Belonging Without Othering: A graphic illustration to understand co-creation
We are thrilled to share with the world a new graphic illustration which serves as a meaning-making tool, outlining the foundational components of building for belonging and the practices that enable it within projects and places. It is meant to be a discussion tool to help you or your organization's engagement with belonging without othering. Learn more about how to use this tool on our website.
Illustration by Wenjia Tang.
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Podcast: How social housing can help solve our housing crises
We've just launched our latest episode of Real Solutions, our new 8-part series on bold policy ideas to move our country towards belonging and wellbeing for all people. In this fifth episode of the series, we discuss the issue of social housing as a response to the US housing crises. Social housing goes beyond simply building more housing units and demands those units be permanently affordable, promote social and racial equity, and include residents in decision-making that affects their homes. The guests are Fernando Abarca, who is Associate Director of Capital Strategies at Right To The City Alliance; and Roberto Jimenez, who is Executive Director of Seattle’s groundbreaking Social Housing program.
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Related: Read this new piece from Real Solutions co-host Eli Moore about the podcast in Nonprofit Quarterly, titled, "Real Problems Deserve Real Solutions."
"There are a lot of false solutions being peddled these days. We hear things like: Your rent is too high, so the government should deport immigrants." Continue reading... |
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Report: How Asia–Pacific is advancing reparative just transitions
We just released a new study this week showing how communities across the Asia–Pacific region are responding to the escalating climate crisis by reorganizing their social, economic, and environmental systems away from fossil fuel dependence and toward equitable, reparative, and regenerative futures. The report, titled, "Asia–Pacific Just Transitions: Assessing the Activities, Strategies, and Needs of Asia–Pacific Climate, Agri-food, and Environmental Organizations," offers a detailed, subregion-by-subregion breakdown of how nearly 800 organizations across the region are confronting climate impacts shaped by histories of colonial extraction, labor exploitation, and uneven development. The release of this report comes just ahead of International Migration Day on December 18, a reminder that climate disruption is already reshaping patterns of human mobility across the Asia-Pacific region.
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Blog: Lessons and Lingerings: bell hooks Archives on Belonging, Bridging, and the Time We Are In Read this new personal reflection from Ashley Gallegos, OBI's Director of Places of Belonging, about her recent experience studying bell hooks' archives at Berea College in Kentucky. She writes:
"I find myself back at the library to begin to express the deep learnings conveyed to me through that late literary giant Dr. Gloria Jean Watkins, better known by her pen name, bell hooks. I had a unique and cherished opportunity to spend time with the published and unpublished works of bell hooks at the Special Archives Library at Berea College. It seems only right that now that it is time to write and to share the learnings from the experience, I find myself at the Oakland public library surrounded by people that I share a place with. Join me as I wade through a sea of reflections, practical learnings, and threads of meaning gifted to me through the experience."
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of the Othering & Belonging Institute or UC Berkeley, but belong to the author. |
Video: Advancing Peace: Ending Urban Gun Violence Through the Power of Redemptive Love
Last week we hosted Jason Corburn and DeVone Boggan to present on their new book, Advancing Peace: Ending Urban Gun Violence Through the Power of Redemptive Love. The authors talked about their research into the Advance Peace gun violence prevention program operating in about a dozen cities around the country, and based in Richmond, CA. They revealed some statistics and shared stories about how a community-based approach to reducing gun violence is more effective than law enforcement. Boggan is the Executive Director of Advance Peace, and Corburn is a UC Berkeley Professor in City and Regional Planning, and the School of Public Health.
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(En)Gendering Authoritarianism: New Resource Library
We’re happy to share the release of a new addition to the (En)Gendering Authoritarianism project: a curated resource library that expands on the themes explored in our report. In the mid-2020s, we have witnessed the rise of anti-feminist movements and LGBTQ scapegoating, the popularization of the concept of “gender ideology,” the exploitation of the masculinity crisis and religious beliefs, and attacks against the trans community around the world. The resources in this repository aim to complement our (En)Gendering Authoritarianism report providing in-depth analysis of different aspects of how political and cultural leaders weaponize gender and sexuality.
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Driving the “Vibe Shift”: Harnessing Narratives on Family, Care, and Gender
Read the latest blog post by Míriam Juan-Torres González from OBI's Democracy & Belonging Forum:
"In a 2024 podcast interview with Joe Rogan, Mark Zuckerberg mentioned that corporate culture in America is neutered, taking the grandstand view that the workplace needs more 'masculine energy.' At the time, in some circles, Zuckerberg’s comments were the source of both outrage and mockery (I will admit I much laughed). But since then, a more intellectualized version of that idea—one that has always lingered in the background—has started to gain ground in North American and European cultural discourse. What once lived in conservative or fringe think tanks and conferences has seeped into the mainstream and even pop culture. . . [Continue Reading]
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of the Othering & Belonging Institute or UC Berkeley, but belong to the author. |
Video: john a. powell on the Power of Bridging
Video recordings have just been made available of a wonderful conversation from this past Spring organized by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley (GGSC). The event hosted OBI Director john a. powell to discuss his book, The Power of Bridging, and his philosophy of bridging-for-belonging. After his talk, he was joined by Juliana Tafur, the director of the GGSC’s Bridging Differences program, for a conversation about his vision and its implications for our world today--on college campuses, in politics, and beyond.
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Call for Proposals: Network Catalyzers Program 2026
OBI's Democracy & Belonging Forum is excited to launch its second year of the Network Catalyzers Program in 2026. This program helps Forum members build virtual, in-person, or hybrid communities that look at regional challenges and opportunities in four areas: othering, belonging, bridging across differences, and democracy. Apply to the Network Catalyzers Program by January 14, 2026!
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Jan. 15: john a. powell at Silicon Valley Reads
Silicon Valley Reads has announced its 2026 theme as Bridges to Belonging. On January 15, they will host OBI Director john a. powell to talk about The Power of Bridging at the De Anza VPAC Theater in Cupertino for an inspiring evening, alongside two other authors: Keeonna Harris (author of Mainline Mama), and Annie Hartnett (author of Unlikely Animals). They will discuss how to navigate the complexities of our modern world with empathy, and how to find the common ground that exists even in divided times. The conversation will be facilitated by Sal Pizarro of the San Jose Mercury News.
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Together, we can make belonging the norm, not the exception. – The Othering & Belonging Institute |
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