The bridging program

Why train as a bridge builder?

"I would like to engage in dialogue with those with whom I disagree. However, how can this be accomplished? And what does it require?" These are questions we frequently hear at Brobyggerne. Many support the idea of dialogue as a solution, but when disagreements arise, discouragement and reluctance increase.

Most of us experience disagreements every day, whether it's at home around the dinner table, at a board meeting in the cooperative association, in a debate on Facebook, or at a staff meeting with colleagues. But dialogue about everything we disagree on is important. People are not the same; we want different lives organized in different ways. That is why we disagree on many things. It is a fundamental condition and a strength.

With support from the Nordea Foundation and the Danish Parliament, we have developed the Bridge Builder Training Program for those who are professionally and/or personally interested in democratic participation and how bridge building can contribute to better dialogue and debate.

On this page, you can read more about the Bridge Builder Program.

What is the Bridge Builder Training Program?

The bridge-building training program lasts approximately four months. The teaching component consists of course days where participants meet conflict mediators, rhetoricians, and practitioners—all with deep expertise and new perspectives on democratic participation and dialogue work. Participants then put their bridge-building tools into practice by developing and holding a bridge-building activity in their local area, and they participate in at least one sparring meeting in connection with this. The course concludes with a diploma ceremony and the presentation of the bridge-builder award.

The bridge builder training program offers, among other things

  • Awareness of personal responsibility, one's own reaction patterns, and options for action in conflict situations.
  • Tools for dealing with disagreements and polarizing statements, and ideas for dealing with hate speech and extreme expressions.
  • Training in dialogue, tools for putting oneself in another's place, and a heightened ability to embrace diversity.

We try our hand at the cornerstone of dialogue coffee: dialogue and personal responsibility for building bridges. We focus on "small bridges," i.e., dialogue and bridge-building in our immediate surroundings, and on "big bridges" when we look at societal dilemmas and public debate.
The teaching method is a mix of practical exercises, short theoretical presentations, and reflection. Here, participants learn about dialogue coffee and dialogue skills, conflict management, how language can open and close conversations, and bridge building on social media.

Read more about it

Bridge-building activity
An important part of the Bridge Building Training is working with the tools in practice. Therefore, participants work together in small groups to develop a bridge-building activity that they commit to holding in their local community.
The activity can be anything from a conversation salon at the local library with dialogue on the conversation menu to a theme day on prejudice in elementary school or at work. It can also be a communal dinner in the community center with the purpose of building bridges, e.g., between different religions. Only the imagination sets the limits.

Sparring along the way
Becoming a bridge builder is a lifelong journey, and you will regularly encounter situations where your tolerance is put to the test or you lack the necessary tools in your dialogue toolbox. The sparring meetings focus on bridge-building skills, and participants receive help and sparring for their bridge-building activities.
Participation in sparring is part of the training program and is facilitated by experienced individuals with a solid background in conflict mediation and dialogue work.

Keep an eye on this page, where we will announce the next deadline for admission to the Bridge Builder Program.

Bridge Builder Award

At the Bridge Builder training course in 2023, we concluded with a diploma ceremony, where we recognized bridge-building activities that deserved special attention and recognition. The winners received the Bridge Builder statuette, which was created especially for the Bridge Builder training program by the renowned Danish artist Jens Galschiøt.
Jens talks about his work on the statuette:

“I borrowed this fragment of Michelangelo’s work from the Sistine Chapel, where God breathes life into Adam with his finger. I created it for this bridge-building award because bridge-building is also about breathing life into each other in one way or another.”

Read about the bridge-building activities that have won the Bridge Builder Statue:

Copenhagen
Neighborhood dialogue – dialogue meeting between innkeeper and cooperative association.

Aarhus
Three bridge-building activities: bridge-building between vulnerable young people and potential workplaces, bridge-building brunch and bingo across generations, and parent networks in Frydenlund.

Aalborg
Confronting disagreement – dialogue meeting on headscarves in public schools.

Nyborg
More trust – dialogue meeting between residents in a residential area and the police.

Roskilde
A difficult conversation – dialogue between different voices in the debate on gender and identity

Media coverage

TV2 Fyn(February 27, 23):Feature on the Bridge Builder Training Program in Nyborg, weekend 2(feature starts at 04:48)

TV2 Fyn(January 28, 23):Feature on the Bridge Builder Training Program in Nyborg, weekend 1 (feature starts at 02:27)

Fyens Stiftstidende(January 28, 23):From Islamist to education student: "I would also be skeptical if someone like me were to look after my child."

P4 Weekend(August 27, 22):Feature on the Bridge Builder program in Aalborg(feature starts at 01:35:20)

TV2 Nord(August 27, 22):Rana El-Hussein, Helene Jørgensen, and other North Jutlanders learn about dialogue and tolerance

TV2 Nord(August 27, 22):Northern Jutlanders must learn to abandon their prejudices: New bridge-building training program starts in Aalborg this weekend

Danish Adult Education Council(August 24, 22):Nominated for the Adult Education Award 2022: Bridge Builder Training Program

TV2 Østjylland(April 23, 22):Özlem Cekic's dialogue training is a huge hit

TV2 Østjylland(news broadcast April 23, 22):Dialog-Özlem trains bridge builders 

Jyllands-Posten (March 28, 22):The woman behind "dialogue coffee" shares her knowledge and hopes that new bridge builders in Aarhus will be able to strengthen democracy like ripples in water.

High school(March 28, 22):Terese wants to be a bridge builder

Altinget(March 8, 22):Two of the most divisive politicians in Danish politics have trained civil society in debating—or is it the other way around?

Information(February 7, 22):Zeinab reconciled with her mother after a journey of re-education: Now others must learn from her story

P1 Orientation (January 30, 22): Dialogue coffee becomes bridge-building training in several places across the country

 

 

Reports and news from the Bridge Builder Training Program

Former Islamist visited the Bridge Builder training program in Nyborg (January 2023)

“It was a truly beautiful and enriching experience”: The winners of the Bridge Builder Statue in North Jutland have been announced(November 2022)

Bridge building in practice – how does it work?(October 2022)

They have been married for 12 years and disagree on everything from politics to religion(September 2022)

We have been to Aalborg with the Bridge Builder Training Program(September 2022)

The Bridge Builder Training Program has been nominated for the 2022 Public Education Award(2022)

The first bridge builders have been trained(May 2022)

I want to make a difference in my community: Overwhelming interest in the Bridge Builder program(January 2022)

Collaboration partners

The Bridge Builder program is supported by the Danish Parliament and the Nordea Foundation.
In addition, the following partners have contributed to the project:

  • Nyborg High School
  • Roskilde High School
  • Klostermarks School
  • Amnesty International Aalborg
  • The community center in Tilst
  • Nordic Mediators
  • House of Music

Bridge Builders

The Bridge Builders - Center for Dialogue Coffee was created to strengthen dialogue, tolerance and understanding between people with different opinions, values and ways of life.

We want to promote a society that handles its conflicts and disagreements with words and arguments - not violence and threats.

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Contact us

BROBYGGERNE
Center for Dialogkaffe
Købmagergade 43, 1.
1150 Copenhagen K
CVR 37747610
Reg. and account no. 8401 0001280686

kontakt@brobyggerne.dk
+45 22 34 68 92

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