Toolkit for Constructive Dialogue in Polarised Contexts

This toolkit is designed to help promote constructive dialogue in societies and political systems marked by polarisation. It is meant to be used among persons with opposing views on a given topic, where the conversation has escalated to the use of pejorative language and limited listening. Informed by the work of the IFIT brain trusts in Colombia and Mexico, and by IFIT’s Inclusive Narratives Practice Group, the toolkit does not aim to generate consensus or agreement around a given topic. Instead, it promotes viewpoint plurality – the idea that we can and should talk with those whose views are different to our own.

Based on moderated processes in contexts ranging from the classroom to public debates, the tools in the toolkit enable people with opposing viewpoints to use terms that open up engagement, express concerns without insulting, break down assumptions about each other, acknowledge positive aspects of the other’s position, and understand the internal and external limitations opponents face when taking difficult political decisions.

For more information, see IFIT’s practice brief on the process of developing the toolkit and recommendations based on lessons learnt for how to create and use such a resource to enable narrative transformation and manage conflict.

The DOI registration ID for this publication is: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10809237