Have we begun the necessary conversations?

Modern day challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, are two of our most pressing challenges, as is the increasing disparity between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. And yet, paradoxically the costs of convening meetings are becoming greater as the transaction costs of travel increase. Some of us question whether we are even asking the right questions. Have we even begun the necessary conversations? Are we talking about those things that are important to the majority of Canadians? And how do we get our elected officials to listen to the voice of the many rather than the voice of the few?

Changing the Conversation differs from other sites in two key ways—all e-Dialogues are actively moderated and there is a research curator. We do not assume that good conversation on-line just happens, they need to be facilitated to ensure respect, build trust between diverse perspectives. This virtual space, grounded in the principles of Socratic dialogue, is designed precisely to create a safe place to lead those conversations, in collaboration with researchers, civil society leaders, business leaders, policy-makers and Canadians. It has been built to allow individuals from all walks of Canadian society to be involved in an engaged process of sharing knowledge, best practices, social innovations leading from informed dialogue, to consensus around the ways forward to implementation on-the-ground.

For the first year of its operation, the research team will lead the scheduled series of conversations. Following that, we will open up the space to Canadians to self-organize their own discussions, subject to the principles of Socrates dialogue, appreciative inquiry, respect for diverse perspectives and there is no such thing as a stupid question. Click on the links below to navigate the Dialogue space.