Last month I had the pleasure of interviewing Juliana Tafur about her work at Bridging Differences, an initiative out of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. We talked about how we’re actually wired to enjoy talking to strangers from different backgrounds, how insights from neuroscience can help us have better and more productive conversations, and how the Bridging Differences Playbook is being used on the ground by community leaders in Colorado.
You can take the Bridging Differences edX online course any time.
Check out the new Bridging Differences in Higher Education Playbook too!
From their website:
Bridging Differences is how we build belonging. We teach and disseminate science-based practices to connect across differences, solve problems together, and build cohesive communities—guided by love and justice.
Our science-based, practical skills (e.g., listening with empathy, understanding values, finding shared goals) help people engage productively without asking them to compromise their values.
Our playbooks, courses/trainings, and multimedia content equip educators, community leaders, and institutions to connect across race, culture, faith, ideology, and geography–and grow their curiosity, intellectual humility, courage, patience, empathy, and compassion.
We help design with road-tested intergroup contact strategies in mind, and create campuswide and statewide cultures where people can feel seen and valued. We scale research-based practices, evaluate them, and strengthen networks so more communities can thrive.
