Building a Culture of Empathy

What happens when we think of empathy not only as an individual quality, but as something we can cultivate collectively? In this conversation, we’ll explore the science of empathy with Edwin Rutsch, founder of the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy.

Free

We’ll look at what empathy is, what makes it difficult to practice, and what gets in the way of creating more empathic relationships and communities.

But this isn’t just about understanding empathy. Together, we’ll explore how we can put empathy into practice in our everyday lives, and how small, intentional actions can contribute to a more empathic culture around us.

We’ll consider questions such as:

• What does science tell us about how empathy works?
• What are some of the common challenges and misconceptions around empathy?
• What prevents us from empathising with others, especially when we disagree?
• How can we strengthen our own capacity for empathy?
• What simple practices can help us bring more empathy into our relationships, communities and everyday interactions?
• And how can individual acts of empathy contribute to a broader culture of care and understanding?

This is an invitation to move beyond empathy as an idea and explore it as a practice, one that each of us can cultivate and share with others.

This session is part of our new series, Connectors: The Essential Toolkit, offered as part of our Connectors Program and open to all. These expert-led talks are designed to give you practical tools to bring compassion deeper into your daily life and community.

About Edwin Rutsch

Edwin Rutsch is the founding director of The Empathy Center and The Center for Building a Culture of Empathy, and creator of the Empathy Circle practice. For over 15 years, he has worked to build a culture of empathy through education, facilitator training, research and public initiatives. His work explores empathy across fields including psychology, neuroscience, education, conflict transformation, politics and community life, with a focus on practical ways to strengthen empathic connection. Edwin has interviewed hundreds of leading empathy experts, curated an extensive online resource on empathy, and hosted global Empathy Summits. He also founded the Empathy Tent, bringing structured active listening and conflict resolution into public spaces and civic dialogue to help bridge divides.