The Intergroup Dialogue Project (idp) is a social justice education program that helps students develop intergroup relations skills, thereby preparing them to live and work in an increasingly diverse world. Our courses are specially designed to empower students to communicate and collaborate across social, cultural, and power differences, and to promote equity and democracy in their communities.

With a strong emphasis on the sharing of personal stories, IDP’s peer-led model allows participants to teach and learn from each other’s lived experiences of privilege, oppression, and difference. Coupled with our thought-provoking selection of academic reading materials, IDP powerfully blends theory with experiential learning in pursuit of our key goals – raising consciousness of our myriad social identities, exploring the causes and effects of social inequities at the individual and structural levels, and strengthening individual and collective capacities to promote and advance social justice.

IDP has had an indelible impact on the Cornell community. Since our inception, our main course offering – EDUC 2610 – has grown tremendously by word of mouth. From a tiny 30-student cohort in Fall 2012, we reached our full capacity of 200 students in 13 dialogues in Spring 2016. Our student facilitators are not only leaders in social justice groups across Cornell, but also contribute to academic research, newspapers, and social movements in the wider community. Our diversity training workshops have been well-received by myriad Cornell student groups and departments. Striving to develop a community of like-minded colleagues, we are growing to include peer-led programs for staff, faculty, post-doctoral scholars and graduate students too. To learn more about the breakdown of students in our courses, click HERE.

Our program is developing rapidly, and we would love to have you on board! Come join us as we continue to affect change on campus. Watch our video below to learn more!