Debate, Debrief, and Dessert, a new pilot series of events under the Harvard Kennedy School's Candid & Constructive Conversations Initiative, convenes conversations between Harvard faculty and invited guests who come at an issue from differing points of view. Following each conversation, Professor Julia Minson or Professor Erica Chenoweth, the current and former leaders of CCC, will lead audience members in a facilitated workshop focused on how the discussion's participants engaged constructively—or not—around points of disagreement, in order to build audience-members’ skills related to active listening, compassionate speaking, productive question formulation, and engaging with curiosity. And we’ll feed everyone dessert!
The discussions in this series are called “debates,” with the hope that they will surface meaningful points of disagreement. These are not competitions: we’re not judging participants and declaring a winner. Our goal is rather to educate our audience, illuminate different perspectives on difficult public policy issues, and illustrate how leaders and experts can engage with one another with evidence, conviction, and respect.
