SDCN's Mission, Vision, & Values

The Sustained Dialogue Campus Network's mission is to develop everyday leaders  who engage differences as strengths to improve campuses, workplaces, and communities. Read more about our vision and values here.

SDCN's History

IISD’s founder and President, Dr. Harold Saunders, has worked with citizens and communities in civil conflict for over forty years. With this experience, Dr. Saunders documented the process he observed as citizens worked toward peace, Sustained Dialogue's 5-Stage Process, in 1999. It is this process that SDCN's network of college students from all over the country are using as a part of their efforts to deal effectively with longstanding divisions in their campus communities....(read more)

What is SD?

Sustained Dialogue (SD) is a tool to transform relationships and design change in the community. SD helps participants understand the different perspectives of individuals they otherwise would not meet.  Engaging in such important conversations not only enables them to interact comfortably with all kinds of people, but also helps build relationships across community divides.  SD equips students with communication skills necessary for increasingly diverse academic, social, and work environments...(read more) 

(click image to the right to download PDF version of the SD 5 Stages)

What does an SD program look like?

On campuses, SD students are meet regularly with individuals with whom they wouldn't have otherwise had any space to interact. The students set the agenda based on pressing topics on campus, in the community, and in their lives. These discussions are held frequently; some groups meet twice a month, others meet once a week...(read more)

Meet the SDCN Team

The Campus Network is headed up by a team that is passionate about enabling leaders to create more cohesive, engaged, and diverse environments through Sustained Dialogue.