Empathy Across Difference is a student-led organization where high school and college students explore difficult issues through informed dialogue with people whose perspectives differ from their own.
WHAT IS EMPATHY ACROSS DIFFERENCE?
Empathy Across Difference began at Columbia High School in 2023 and now brings together students from around the world. We hold respectful conversations about the issues that divide us, from war and free speech to racism and gun control. We do not expect everyone to reach the same conclusions. We do ask everyone to listen.
Talk about difficult things
Bring your questions, opinions, and experiences into conversations that go deeper than the usual talking points.
Learn how to disagree
Learn how to stay curious when someone sees the world differently than you do.
Take it somewhere
Use what you learn to start real conversations, work side by side, and strengthen communities on your campus and beyond.
A more divided world needs a new generation of listeners.
You already know what it looks like when people talk past each other, reduce each other to labels, or avoid hard conversations completely.
There’s another way.
At Empathy Across Difference, you can practice having the conversations most people are afraid to have, without turning them into a fight.
WHY IT MATTERS
WHAT WE DO
Informed discussion
We draw on articles, podcasts, and other materials that, taken together, present more than one perspective, so that our conversations rest on research rather than assumption.
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Mediation training
Through role-play and facilitated discussion, members practice navigating disagreement and finding common ground without needing to reach consensus.
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Dialogue across communities
We create spaces where students of different faiths and backgrounds can discuss issues on which their perspectives differ sharply.
Service
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Members organize food and clothing drives and take part in service projects at local shelters, putting empathy into practice beyond dialogue.
A STUDENT'S PERSPECTIVE
"I didn't learn to agree with everyone. I learned to stay curious, and that sometimes that means changing my mind."
Reeves W., dialogue participant
Multiple DatesSat, Nov 14Location is TBDShare a meal and a conversation with students and families from across the spectrum. Come hungry, and come curious! Location and topic TBD.
Upcoming Events
