As I grew up in Palestine, my grandfather spent many years teaching me and other children in my family the importance of dialogue. In Arabic my grandfather would often tell us Asmeny mleeh ashan nearf nehkey “listen to me well so we can talk together.” As my grandfather said those words, he would bring all of us to our land and start working on watering the lemon trees, fixing the fence so the sage plant could grow bigger, creating small canals so water could make it to the far away fig tree. He would do all of this while talking to us about life. He would ask a question and say, “If you don’t know the answer, ask the rumooan, “the pomegranate”.
Dialogue is an essential process in building compassion and understanding toward others. I learned early on that dialogue takes many shapes and forms as my grandfather would always say, “Don’t worry how different my talk is from yours, if we are talking, it’s a start.” After he would say these things, he would lean against an olive tree and make sage tea and call us around to ask us for advice on what to do with the far away apricot tree that didn’t seem to grow quickly. From these beginnings I was equipped with lots of curiosity and the love of having tea with strangers as I shared stories with them. My childhood led me to create relationships that helped me carve stories from my heart onto pages and connected me with different communities that strengthened my growth and narrative.
Intergroup Dialogue for Peacebuilding
Intergroup dialogue for peacebuilding differs from more conventional forms of peace talks or negotiation, in that the goal is to connect with individuals in mid-level positions of power, grassroots organizers and organizations, and the people impacted by the conflict. Intergroup dialogue or problem-solving in the context of conflict resolution or peacebuilding is based on theories, principles, and strategies from many different fields of study.
As a model for intervention, Intergroup Dialogue began in the early 1990s based on the compilation of research in the fields of conflict resolution, social psychology, and multicultural education (Frantell et al, 2019). Research (Kelman, 2012; Svensson & Brounéus, 2013; Frantell, 2019) suggests that the current foundations for the implementation of intergroup dialogue programs or workshops are based on Gordon Allport’s (1954) contact hypothesis and preceeding works on contact theory. Allport (1954) hypothesized that much discrimination and prejudice was a result of individuals having limited to no face-to-face contact with others, and that bringing people together to engage in dialogue would “bring about positive attitude change” (Svensson, 2013).
Multicultural education theory built on the findings of the contact hypothesis (Allport’s (1954) findings and those of studies in the following years) by developing steps and stages that could be synthesized into manageable curriculum which would allow teachers or instructors to receive training in order to implement programming in classroom settings (including within higher education) (Frantell, 2019; Corry, 2012).
In the early 1990s, Herbert Kelman, a social psychologist who specializes in social ethics, facilitated intergroup problem-solving workshops in Israel and Palestine, which he continued for more than thirty years (Corry, 2012). Building on the research of the time, Kelman developed a four-stage model which, at present, remains as the primary structure for Intergroup Dialogue programs, workshops, and studies (Corry, 2012).
Interaction, Communication and Community
Intergroup dialogue (IGD) focuses on highlighting the principles of social justice and honouring individual values through a process of interaction, communication, and community building. IGD programs challenge participants to engage critically with their own identity group and examine the biases and stereotypes that exist within that group. In doing so, participants can build alliances and relationships. The process involves bringing ‘privileged’ and ‘disadvantaged’ groups together along with facilitators that represent each group. They meet at regular intervals in an effort to explore topics such as privilege, oppression, and systemic barriers, and to develop skills that promote the use of dialogue in addressing conflict.
The heavy influences of multicultural education and social psychology on the development of Intergroup Dialogue processes contribute to the tendency to use it in educational settings. The goal here is to build effective emotional and experiential connections between students that will contribute to an increased ability to express emotions and develop a politicized identity (Ross, 2012; Frantell et al., 2019).
The use of Intergroup Dialogue in educational settings is intended to engage conflicting parties in the process of analyzing their own suspicions, perceptions, and potential misconceptions that have contributed to the continuation of the conflict or resulting barriers. However, one must be mindful that educational settings differ from one another so that ensuring an environment where participants can meet safely and speak freely can be nearly impossible.
There is also often the added pressure of expecting any peacebuilding intervention to resolve conflict in a timely manner. This is not only unrealistic but also counter to the intentions of authentic forms of Intergroup Dialogue. The process brings together different parties to discuss and learn about each other. Participants who join IGD programs show a change of attitudes and can develop skills to better their relationships. Participants learn to work through hard topics and work on increasing their awareness of one’s self and their group.
IGD focuses on exploring the participants’ own experiences and relating them to the group’s experiences. In doing this, a common understanding and empathy is built. It can also help teach dialogue skills to the participants, which will increase their confidence and help them engage in meaningful conversations. It also promotes social justice and works on helping participants understand their own identity while examining their bias of other identities. As a result, studies show that IGD can help increase participants’ abilities to engage in a group dialogue and develop greater strengths of all behaviors.
In my culture, the narrative tradition has remained strong as a result of the systemic oppression and exclusion of my culture from formal education and popular media even within Palestine. Through generations and across cultures, storytelling has played an important role in informing and connecting people with each other. Telling stories allows people to build an understanding of the experiences of others, to bond over shared feelings and experiences, and to spread important information such as cultural practices, religious beliefs, or survival skills.
– Originally published in the Spring 2025 issue of the MB Teacher
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Izzeddin Hawamda serves as the anti-racist education professional learning initiative coordinator with Louis Riel, River East Transcona, and Winnipeg School Divisions. He completed his Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba. Founder of Sadaa, an organization that strives to create spaces for meaningful dialogue, he is also a fellow at Canadian Mennonite University.