How to disagree... well and safely
By Karen Campbell-White, Director of Strategic Communications, Jane Yelloly, Sr Campaigns Manager, Prof Sara Mole, Population Health Sciences and Dr Helen Knowler – Arena Centre for Research Based Education, UCL
3 March 2026
In a world that can feel increasingly fractured and polarised, how can progressive HE institutions navigate global geopolitics? With ever-changing expectations around the role of universities, how does one ensure intellectual curiosity and critical thinking are not compromised in trying to adapt to individuals and societies’ cultural and emotional norms?
Communicating conversations
When UCEA invited UCL to share our approach to these challenges we were delighted, as it presented an opportunity to explain our trailblazing campaign, our mission and how it fits with our strategy.
The Disagreeing Well campaign team has been at the forefront of creating platforms for colleagues and students where difficult conversations can take place. Our approach has been to lean into these questions and to provide opportunities for respectful and evidence-based discussion. Working with experts across the institution and externally has provided us with valuable and essential progression to better understand what good practice in this space looks like.
In addition to work by UCL Political Science Professors Julie Norman and Thomas Gift on the skills, training and competencies required to have challenging conversations, our expert mediators, award winning UCL political scientist Dr Melanie Garson and UCL alumna Mia Forbes Pirie, have also informed much of the institution’s thinking. This has been vital in creating necessary platforms, including The Bridge Podcast, events and learning resources.
The UCL Disagreeing Well campaign continues to be successful and to grow from strength to strength, with valuable feedback confirming this. At the recent UCEA’s Annual Communications Conference – Changing communications: meeting our sector’s evolving challenges and opportunities, the Disagreeing Well campaigns team presented alongside the UCL’s Safer Space Conversations team. Working together, event attendees were invited to consider how a holistic approach had been applied to increasingly difficult and often highly emotive conversations. Just as Disagreeing Well focuses on conflict and critical thinking, Safer Spaces invites audiences to consider the environment in which these discussions take place, in an effort to build good pedagogical practices that can be transferred into a variety of learning and working environments.
Safe(r) Spaces
At UCL, we believe that inclusion is more than just a policy, it’s a practice that is embraced across the institution. Over the past few years, we’ve been learning how to create spaces where colleagues can come together to explore complex and sometimes challenging topics, with respect and curiosity at the heart of every conversation.
It came from an observation that strong beliefs were leading to greater polarisation, both in society and in the workplace. These divisions were affecting work and education relationships, and we realised that if we wanted to maintain a healthy, collaborative culture, there was a need to find ways to talk about difficult issues - especially with colleagues who might think differently. Topics such as freedom of speech, gender pay gap, right to protest, sex, gender, and trans rights were becoming flashpoints for debate. Rather than avoiding these conversations, we wanted to tackle them head on and we asked: How can we create spaces where people feel safe(r) enough to share, listen, and learn?
We chose to offer something different, in addition to formal teaching or training sessions. So we focused on intentional, facilitated conversations. To make this happen, we brought together a steering group with diverse views and experiences, including UCL Envoys for Gender and LGBTQ+ Equality, as well as an external facilitator and an external observer. We welcomed academic and professional services colleagues and students to the conversations.
From research to reflections
Between 2022 and 2025, we researched, reflected, and planned five events, each bringing together around 20 participants for three hours. Each event focused on a specific important current issue, such as academic freedom, the gender pay gap, and the right to protest. We progressed this by moving towards more sensitive discussions around sex, gender, and trans rights. We learned that creating a safe(r) space requires intentionality. Each event began with grounding exercises and clear expectations of ways of working before we moved into activities and structured conversations.
We provided refreshments (always a fine way of ice breaking!) as a gesture of respect for participants’ time and wellbeing, and a chaplain was always present to support mental health, despite not being needed. We found that providing this environment was as important to the participants as the dialogue itself. An independent observer offered insights into how conversations unfolded and how people reacted. This supported our reflection as facilitators after each event and enabled us to identify practices that connected and resonated, and those that were not so effective.
These conversations taught us that people are more complex than many imagine. Their culture, lived experiences, and language shape how they hear and interpret ideas. Sometimes, people didn’t hear what we thought we were saying. But that’s part of the process of learning to listen deeply and speak with care. We learned that inclusion needs to consider the person as a whole.
Of course, these conversations are not about quick fixes. They are about building trust, understanding and respect. We are now reflecting on critical incidents, sharing what we’ve learned (even in blogs!), and planning future events. Our goal is to continue creating spaces where people can engage bravely and respectfully with complex issues. This is vital for all, in our universities and for all in this challenging world.
Useful resources and more information
Below are links to relevant UCL resources:
This blog was developed following a presentation at the UCEA’s annual communications conference by Karen Campbell White, Director of Strategic Communications, UCL; Prof Sara Mole, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health; Dr Helen Knowler, UCL’s Higher Education Development and Support Institute; Noël Caliste, Business Operations Services, Professional Services Hub; and external experts Dr Edwina Peart and Dr Baljit Dhadda.
3 March 2026
In a world that can feel increasingly fractured and polarised, how can progressive HE institutions navigate global geopolitics? With ever-changing expectations around the role of universities, how does one ensure intellectual curiosity and critical thinking are not compromised in trying to adapt to individuals and societies’ cultural and emotional norms?
Communicating conversations
When UCEA invited UCL to share our approach to these challenges we were delighted, as it presented an opportunity to explain our trailblazing campaign, our mission and how it fits with our strategy.
The Disagreeing Well campaign team has been at the forefront of creating platforms for colleagues and students where difficult conversations can take place. Our approach has been to lean into these questions and to provide opportunities for respectful and evidence-based discussion. Working with experts across the institution and externally has provided us with valuable and essential progression to better understand what good practice in this space looks like.
In addition to work by UCL Political Science Professors Julie Norman and Thomas Gift on the skills, training and competencies required to have challenging conversations, our expert mediators, award winning UCL political scientist Dr Melanie Garson and UCL alumna Mia Forbes Pirie, have also informed much of the institution’s thinking. This has been vital in creating necessary platforms, including The Bridge Podcast, events and learning resources.
The UCL Disagreeing Well campaign continues to be successful and to grow from strength to strength, with valuable feedback confirming this. At the recent UCEA’s Annual Communications Conference – Changing communications: meeting our sector’s evolving challenges and opportunities, the Disagreeing Well campaigns team presented alongside the UCL’s Safer Space Conversations team. Working together, event attendees were invited to consider how a holistic approach had been applied to increasingly difficult and often highly emotive conversations. Just as Disagreeing Well focuses on conflict and critical thinking, Safer Spaces invites audiences to consider the environment in which these discussions take place, in an effort to build good pedagogical practices that can be transferred into a variety of learning and working environments.
Safe(r) Spaces
At UCL, we believe that inclusion is more than just a policy, it’s a practice that is embraced across the institution. Over the past few years, we’ve been learning how to create spaces where colleagues can come together to explore complex and sometimes challenging topics, with respect and curiosity at the heart of every conversation.
It came from an observation that strong beliefs were leading to greater polarisation, both in society and in the workplace. These divisions were affecting work and education relationships, and we realised that if we wanted to maintain a healthy, collaborative culture, there was a need to find ways to talk about difficult issues - especially with colleagues who might think differently. Topics such as freedom of speech, gender pay gap, right to protest, sex, gender, and trans rights were becoming flashpoints for debate. Rather than avoiding these conversations, we wanted to tackle them head on and we asked: How can we create spaces where people feel safe(r) enough to share, listen, and learn?
We chose to offer something different, in addition to formal teaching or training sessions. So we focused on intentional, facilitated conversations. To make this happen, we brought together a steering group with diverse views and experiences, including UCL Envoys for Gender and LGBTQ+ Equality, as well as an external facilitator and an external observer. We welcomed academic and professional services colleagues and students to the conversations.
From research to reflections
Between 2022 and 2025, we researched, reflected, and planned five events, each bringing together around 20 participants for three hours. Each event focused on a specific important current issue, such as academic freedom, the gender pay gap, and the right to protest. We progressed this by moving towards more sensitive discussions around sex, gender, and trans rights. We learned that creating a safe(r) space requires intentionality. Each event began with grounding exercises and clear expectations of ways of working before we moved into activities and structured conversations.
We provided refreshments (always a fine way of ice breaking!) as a gesture of respect for participants’ time and wellbeing, and a chaplain was always present to support mental health, despite not being needed. We found that providing this environment was as important to the participants as the dialogue itself. An independent observer offered insights into how conversations unfolded and how people reacted. This supported our reflection as facilitators after each event and enabled us to identify practices that connected and resonated, and those that were not so effective.
These conversations taught us that people are more complex than many imagine. Their culture, lived experiences, and language shape how they hear and interpret ideas. Sometimes, people didn’t hear what we thought we were saying. But that’s part of the process of learning to listen deeply and speak with care. We learned that inclusion needs to consider the person as a whole.
Of course, these conversations are not about quick fixes. They are about building trust, understanding and respect. We are now reflecting on critical incidents, sharing what we’ve learned (even in blogs!), and planning future events. Our goal is to continue creating spaces where people can engage bravely and respectfully with complex issues. This is vital for all, in our universities and for all in this challenging world.
Useful resources and more information
Below are links to relevant UCL resources:
- Inclusive dialogue in education: a tutor's guide to facilitating constructive discourse
- A Framework for Teaching Difficult and Sensitive Topics: A learning focused approach
- UCL Disagreeing Well’s campaign website, which includes Disagreeing Well skills series videos, The Bridge podcast and event recordings
This blog was developed following a presentation at the UCEA’s annual communications conference by Karen Campbell White, Director of Strategic Communications, UCL; Prof Sara Mole, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health; Dr Helen Knowler, UCL’s Higher Education Development and Support Institute; Noël Caliste, Business Operations Services, Professional Services Hub; and external experts Dr Edwina Peart and Dr Baljit Dhadda.
