1. Co-creating Peace Episode #93 – “Uniting Fractured Communities Through Dialogue, Part 1 – Bringing Police and Activists Together Through Dialogue” Kathleen Oweegon 39:42

Welcome to “Uniting Fractured Communities Through Dialogue, Part 1 – Bringing Police and Activists Together Through Dialogue” – Episode 93 of Co-creating Peace, a series about conscious communication and conflict transformation. 

Recently, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Duncan Autrey of The Omni-Win Project for The Omni-Win Project podcast. I want to share that interview with you in this podcast. The Omni-Win Project is a multimedia effort to raise awareness of the myriad existing and emergent opportunities we have to improve our democracy and heal our political culture.

We discussed a wide range of related topics having to do with dialogue, and exploring ways that we can see past our differences – in fact, embrace them – to nurture democracy, co-create peace, and co-create a world where different ways of being and different perspectives are embraced, celebrated, and utilized to co-create better tomorrows than our yesterdays have been.

  • Duncan  & I discuss how dialogue is severely underused when it could solve many problems.
  • I shared stories about two dialogue series involving law enforcement officers that I collaborated on and co-facilitated.
  • We discuss the potential dialogue has to bridge divides, and the different forms dialogue process can take, from those that are professionally facilitated to those that people host in their home or community center.
  • I provided several resources for learning more about how to bring dialogue into your world.

The Omni-Win Project podcast is one hour long, so I will be airing this conversation in two parts over two podcast episodes. 

This week, in Part 1, Duncan and I discuss facilitated dialogues between law enforcement and various community members, including activists. Next week, in Part 2, we discuss other, more informal types of dialogue and the importance of learning another person’s deeper truths, exploring what’s inside them, and the wisdom, insights and shared humanity that often can only be discovered when we look beneath the surface.

You can also view the full 1-hour interview on YouTube.

Contact Kathleen Oweegon at: oweegon@bridgesofpeace.com to share your ideas and feedback for this show. You can receive a free 30-minute communication Coaching session by being a guest on Co-creating Peace to talk about your communication challenges and receive Kathleen's suggestions on the air. Visit BridgesofPeace.com to learn more about Kathleen and her work.

Kathleen Oweegon Educator, Podcast Host, Communication Coach, Mediator, Facilitator

Kathleen Oweegon is the founder of Bridges of Peace with offices in Oregon and New Mexico. She also serves on the Board of Directors of International Institute for Global Leadership.

Kathleen has been a educator in communication and leadership skills for over 40 years, working with institutions and in the private sector. She has received over 250 hours of training in conflict resolution and related skills, and has created, co-designed and delivered many trainings in mindfulness, leadership, mediation, facilitation and conflict-free communication.