< Back

Respectful Dialogues

Card image

Active Citizenship

Summary

Respectful Dialogues is a single, three-hour intensive that helps students recognise and practise respectful, psychologically safe debate while building political literacy. Using Australian parliamentary discourse as a live case, the session covers circle-based ground rules, Deep Listening, “observing self”, and moving beyond right/wrong binaries.

Students then explore harmful vs respectful debate and practise a “deep-democracy” viewpoints activity using the Plastic Pollution Treaty scenario, preparing them to observe a Senate sitting and translate these skills back to campus life. This work supports student mental health and cultural safety by foregrounding care, curiosity, and dignity in disagreement. Student will be required to complete all reading on the Plastic Pollution Treaty in order to participate effectively in this KNOT.

The intensive aims to:
  • Provide students with firsthand exposure to parliamentary processes, real-world political discourse, and structured analysis of debates.
  • workshop respectful and constructive debate within the ANU on-campus residential community student and University communities.
  • develop critical thinking and emotional intelligence through structured reflection and facilitated discussions.
  • support collective student mental wellbeing by creating safe spaces for expression, fostering connection, and enhancing students' sense of agency in political discussions.

Preparation

• BBC News. (n.d.). [Article on UN plastic pollution talks]. BBC News. Retrieved September 15, 2025, from https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgpddpldleo

• DW News. (n.d.). How realistic is a global plastic treaty? [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved 15 September 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSaWQ3dpfFg

• Global Plastic Laws. (n.d.). UN Plastics Treaty. Global Plastic Laws. Retrieved September 15, 2025, from https://www.globalplasticlaws.org/un-global-plastics-treaty Global Plastic Laws

• Helbig, K., & Norman, M. (2023). The psychological safety playbook: Lead more powerfully by being more human. Page Two Books.

• Nussbaum, M. C. (2013). Political emotions: Why love matters for justice. Harvard University Press.

• United Nations Environment Programme. (2025, August 15). Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution. UNEP. https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution UNEP - UN Environment Programme


What participants will learn

Students will learn to:

  1. Identify and evaluate respectful vs harmful debate behaviours in parliamentary discourse, noting their effects on people and on the progress of ideas.
  2. Apply course tools like Deep Listening, observing self, and binary vs nuance to analyse tone, fairness, and idea development in adversarial settings.
  3. Explain how the parliamentary “winners/losers” structure shapes debate quality and inclusion, and propose ways to maintain respect within that setting.
  4. Practise constructive disagreement through a viewpoints/devil’s advocate exercise..
  5. Use structured observation (in-chamber) to collect evidence of rhetorical moves, non-verbal cues, and psychosocial impacts; integrate these notes into a coherent reflection in your assignment.

Completion

For the completion activity:

(1) attend a Senate sitting between 27 October and 06 November and
(2) submit a 1,000-word reflection connecting their observation to the KNOT concepts by 21 November



Material

  1. Question time in parliament (video 4:12 mins) https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/parliament-at-work/question-time-in-the-australian-parliament
  2. Reflective Writing Resource: https://www.unsw.edu.au/student/managing-your-studies/academic-skills-support/toolkit/writing/reflective-writing
  3. Section 5 in ANU Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2025-2030 which outlines the importance of respectful behaviour.
  4. The Psychological Safety Playbook by Karolin Helbig and Minette Norman - see sample chapter

Created by
Lina Koleilat