Navigating difficult conversations
We support organisations that help people develop the skills, confidence and relationships needed to engage thoughtfully with complex issues and difficult conversations.
Every generation has to choose democratic resilience afresh — we can’t take it for granted. That choice starts in classrooms. Our invaluable partnership with Pears Foundation enables us to deliver peace education that teaches young people to disagree well, protect one another, and build real pride in a diverse, fair, compassionate society.Sharon Booth, Founder and Executive Director, Solutions Not Sides
Healthy societies don't depend on everyone agreeing. They depend on people being able to disagree without losing their curiosity, empathy or respect for one another. We believe those are skills that can be taught, practised and strengthened, and that's why we've invested in organisations working in this space from their earliest days.Amy Braier, Director, Pears Foundation
Polarisation has become one of the defining challenges of our time. Across politics, faith, identity and international affairs, disagreements increasingly harden into division, making it more difficult for people to listen, ask questions and work together.
At Pears Foundation, we believe these skills can be learned. They require practice, thoughtful facilitation and opportunities to engage with people whose experiences and perspectives differ from our own. Rather than promoting any particular viewpoint, we support organisations that help people navigate complexity, challenge their assumptions and develop the confidence to engage respectfully with disagreement.
The organisations featured here take different approaches, but all share a commitment to building the skills, relationships and confidence needed for difficult conversations. In each case, we have partnered with them from the outset, providing long-term, unrestricted funding that has enabled them to establish, strengthen and grow their work. We believe that this kind of patient partnership gives organisations the confidence to innovate, learn and maximise their impact.
The Center for International Experiential Learning (CIEL)
Founded in 2021, the Center for International Experiential Learning (CIEL) uses immersive international learning to help people better understand conflict, division and reconciliation.
Participants undertake extensive preparation before travelling to conflict-affected regions, including Northern Ireland, the Middle East and Vietnam, where they engage directly with people holding different experiences and perspectives. The aim is not to prescribe conclusions, but to encourage participants to grapple with complexity through first-hand encounters and intercultural exchange.
Participants return with a deeper understanding of conflict and the confidence to apply those lessons in their own communities. CIEL’s founder, Dr Daniel Wehrenfenning, also delivers workshops for Pears Foundation grantees through our Professional Development Programme, helping organisations strengthen their own capacity to facilitate difficult conversations.
Faith in Leadership
Faith in Leadership brings together senior Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders to strengthen both their leadership and their relationships with one another.
Its Senior Faith Leaders Programme creates space for participants to engage honestly with some of the most challenging issues facing faith communities and wider society, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, the legacy of Empire and the role of faith in modern Britain. The programme does not seek consensus or theological agreement. Instead, it develops the ability to disagree thoughtfully, build trust across difference and work together where shared purpose exists.
Many participants continue these relationships long after the programme ends, creating enduring networks of leaders who are better equipped to respond collaboratively to the challenges facing their communities.
Solutions not Sides
Solutions not Sides equips young people with the knowledge, empathy and practical skills to respond constructively to conflict, injustice and polarisation. Using Israel–Palestine as a case study, the programme helps participants develop the confidence to engage through dialogue, non-violent action, respect for human rights and democratic participation.
Working in secondary schools and through its student leadership programmes, Solutions Not Sides enables young people to explore diverse Israeli and Palestinian narratives, recognise the humanity of those affected by conflict, and challenge prejudice, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, in the UK.
Its approach is grounded in respectful dialogue, intellectual curiosity and a willingness to engage with experiences that differ from one’s own. Rather than simplifying complexity or advocating particular political positions, the programme equips young people to navigate disagreement with confidence, compassion and a commitment to seeking constructive solutions.
Our work in this area extends beyond these three partnerships. Through our longstanding relationship with University College London, we support initiatives that equip students with the skills to facilitate respectful dialogue, including the Students’ Union’s Impartial Chairs Programme. We have also supported More in Common UK to deepen understanding of the attitudes, experiences and divisions shaping British society. By combining research with practical programmes that develop dialogue, leadership and critical thinking, we aim to strengthen the conditions in which difficult conversations can take place constructively.