Effective discussions on controversial topics need to be held all over the world. Difficult Dialogues initiatives are emerging on campuses outside the borders of the U.S. to tackle those critical conversations.

International Initiatives

The Difficult Dialogues project is dedicated to the promotion of civic engagement, academic freedom and pluralism in higher education. Though launched in 2005 the United States by a Ford Foundation initiative, Difficult Dialogues projects have begun to spread beyond the borders of the U.S. The mission of Difficult Dialogues on an international level is to strengthen a democratically engaged society by advancing innovative practices in higher education that promote respectful, transformative dialogue on controversial topics and complex social issues, thereby reflecting a commitment to pluralism and academic freedom [The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, 2006).

As more international initiatives become established, we will add them to this site. To list your initiative, please contact Libby Roderick at eroderick@alaska.edu.