Wanna grab a coffee? The Open Hands Initiative is excited to announce its new "Coffee & Conversation" program, a casual way to meet up with other people from across the world to talk about issues that are important to YOU.
This informal dialogue series provides a platform to:
In order to participate in the "Coffee & Conversation" program, applicants participate in a one hour "Dialogue Training" to learn best practices for constructive communication across difference.
This short and sweet live training covers communication skills essential for having good conversations and lays the foundation for engagement across differences including:
Once you have completed the Dialogue Training, you will be able to sign up for our "Coffee Chats" where you can have conversations with your global peers.
Anyone who completes the training and at least one Coffee Chat gains access to our "Speaker Series," featuring thought leaders and experts from a variety of backgrounds, along with Advanced Trainings, which are workshops targeting specific skills like negotiation, advanced conflict resolution, or design thinking.
Check out our events calendar below for details on some of our upcoming Coffee & Conversation opportunities.
Coffee is optional!
Below is a sampling of our Coffee Chat topics. You can participate in as many as you are interested in.
Are you eligible to apply? The criteria is simple.
Applicants must:
Below are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions about our "Coffee & Conversation" program.
We launch our first training and chat series in November! More sessions will be added throughout the year. Check out our events calendar for everything we have in store.
It's all virtual using Zoom. Please be sure to download the app on your mobile device or desktop prior to your first session. 5 minutes after our start time we close the virtual "doors" and begin.
Sessions are one hour unless otherwise noted-–Zoom fatigue is real!
It's 100% free!
Coffee (or a beverage of choice) is totally optional… but it might be more fun if you bring one!
If you are more than 5 minutes late to a session you registered for or simply have something else that interferes with your participation, no worries! Just sign up for the next session you can make it to. No hard feelings! ☺️
Because this is an international exchange–with lots of people from different backgrounds participating, we want everyone to start on the same foot! It helps establish ground rules and creates a mutual set of knowledge so that everyone feels they have a safe space to connect.
We hope that you will complete the training and then join us in as many or as few of the Coffee Chats as you would like. And if at any point, you decide that this isn't for you, no judgement! You are always welcome to come back at a later time.
All participants accepted to the program will be required to sign our Code of Conduct and will be expected to adhere to it. Violation of the code is grounds for expulsion from the program.
It's a minimum of 4 participants and a maximum of 20. We want to make sure everyone has the chance to interact! If we don't meet the minimum we'll cancel and make sure you get a good heads-up. If we have a lot of interest in a particular session, we will repeat it at a future date.
Communications training is applicable to all industries and sectors. Conflict resolution and cross-cultural skills are transferable to school, work, or your personal relationships. Plus you'll get to expand your network with like minded people from across the world. And if you are learning English or Spanish, you have a chance to practice your foreign language skills.
We ask that all participants who are accepted into the program sign up for one training session. After that, you may sign up for any other session. Sign up for the coffee chats is required at least 48 hours in advance.
For now, we are starting with people who are in similar time zones to make connecting easier. We hope to expand our programming to new geographic areas in the future. Stay tuned!
But we are working on it! We hope to be able to offer Spanish language coffee chats in the future.
Please see a selection of our courses below. This list will be updated as new classes become available.
Wednesday, November 12
DIALOGUE TRAINING
This is our basic one-hour class on effective dialogue. In the course you will have a chance to practice active listening, persuasive communication, and learn and apply effective techniques for managing difficult conversations. It is a pre-requisite for all other sessions.
Thursday, November 13
COFFEE CHAT: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Let's delve into AI and what it means for learning, jobs, and society at large. Can it be a force for good? Or does it have more sinister repercussions? Robots need not apply. But anyone interested in how AI is rapidly changing our world is most welcome.
Thursday, November 20
COFFEE CHAT: CLIMATE CHANGE
What is it? Is it even real? Can it be reversed? Does it need to be? Let's find out how people and our communities are managing extreme weather and environmental changes. Ideal for anyone who is curious about climate, from critics to crusaders.
We actively seek partners - individuals and organizations - from around the world in order to advance our common goals. Feel free to send us an email to find out more about getting involved. Please note that we do not accept unsolicited funding requests or grant proposals.
New York, NY
info (at) openhandsinitiative (dot) org
