Convener / Facilitator
7. Massively Parallel Roles & Tasks
Convenors / Facilitators recognize that the real value of free speech comes from the exchange of views between those who see the world differently. Free, but homogeneous, speech spoken only within tightly constrained information bubbles is much less helpful (and often makes things worse rather than better). Fortunately, there are individuals and organizations who specialize in bringing together people with differing views and facilitating the kind of constructive exchanges that produce shared learning. Examples of the many activities in this area include the Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center's program for fostering such exchanges in higher education; BridgeUSA's efforts to do similar things at the high school as well as the college-level; Braver Angel's efforts to bring constructive, cross-party dialogue opportunities to people across the country, focused on the big issues of the day; the National Week of Conversation's open invitation to join in a wide array of guided, face-to-face conversations; and Living Room Conversation's set of do-it-yourself guides for convening productive exchanges, another others. Other facilitators, such as those with the Keystone Center and CBI bring diverse groups together, not just for dialogue, but for problem solving in civic assemblies, deliberative forums and related consensus-building processes.
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