The Xenia Institute—a not-for-profit, community engagement organization based in Norman, Oklahoma—is a place where deep, meaningful dialogue is taught and encouraged. Through this ongoing dialogue, we train people to listen to each other and to share their opinions about specific issues in ways that respect those with whom they disagree. Then we seek ways, large and small, in our community and beyond to address these important issues. We believe that action in its best form is a function of dialogue and careful consideration, which is why our three-sentence mission is at the heart of everything we do: bringing people together. creating a safe space for dialogue. transforming dialogue into action.

Bringing People Together.

One of the comments we frequently receive from our participants and volunteers is that we bring them together with people who they would not necessarily encounter otherwise. In forming our groups and hosting events, we seek diversity in every possible way: men, women, younger, older, gay, straight, black, white, hispanic, professors, community members, students, wealthy people, not so wealthy people, democrats, republicans, independents, christians, muslims, atheists, doctors, artists, and everyone in between. Our main goal is to find people who are willing to engage others in a meaningful way even when (and especially when) they have little in common and hold opposite opinions on important issues.

Creating a Safe Space for Dialogue.

Through our dialogue groups, public events, and online magazine, we create a safe space where people can engage each other fully and honestly. We hold that space open through our intentions and our guidelines (like listening when others are talking and speaking in a way that allows others to truly hear you), and we train our participants to create safe spaces of their own. Our dialogue groups serve as long term exercises in learning how to dialogue, putting that dialogue into practice on important issues, and then designing ways that our participants can address those issues through action. In our public events, which open the Xenia circle wider into our community, we use innovative techniques to teach and learn from experts about issues that affect us all. Hosting several events on one topic, like our continuing series concerning domestic violence, allows us to keep the public dialogue in motion. Our online magazine provides an even larger public space for dialogue on specific issues. Volunteer bloggers and writers, many of whom are Xenia dialogue fellows and friends, explore various issues and invite comments from any and all who are interested.

Transforming Dialogue into Action.

We believe that people have the power to act—in situations of injustice, prejudice, and disparity—and that large and small groups and large and small acts are equally important. Through dialogue and careful consideration, action can be planned and implemented in ways that utilize talents and skill sets we already possess. In the third phase of each of our dialogue groups, we transform dialogue into action and address major issues that affect us all. In our public events, we link volunteers with experts and leaders to transform good ideas into tangible solutions. In the pages of our online magazine, our writers and bloggers demystify complex issues and seek to transform a divisive, polarized national conversation into one that honors difference and respects disagreement.