Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley

With the death toll in Gaza climbing past 8,500 people, including more than 3,500 children, and hundreds more being killed each day in Israel's relentless bombardment of homes and other civilian infrastructure, we at OBI join a growing global chorus of calls for an immediate ceasefire, as has been repeatedly demanded by the United Nations, and a return of the hostages. We are heartbroken by the killings and unfathomable carnage suffered both by the Palestinians in Gaza, and the Israelis attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, when some 1,400 were killed and over 200 kidnapped, including children. We believe that all life is precious and that all people belong, and so we mourn every single loss. Our work is to build a world of belonging without othering. A feature of othering is drawing lines between those whose deaths are grievable, and those unworthy of our grief and concern. Even in the depth of our anguish, when love propels our tears and rage, we must not succumb to the drive to draw this line. Especially now, when dehumanization is widespread in governments, on the internet, in the news, in our communities, and in our bodies. All of us must vehemently reject it in all its forms and embrace the value and worth of all people. Our very survival depends on it. Full statement: https://lnkd.in/dUsCEM99

Missed signals at work? We can support you in tuning in? Cross-cultural misunderstandings can sneak up, from body language slip-ups to language confusion. Discover practical ways to bring clarity, respect, and harmony to your team in our latest article! https://lnkd.in/gmuhS9Hu #CrossCulturalSkills #TeamHarmony #InclusiveWorkplace #Communication #InterculturalCompetence

#OBI's john powell is live now on KQED: https://lnkd.in/gYTsFXGw

Hi friends and colleagues, I wrote this blog on organizing and winning elections while refusing corporate money, using the Richmond CA experience as a case study, and how this should inform national organizing to win real wellbeing and equity for working class people across race and gender. I know this is provocative but I think it can inform some of the necessary soul searching about the Democratic party's historic loss of working class voters to 'the couch' and Trump. https://lnkd.in/g-uW-EAf I would love to hear your thoughts, discuss this with you, and have you forward it to anyone who may be interested or find it useful.

Inclusion is inconvenient … So I recently went to Germany to a Democracy and Belonging Forum convening by the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley For those who don’t know I sit on their Democracy and Belonging Advisory Board for leaders commited to bridging and belonging as a framework for countering authoritarian, hate and polarisation. In true OBI nature, I left reflecting on my own practice, new reading and research and a discomfort that is only eased with action. One of the biggest takeaways I took for speaker vanessa faloye was as we enter the AI revolution, the act of bridging or what we like to say in GORM ?unifying? will become increasingly difficult. Engaging with difference, especially in deep disagreement is hard enough, however how as we enter a world where convenience is at our fingertips and algorithms are tailored to our biases, the act of bridging will be evermore burdensome, making inclusion work more difficult in the long term. I was like ?? Cause you guys know I love me some AI, but I had never thought of it in that context. Her recommendation was to add small inconveniences back into your life as it gives you skills such as creative thinking, patience and empathy, which are all necessary to unify across differences. Do you thing the convenience of AI will deepen existing divisions ? #belonging #socialsnterprise #communitybuilding #unity

With tremendous excitement and terrifying delight, I bring you the news that my first book, Flourishing Kin, Indigenous Wisdom for Collective Well-Being, is released today by Sounds True. Through poetic expression and authentic truth-telling, I invite you to contemplate and experience a path to sustainable collective flourishing. This is the understanding that flourishing is only possible in community when we cultivate relationships with all kin, from human to more-than-human, and to our living Earth. Our shared familial bonds empower us to meet the world in all its complexity with reverence and joyous commitment to participate in the flourishing of all Life. Flourishing Kin is a lyrical journey through stories, Lands, rituals, and reckoning, embracing virtue, ethical living, and spirituality to reveal how to overcome isolation and climate anxiety, nourish healthy relationships with communities and our environment, and build strong foundations of well-being that elevate our life choices for the benefit of our whole shared home planet. I am in utter gratitude to dearest all Angelina Sacbaja, Greg Cajete, Jon Kabat-Zinn, john a. powell, Dacher Keltner, Roshi Joan Halifax, Richie Davidson, Jack Kornfield, and Tara Brach for endorsing my heartfelt, vulnerable, precious offering. Find it on: Amazon: https://lnkd.in/gKeWNKhQ Barnes & Noble: https://lnkd.in/gxxr3CUe Bookshop: https://lnkd.in/gKr3yk72 Sounds True: https://lnkd.in/gwaWPyEg

I had the honor of speaking with john powell, distinguished professor at University of California, Berkeley and the Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley. In this age of division and polarization, john shared a new approach that encourages us to turn toward one another in some radical ways. His new book is "Belonging without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World." Timely and provocative. Check out the highlights and take a listen (or watch it on YouTube). #loveinactionpodcast #belonging #othering #UCBerkeley #leadership #podcast #leadershippodcast #DEI #inclusion

“In this shrinking world, we have to create a world where everyone belongs, and no one is ‘othered.’ Some people say it can't be done. I say, not only can it be done, it must be done. And one of the places where it has a good chance of taking roots is right here in Oregon.” So began john a. powell's talk recently during a gathering of about 130 OCF volunteers, staff, board members and community leaders from throughout Oregon. powell (who spells his name in lowercase) directs the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley. He says taken together, “othering” and belonging represent the “the challenge for the 21st century.”? OCF President and CEO Lisa Mensah called powell “one of the most insightful legal scholars of our time,” adding that his ideas are not abstract or academic. They are embedded in OCF’s efforts to bring people together through giving, grantmaking and volunteering.? ? “He speaks with quiet insight about the opportunity for Americans to learn to truly see one another as belonging together. His focus on belonging was the perfect note for our community foundation and its larger family of volunteers, donors and grantees.” In his talk powell explained, “‘othering’ is a generalized set of common processes that engender marginality and group-based inequality across any of the full range of human differences.” “This struggle is not just interpersonal – it is that – but it’s also structural and institutional. How we organize and design structures matters. I’m saying, ‘how do we affirmatively design structures to promote, acknowledge and celebrate?belonging.’” The concept of belonging describes more than just a feeling of inclusion or welcome, powell said. It is the social systems that give people a sense that they have power and control over their lives and share strong bonds with their community.? He said people can feel anxiety from losing that sense of belonging during periods of rapid changes, for example, in demographics, climate and in the aftermath of a global pandemic. powell noted that the support OCF and its donors provide for Oregon communities are opportunities for “bridging” work that strengthens social bonds.? OCF grants are designed to improve the lives of all Oregonians by supporting creative solutions driven by communities themselves. Lisa Mensah explained that mission begins with finding ways to foster belonging. Or as john a. powell described it, “Bridging expands the circle of human concern to build a more inclusive ‘we.’” powell is the author of several books, including the upcoming,?"Belonging without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World."?Learn more and explore resources from the?Othering and Belonging Institute: https://lnkd.in/gBxTrzx

Our book club for Belonging Without Othering just ended, but here's another virtual one. Learning happens with the community; you don't have to do it alone.