Bringing Us Back Together in a Polarised World Through Dialogue, Empathy & Courage
Join Andrej from Kokoro for an intimate workshop (max. 9 participants) exploring how we can bring people back together in an increasingly polarised world.
Together, we will look at how dialogue, empathy and courage help us to stay in conversation, especially when we disagree.
At the heart of this work are belonging and psychological safety. When people feel they belong, they are more willing to take responsibility. When safety is present, difficult conversations become possible without humiliation or exclusion.
Through reflection and hands-on practice, you’ll develop concrete behaviours and actions that can become habits, helping to bridge differences, address harm and move forward - without breaking connection.
Bringing Us Back Together in a Polarised World Through Dialogue, Empathy & Courage
Join Andrej from Kokoro for an intimate workshop (max. 9 participants) exploring how we can bring people back together in an increasingly polarised world.
Together, we will look at how dialogue, empathy and courage help us to stay in conversation, especially when we disagree.
At the heart of this work are belonging and psychological safety. When people feel they belong, they are more willing to take responsibility. When safety is present, difficult conversations become possible without humiliation or exclusion.
Through reflection and hands-on practice, you’ll develop concrete behaviours and actions that can become habits, helping to bridge differences, address harm and move forward - without breaking connection.
Why this matters:
We need to strengthen our skills for talking beyond our bubbles. We need to rebuild trust in our workplaces, communities and institutions. We want to be trusted … but does our behaviour inspire trust?
The future of collaboration depends on our ability to hold space and tension. It means being able to name what is true, repair what is strained, and hold each other accountable without hurting each other.
It is all about staying connected when there is friction.
Real change, whether in a team, an organisation, or a movement, does not happen by convincing the already convinced. It happens when we learn how to bring people in. Especially those we assume are too different, too resistant, or too hard to reach.
And like any real change, each of us is stepping into unfamiliar territory. As a species that depends so deeply on one another, we cannot afford to leave anyone behind.
We have become highly skilled at self-help, yet under-skilled at group help. When the room gets tense, we either protect ourselves or perform politeness. At work, that can look like avoiding feedback, difficult decisions, or conflict. In everyday life, it can look like silence, emotional distance, and the topics we do not touch.
🥑 Food and location - something special:
Since the earliest days of human communities, people have gathered around a shared meal. This simple form of proximity creates something powerful: trust, conversation and a sense of belonging.
Eating together with people we do not know can burst the bubbles we are in and widen our horizons…
We have a private setting in a light-filled studio in Vienna’s 6th district, where we can slow down, listen, stay in conversation and eat together.
🥙 Menu for the day:
- Light Turkish breakfast including olives, sheep cheese, tomatoes & small cucumber and spreads.
- Lunch - Vegan Ghormeh Sabzi, a slow-cooked Persian herb stew with beans and dried lime, served with Tahdig, scorched Basmati rice.
- Coffee Break after lunch with a white chocolate sticky cake and saffron-rosewater cream.
Who this is for
This workshop is for people who want to stay in conversation across difference in their work, their communities, and their lives.
Yes, it’s for anyone who is a professional, leads others, grows communities, a family member who is trying to make sense, culture builders or someone who mediates conflict and wants to create an environment where honesty and connection happen.
We have a solidarity seat: Because conversations like this should include a diversity of voices, every workshop includes one solidarity seat for someone who cannot currently afford the full fee. Your participation helps make that possible.
If you would benefit from a solidarity seat, please register and send a short note on how this will support you in your current situation.
The day’s fee includes the workshop facilitation, tools, food, and the solidarity fund: €229
Event Details
📆 Thursday, 28th May 2026
⏰ 09:00–17:00 (Arrival and breakfast from 09:00)
📍Studio Space, Mollardgasse 2/14, 1060 Vienna
🪑: 8 seats (limited)
🗣️: English and German
€:229,-
Lineup
Andrej Barla
Good to know
Highlights
- 8 hours
- In person
Refund Policy
Location
Mollardgasse 2/14
2 Mollardgasse
#14 1060 Wien
How do you want to get there?
Agenda
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Arrive and connect
The day starts slowly, on purpose. Come as you are, take something from the light breakfast including coffee/tea, olives, sheep chees tomatoes & small Turkish cucumbers. This is the way we introduce ourselves and we take our conversations from here.
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What is Calling In? Beyond the buzz
Before we go further, we look at what it actually means and what it feels like from the inside. When have you felt called out? When have you felt called in? These two experiences leave very different marks on us. Surfacing them together helps us understand what we are actually working with.
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Bridging belonging and psychological safety
Belonging is what makes people willing to show up. When people feel they belong, they are more likely to hold each other accountable. When safety is present, difficult conversations stop being something to avoid. We map the signals and behaviours that pull people in, and the ones that quietly push them out.