About the Initiative

Vision
Our vision is a campus where we engage those with whom we have differences not with avoidance or hostility, but with skillful listening, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to learning. We aim to build a resilient culture of communication at UCLA that transforms conflict into an opportunity for understanding, growth, and collective action.
About the Initiative
The UCLA Dialogue Across Difference aims to strengthen UCLA’s collective capacity to engage across lines of difference with skill and courage. Whether in classrooms, residence halls, conference rooms, or public forums, we seek to uplift the values of intellectual engagement, curiosity, empathy, active listening, and critical thinking across difference.

DaD develops and elevates opportunities for members of the UCLA community to both cultivate skills and practice dialogue through its four-pronged approach: student engagement, teaching, programming, and training. DaD is also collaborative and cross-campus: building a culture of dialogue is a shared responsibility, and DaD seeks to uplift and support efforts across campus that advance its values and principles.

What is Dialogue?

The word “dialogue” comes from the Greek “dia” and “logos,” meaning “through word”. This term conveys the importance of engaging one another through language. At its core, dialogue is the practice of engaging across difference in ways that deepen our understanding of ourselves and others. The DaD Initiative aims both to rebuild this lost trust and build our collective muscle to talk to one another. In our view, dialogue is not a matter of finding harmony and agreement at every turn. Nor should it be a practice that distances us from our moral commitments or stifles dissent. Rather, dialogue, as we see it, is about real, meaningful, and honest engagement in ways that directly confront and negotiate our differences with skill and respect. This kind of dialogue across difference is key to our shared project of generating knowledge for the benefit of society. As educator Paulo Freire once wrote, “Without dialogue there is no communication, and without communication, there can be no true education.”

History

DaD was first established in January 2023 by the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Darnell Hunt, in response to growing national polarization and the urgent need to strengthen trust and connection across campus. A committee of staff, faculty, and students developed a multi-model, cross-campus approach to fostering a culture of dialogue. The activities within the four prongs of our work – training, teaching, programming, and student engagement – were then further developed by an implementation committee comprised of campus partners.

The initiative’s activities launched in November 2023 with a student leadership program, training and teaching opportunities, and public programs spearheaded by members of the implementation committee. As the campus was roiled by protest and extreme division that year, demand for dialogue programming and expertise on campus increased exponentially. In Summer 2024, the administration of DaD was moved to the Bedari Kindness Institute, which is directed by Prof. David N. Myers. Maia Ferdman also joined the team as deputy director of the Bedari Kindness Institute and DaD staff director. This move solidified DaD’s long-term presence on campus and allowed it to expand its offerings in the 2024-25 academic year and beyond.

WHO WE ARE