Sustained Dialogue Conference: Transforming Divides

Posted by on February 03, 2014

Transforming Divides: From Bitter Debate to Better Dialogue, SDCN Annual Conference 2014

March 7-9, 2014 at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA

Rancorous national discourse has become the norm. From the Statehouse to the dining hall, we’ve seen an inability to dialogue across difference. It has even resulted in a 16 day government shutdown. Campuses are embroiled in bitter conversations about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and can’t seem to dialogue about effective approaches to tough problems, or even sit in a room together.

Yet, we know a different reality is possible. We’ve seen students learn how to engage differences as strengths, form unlikely friendships, and make a positive impact on their campus. This conference will focus on how to effectively transcend these divides with effective communication across lines of difference on a multitude of issues.

The Sustained Dialogue Conference is an unparalleled opportunity to come together as a Network and learn from student leaders, administrators, alumni, and supporters from across the country. This year’s Conference, featuring expert guest speakers from social justice, dialogue, and civic engagement fields, will energize you for a strong semester of “dialogue-to-action” and will prepare you to meet your 2014 goals.

We’ll be joined by:

·  Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer, a pioneer and leader in the field who is working to do what SD is doing on the national scene as Executive Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona, a nonpartisan center for the research and advocacy of civility in public discourse

·  Dr. Phil Neisser and Jacob Hess, co-authors of You’re Not as Crazy as I Thought (But You’re Still Wrong): Conversations between a Die-Hard Liberal and a Devoted Conservative

·  Leading corporate partners

·  …And others who move debate about race, gender, immigration, and religion forward to dialogue.

Register at: http://www.sdcampusnetwork.org/conference