Xiaohongshu
Leaders in Dialogue (formerly Impartial Chairs) participant, Ozan, reflects on his experiences on the programme. Ozan was central to one of our flagship events, the UCL200 Great Debate, chairing a panel of four industry-leading journalists. Ozan now works as a Research Associate at the Notre Dame Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. He reflects on how Leaders in Dialogue helped him take on these roles.
Leaders in Dialogue is made possible by the generous support of Pears Foundation.
I applied for the Impartial Chairs Programme (now Leaders in Dialogue) to further my negotiation and listening skills. Before my application, I was working alongside Dr Thomas Gift and Dr Julie Norman on the Disagreeing Well course as a research assistant. Bing able to both establish the confines of discussion while making sure that everyone feels able to contribute was an important skill that I wanted to develop.
I gained a lot from my experience on the programme. Beyond just the typical negotiation tricks you can find anywhere, the training provided by the professional workshops over the course of several sessions allowed me to put the listening and chairing skills into practice with my colleagues on the programme.
Alongside the workshops, the Northern Ireland trip was the ultimate experiential way to witness what we were learning by hearing from people who lived through The Troubles, from former fighters and police officers to civil society leaders and teachers. I realised that deep contextual understanding and creatively finding solutions beyond simple compromises are necessary for opposing sides to navigate effectively in working together.
Being surrounded by my peers on the programme as network of like-minded people looking to drive change within their communities and future careers was such a rewarding experience.
For the opening event for the UCL200 Summer Festival, I took up the opportunity to chair the Students’ Union’s Great Debate, a panel event about journalism in the age of misinformation, AI, and populism. On the programme, I had learnt how to prepare talking points for the subject at hand and to manage the exceptional panel of experienced journalists.
For me, this was a challenging yet rewarding experience, applying skills developed on the programme to chair an event in front of an established panel, a bigger audience, and for a headline UCL and Students’ Union event. It’s a skill that I will take into the next stage of my career.
Applications for the next cohort of Leaders in Dialogue will open on 21 September. Click here to apply.