A new educational program promotes empathy through stories of shared humanity
The Red House collaborated with The Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) to integrate Listening from the Heart into university programs that promote dialogue and understanding. This initiative aligns with Georgetown’s commitment to global awareness and interfaith inclusivity, helping students engage in meaningful dialogue on complex issues. It also connects to the Red House’s broader work on intergenerational trauma, exploring how past conflicts shape present experiences and the path toward healing. The program features stories from The Parents Circle Families Forum, an Israeli-Palestinian organization dedicated to reconciliation.
In January 2024, President DeGioia and visiting members of the Parents Circle Families Forum (PCFF) collaborated on a plan to broaden the reach of their program and materials to a wider, American audience. The PCFF, an organization comprising over 900 Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones in conflicts, seeks to educate audiences about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through personal stories. These stories of unbearable loss, grief, and hope create essential spaces for listening, dialogue, and humanity within schools, organizations, and communities.
Kim Huisman from CNDLS and Susannah McGowan from The Red House partnered with American PCFF executive director Shiri Ourian, PCFF communications director Lior Ben-Zvi, and videographer Ayelet Harel to design materials to contextualize and situate the stories for educational spaces in the US: universities, high schools, community organizations, and religiously-affiliated groups.
“This work really relates to Georgetown’s values,” said Kimberly Huisman, a curriculum developer at the Center who co-led the project with McGowan. “Our ecumenical approach is welcoming to all faiths and our global perspective encourages students to see themselves as part of one world,” said Huisman.
McGowan hopes the program will complement a number of efforts the university is pursuing to promote dialogue and civil discourse. She believes Listening from the Heart will build skills students need to understand conflict resolution in any situation.
“The question we are always asking ourselves is how do you design programs that help students grapple with very real challenges,” she said. “We need to provide spaces for what we call ‘productive tension’ so students will be equipped to face difficult topics once
they graduate.”
Read more about Listening From the Heart here, and Georgetown’s role here. Explore the Parents Circle Families Forum site here.
