The Sustained Dialogue Campus Network's mission is to help university and high school students create a healthy and open climate on their campuses.  SDCN trains, mentors, and connects student leaders who work through dialogue to design cohesive, engaged, and diverse communities nationwide.

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 that helps students make time to 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)

What does an SD program look like?

Students are asked to meet regularly and explore topics of their choice with individuals who they wouldn't have otherwise had any space to interact. 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 students to create more cohesive, engaged, and diverse campuses through Sustained Dialogue.