One aspect of CFR Education’s work examines the intersection of global affairs and everyday life: how diverse actors collaborate to shape global issues and how educators can best prepare students to understand and engage with the forces at work in their world. A large part of this work involves civil discourse, or a person's ability to respectfully engage with other points of view and to consider alternative understandings of public issues.
This work does not happen in isolation, however. Learn more about how CFR Education relies on trusted partners to bring these conversations to life.
A New Partnership Takes Shape
The College Debates and Discourse (CD&D) Alliance is a joint national initiative of three non-profit organizations: The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), Braver Angels, and BridgeUSA. The program teaches students and faculty to embrace political and ideological diversity, foster respectful civil discourse across differences on college campuses, and cultivate leaders to carry the movement forward.
The Council on Foreign Relations and CD&D share a common belief: that strengthening civil discourse and global affairs engagement on college campuses is essential to preparing the next generation of informed, engaged citizens. Together, the two organizations have joined forces and plan to bring that vision to life at institutions across the United States. The partnership combines CFR Education’s world-class global affairs resources and simulations with CD&D’s immersive, participatory programming.
The partnership kicked off with a campus-wide event in New Albany, Indiana, home to Indiana University (IU) Southeast and CFR Education ambassador Dr. Jean Abshire. At IU Southeast, CFR Education and CD&D worked with Dr. Abshire and a group of student leaders to host a campus-wide dialogue on one of the most urgent policy questions of our time: "How should governments regulate artificial intelligence?" Participants leveraged the CFR Education simulation, Regulating AI, to provide background for the conversation.
The event brought together approximately fifty participants—including students, staff, current and retired faculty, and community members—for an evening of thoughtful, good-faith conversation. The audience was intergenerational and interregional—attendees came from across Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Rather than a panel or lecture format, participants engaged in small group discussions and took turns presenting their views from a podium at the front of the room. The impacts of this dialogue on civil discourse were clear. Following participation in the dialogue event, survey data showed audience members experiencing an 18 percentage point increase in confidence and enthusiasm when sharing ideas, a 16 percentage point increase in finding talking about political issues fun and engaging, and a 27 percentage point increase in the ability to empathize with and understand viewpoints.
Watch the video above to see the dialogue in action.
A Night of Rigorous and Constructive Exchanges
The evening at IU Southeast was just the kind of civic engagement CFR Education's work is designed to cultivate: students and community members grappling with a pressing global issue and doing so with curiosity, respect, and a willingness to listen and learn. Many participants argued for strong guardrails on artificial intelligence (AI) to protect user privacy and prevent potential misuse, though perspectives varied widely on where governments should prioritize their efforts.
What stood out during the dialogue wasn’t just the range of opinions voiced—it was the tone. People in the room listened to one another. They challenged each other’s ideas without attacking the individuals expressing them. They connected global questions about AI governance to local concerns about jobs, education, and community impact. It was the kind of informed, respectful exchange about global affairs that students and campuses across the country need to cultivate to meet this difficult moment.
A Model for What's Next
As the first event in the CFR–CD&D partnership, the IU Southeast dialogue set a strong foundation for future programming, demonstrating how campuses can create spaces where diverse viewpoints are welcomed, complex issues are explored collaboratively, and global affairs become personally meaningful. The event's impact was immediate: the university chancellor, Dr. Deborah Lynne Ford, plans to make the dialogue a signature annual event, with future iterations led by CFR Education ambassadors. In the coming year, CFR and CD&D will train additional educators to lead dialogues at campuses across the country.
"Tonight was an amazing event. To see our students learn the skills of public speaking, of public discourse, of active listening was so fulfilling and meaningful." – Dr. Deborah Lynne Ford.
The IU Southeast dialogue is just the beginning. As CFR and CD&D expand their partnership to campuses across the country, they carry with them a proven model for the kind of civil discourse that informed citizenship demands—and that today's students are ready to lead.