Vision:
The Dynamic Dialogue series would be an opportunity for students to
explore different and sometimes opposing worldviews with members of
their own community and those of different beliefs. This program would
also be able to increase visibility for the Institute for Peace and
Conflict Studies while giving “hands-on” practice for students
that are certified through the Institute.
Program:
The Dynamic Dialogue series would be a three to six week dialogue session
consisting of opposing social identities. Each session would meet once
a week, last two hours and be facilitated/mediated by two students that
have successfully completed the mediation certification by the Institute
for Peace and Conflict Studies (preferably one student facilitator representing
each opposing identity).
There would be several groups that could meet during the series to accommodate different student schedules and interests. Opposing groups could include several social identities (gay/straight, male/female, Black/White, Hispanic/White, Latino U.S. citizen/Mexican National, as well as an opportunity to do intra-group dialogues with Hispanics). Each group should have no more than 12-15 student participants.
There would be training for the facilitators before the program got started and an opportunity for the pair of facilitators to come up with topics for each week. It would be the responsibility of the pair of facilitators to plan each session by coming up with exercises and topics for discussion. Topics covered could include: Media portrayal, the existence of continued bias, misinformation and misunderstanding of each identity, expectations of each identity, etc.
Logistics:
The logistics for mounting such a program would come in several stages.
Getting a buy-in from faculty would be the first part. We would need
to introduce the program, explain the benefits and finally convince
faculty to either require their students to attend or give significant
extra credit for participation in the program.
The next phase would be to recruit facilitators. Hopefully there is a database of all students that have been certified as mediators. We would need to convince those students that this would be a worthwhile cause and gain the commitment of several students for the three to six week process. Coming up with a concrete benefit, such as credit or pay, could be a possible assignment that this project could develop.
Finally coordinating all the students involved would be the last phase of the development of the program. Locating rooms for the groups to meet, finding times that agree with both facilitator’s schedules and coordinating all the students involved could be the responsibility of a part-time student coordinator, graduate research assistant or professional staff.
Outcomes:
This program would have the capability of reaching and maintaining several
positive outcomes for the Institute. First, this program would provide
certified mediators the ability to practice their skills in real life
situations and could be marketed as a great addition to any resume.
This would also provide a means to gain visibility for the Institute,
it’s staff and other programs that the Institute offers. Finally,
the Dynamic Dialogue program series could offer an avenue for possible
research for any faculty or graduate student in conflict management
and intercultural or interpersonal communication.