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The election season has highlighted the divisions in our society and emphasized how important it is for us to connect. We can’t wait any longer to start healing and building stronger relationships with our friends, family, and neighbors. In these challenging times, it’s all about supporting one another and choosing to work together instead of feeling isolated or hopeless.
Change won’t happen on its own. We, the collective, need to rise to the occasion and take action!
At the Othering & Belonging Institute, we’re all about creating a future where everyone feels like they belong. We’ve gathered insights, resources, and opportunities to inspire and guide you in this vital work. Together, we can build the future we all dream of! Let’s keep reaching out to one another and bridging the gaps, even when it feels tough. |
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OBI Director john a. powell served as the keynote speaker at the 2024 Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN) convening in Pune, Maharashtra, India this week, and was joined by OBI researchers Hossein Ayazi and Samir Gambhir, pictured above! The fifth annual convening was livestreamed in collaboration with network partners and Opportunity Youth leaders from across the world to connect in real-time and unite under a common theme — Transforming Youth Livelihoods: Pathways to Full Potential.
Find more info about the gathering here! |
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john a. powell will celebrate the launch of his new book The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong on December 3rd in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Come join us for this free, in-person event. We'll gather on the Wayne State University campus at 7 p.m. (EST) to meet john for a fireside chat and book reading. Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and be a part of a powerful conversation.
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Eager to dig into john's new book? We have a sneak peek for you! Click here to read an excerpt: chapter one, "Bridging to the Future." This section introduces some of the key ideas in the framework of othering and belonging, raises the urgency of bridging, and challenges readers to stretch their imagination. "Can you imagine a world where everyone belongs," writes john, "What might it look like?"
The Power of Bridging hits book shelves officially December 3. Pre-order the book HERE! |
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Join us on November 22 and December 15 for two evenings of poetry reading and writing! We will read poetry by inspiring QTBIPOC poets, and take some time to write some of our own work. This is an inclusive, encouraging workshop space. All are welcome! |
In the wake of the 2024 elections, Eli Moore authored an essay reflecting on the failures of the Democratic Party to respond to the needs and demands of the working-class. “So how can Democrats win,” Moore asks, “or more importantly, how can a coalition that authentically centers working class interests win?” |
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Last week, the Shareable podcast featured OBI Transportation Analyst Jose Richard Aviles’ Reimagining Urban Planning talk, part of the Cities@Tufts lecture series.
This talk openly critiques the ways in which Urban Planners have been trained and the impacts it has had in the ways Planners approach the Land, and the People that inhabit the land. Aviles offers an alternative approach to planning in the hopes of encouraging planners to critically engage with the field.
Click here to listen to the podcast and watch the talk now. This talk expands on a seminar series of the same name developed by Aviles.
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OBI faculty cluster member Lisa García Bedolla was interviewed for KTVU’s post-election coverage exploring exit poll data that showed “Trump gained support from Hispanic men in 2024.” Professor García Bedolla noted that “both parties [need] to understand that they need to engage with people about the things they care about day to day.”
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In the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s story “The Movement to Bring Americans Together Sees an Opportunity. Do Funders?,” john a. powell spoke about how a Trump administration will impact the work of bridging divides. “The environment is very different [from 2016], and it’s very fraught with a lot of pretty dangerous things,” said powell. The work of bringing people together will be more challenging, but also more necessary than ever, he added.
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Photograph credits: BCN City Hall/Novact |
OBI’s Ashley Gallegos, Shadrick Small and john a. powell synthesized some of the key frameworks of bridging and belonging work they have done in Colorado as part of the institute’s Places of Belonging work. |
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In the paper "Belonging: Bridging Beyond Othering," published by OBI as part of a collaboration with Belonging Colorado, a project of The Denver Foundation, the teams worked together to inform Belonging Colorado stakeholders on moving Belonging without Othering into practice in the state through bridging.
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This paper offers an introduction into key considerations of advancing State strategies towards belonging through a focus on the efforts actively being made in Colorado. Click here to read the full publication! |
The 2025 Summer Fellowship application will open in early December. This is a great opportunity for undergraduates, Master's students, and early Ph.D. candidates to work on a research project with an OBI mentor. The fellowship will be entirely virtual. Contact Charlotte O'Keefe Stralka (charlotte.okeefe@berkeley.edu) if you have questions.
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Did you know that we offer free, online courses? Check out our virtual learning platform, OBI University (OBIU, pronounced oh-bee-you)! It's home to a community of nearly 8,000 learners and is growing every day, so why not join them? OBIU offers interactive courses on the key frameworks of othering and belonging, a four-part crash course on bridging, a primer on structural racism, and more — all led by friendly human guides. We are cooking up an exciting new course on targeted universalism too.
Over the past few months, we dug into john powell and Stephen Menendian's Belonging without Othering as a community in our virtual book club, and we are planning another one to accompany The Power of Bridging in February 2025. Sign up now for free! |
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Together, we can make belonging the norm, not the exception.
– The Othering & Belonging Institute |
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