Meet the global grassroots resistance against the forces of division and hate

Polarisation has consumed democracies all over the world, trapping citizens in us/them encampments. But in his new book, Cherian George introduces us to people who refuse to give up on the promise of a larger “we”. They organise shared communicative spaces at the grassroots, encouraging citizens to develop reciprocal respect for difference. George’s transdisciplinary tour of these efforts includes interfaith work in India and Indonesia, citizens’ assemblies in Europe, settler-native co-governance mechanisms in New Zealand, memory activism in South Africa, youth forums in Turkey, and deliberative pedagogies in the United States. 
 
Cherian George is a Professor at the School of Communication, HKBU. He is also the author of Hate Spin: The Manufacture of Religious Offence and its Threat to Democracy (MIT Press, 2016), among other books. He holds a PhD in Communication (Stanford) and a Masters in Journalism (Columbia).
 
The author will talk about his book in conversation with Ng Tze Wei (Board member, HER Fund, and former co-chair, Resolve Foundation) and Kenneth Paul Tan (Professor, HKBU School of Communication).