Strategy for Initiating Change

• Trustbuilding through hospitality and honest conversations across divisions of race, class, religion and politics.

IofC facilitators and hosts create safe, hospitable spaces. Participants learn to tell their stories and invite others with different views and experiences into the process. As they begin to ask hard questions about their own lives and society, they move towards new insights and partnerships to address specific needs.
• IofC has hosted a series of high level conversations between Muslims, Christians, Jews and others.
• Hope in the Cities’ dialogues on school integration ask, “If every child were my child, what would I do differently?”
• A series of dialogues between American Muslims and evangelical Christians are showing that “strong faith does not mean closed-mindedness.”
• IofC is supporting teams of Africans in an honest conversation for creating a just and clean Africa.
How You Can Get Involved: You can start a conversation in your home or neighborhood. IofC offers dialogue curricula and facilitation.

• Equipping individuals and groups by offering leadership formation and increasing the capacity of local networks to take action.

IofC offers unique tools for change in individuals and society. These tools can enable faith groups, educational systems, corporations, peace and justice networks, and foundations supporting local efforts to build an inclusive future.
• In the Connecting Communities Fellowship Program, people of all ages, in grassroots organizations, business, education and government, explore essential inner resources and practical skills for sustaining change efforts.
• The Caux Scholars Program gives students from the US and other countries the opportunity to understand and study conflict transformation in a global context. Many alumni are putting these skills to work and are intervening in specific conflict areas.
How You Can Get Involved: Would your organization or community benefit from IofC’s skills building? Perhaps a local civic organization would like to sponsor a Caux Scholar or Connecting Communities Fellow from your area.

• Intervening through mediation or facilitation in order to resolve a specific conflict situation.

When an organization or community faces a conflict involving diversity, culture or religion, IofC can provide experienced facilitators to help all sides come together to create a shared solution.
• When citizens of a small town opposed the location of a major health care corporation, IofC (through Hope in the Cities) was invited to help resolve the conflict. As a result, both parties made commitments to each other for the good of the community.
• A national philanthropic organization requested IofC facilitation to resolve conflict around diversity issues between employees and managers.
How You Can Get Involved: Invite IofC to help you, your organization or your community address a conflict involving diversity or culture.

• Campaigning to raise new visions for America.

Public forums, conferences and collaborative initiatives—sponsored by IofC in partnership with like-minded groups and organizations—engage decision makers and citizens. Walks through history and other symbolic acts bring communities together to create new, shared narratives.
• For 10 years, Metropolitan Richmond Day has been a model for convening large numbers of people to consider divisive issues.
• In 2005 a multi-faith Lebanese delegation visited Washington and Richmond to share experiences of reconciliation with educators, political leaders, community activists and the media. Later, a Somali delegation told their stories of healing the wounds of history in their country.
• The ACTION program takes young leaders from the US and other continents on a journey to discover America, offering an experiential, values-based training in transformational leadership, conflict management, intercultural communication and teambuilding.
How You Can Get Involved: You could host a visiting IofC team in your community or join a planning team for a future campaign.