RE: Empathy Movement Curriculum Update Friday, May 29
Edwin Rutsch
Greetings
here are the notes from the last couple of curriculum development project meetings.
We are building the team step by step
see links to detail meeting notes.
2026-05-28 – Ananya Sharma and Edwin Rutsch
https://sites.google.com/view/empathy-movement-curriculum/notes/meetings/2026-05-28-anayna
Edwin and Ananya discussed Ananya's involvement in the Empathy Center's curriculum development project. Ananya expressed interest in contributing 2-3 hours per week as a curriculum specialist, focusing on topics like deep listening and cultural backgrounds. Edwin explained that the project aims to create an accessible curriculum for building a movement around mutual empathy, with modules ranging from empathy circles to conflict resolution, targeting various audiences including educators, healthcare workers, and businesses.
They discussed the structure of the curriculum development team, with individual teams working on specific modules while maintaining overall coherence. Ananya agreed to work on the definition of empathy module and suggested creating a style handbook for design consistency. They also discussed the upcoming Empathy Summit and various training opportunities. The conversation ended with plans for Ananya to meet with another potential team member, Carol Knox, and for a follow-up meeting between Ananya and Edwin in the following week.
2026-05-29 Empathy Movement Curriculum Meeting
https://sites.google.com/view/empathy-movement-curriculum/notes/meetings/2026-05-15-meeting
When: Fridays
Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM PST
Duration: 60 to 90 min.
Where: Zoom https://zoom.us/j/9896109339
Who: Everyone interested in building the Empathy Movement and Training Project is welcome to drop in!
This was an empathy movement meeting focused on building curriculum and training for empathy circle practices. Edwin Rutsch, Bill Filler, and Daniel introduced the Empathy Center's mission to train all 8 billion people in empathy circles, with Bill running basic training sessions and Daniel developing the EmpathyCircleTraining.com website. New participants including Maria, Carol, and Amy shared their backgrounds and expressed interest in applying empathy practices to conflict resolution, mediation, and community peacebuilding. Janna from NY and William also joined the call from Santa Barbara Chapter of the Empathy Center.
The group discussed how empathy circles could be used in highly contested situations like political demonstrations, wildlife-human conflicts, and school board meetings, with examples shared of successful applications including Extinction Rebellion and community mediation programs. Next steps were outlined including reviewing the project website, participating in empathy circles, taking the free facilitation training, and potentially presenting at upcoming Empathy Summits.
Warmly,
Edwin
Edwin Rutsch
Director: The Empathy Center
Building the Empathy Movement
http://TheEmpathyCenter.org
http://EmpathySummit.com
http://CultureOfEmpathy.com
http://BestEmpathyTraining.com
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Facebook: http://Facebook.com/edwin.rutsch/
Linked-In: http://Linkedin.com/in/edwinrutsch/
