and environmental problems we face.
This is a collaborative project led by the Mir Centre for Peace at Selkirk College and Selkirk Innovates along with Capilano University and Vancouver Community College.
Courageous Dialogues in the News
"Selkirk Researcher Says Listening a Key to Overcoming Polarization in Climate Debate," Nelson Star
What is Polarization?
Polarization is a complex social dynamic that occurs when an issue that involves many different people, concerns and opinions is reduced to two opposing sides— “for or against” or “us vs them.” It goes well beyond ordinary disagreement. In fact, it can lead us to avoid debate or consideration of others’ ideas completely. When we believe that we alone hold the truth, we may see differences of opinion, values and beliefs as threatening and intolerable. These dynamics disrupt effective patterns of home and workplace communication. Instead of working with difference and making conflict constructive, we allow polarization to create painful divisions that are hard to overcome.
Project Goals
The project aims to identify tools, strategies and other resources for helping our communities overcome polarization.
Questions?
If you are interested in learning more about the project, please contact Project Director Jennie Barron.
Project Members
Selkirk College
Jennie Barron
Project Director, Dialogue Process Lead
Pablo Pastor
Advisory Committee Member
Vancouver Community College
Andrea Korens
Advisory Committee Member
Andy Sellwood
Advisory Committee Member
Michael Yue
Advisory Committee Member
Capilano University
Diana Twiss
Project Co-Director, Curriculum Lead
Partner organizations
Continuing Education & Training Association of BC (CETA)
Claire Sauve
President
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL)
Desneiges Profili
Executive Director
Decoda Literacy Solutions
Sandra Lee
Executive Director
Maureen Kehler
Program Manager
Advisory committee members at large
- Laura Cavanagh, Seneca Polytechnic
- Aftab Erfan, Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University
- Raja Khouri, Conversations Without Walls
- Jenn Meilleur, Comox Town Council
- Eric Merkley, University of Toronto
- Jeffrey Wilkinson, Conversations Without Walls
Courageous Dialogues: Moving Beyond Polarization was supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council from 2021 to 2024. We are grateful for renewed funding from SSHRC to continue the project from 2025 to 2028.
