Experts gather for international empathy and global citizenship summit

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Earlier this month, empathy experts, youth representatives, youth-serving organizations and policy makers took part in a three-day summit titled, “Promoting Empathy in Adolescence: creating engaged global citizens and enabling more peaceful, inclusive societies.” The summit was held at Wilton Park, an executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, which connects people from around the globe for “world-changing dialogue.”

Co-hosted by Penn State and Wilton Park, the summit built on past international events, such as the “Acting with Empathy” event held in Dublin, Ireland, earlier this year, which included actor Cillian Murphy.

Key partners in the organization of the forum outside of Penn State included the Global Network of UNESCO Chairs, the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, the University of Galway, York University, Warriors for Humanity and the Foróige Youth Citizenship Program.

Penn State’s efforts were led by Penn State Global and the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, as well as supported by the College of Education, the Rock Ethics Institute, the College of Health and Human Development, the College of the Liberal Arts and the College of Agricultural Sciences.

The summit

The three-day forum invited a curated collection of 40 high-level representatives from philanthropy, the academic sector, international and youth-serving organizations, as well as young people themselves. Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, also attended and chaired an important discussion session.

Penn State representatives and faculty affiliates of the Prevention Research Center included:

• Mark Brennan, professor and UNESCO Chair for Global Citizenship Education
• Max Crowley, C. Eugene Endowed Chair, director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center; professor of HDFS and public policy
• Michael Donovan, director of international partnerships and assistant research professor, Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center
• Pete Allison, associate professor of recreation, park, and tourism management
• C. Daryl Cameron, associate professor and senior research associate at the Rock Ethics Institute
• Dana Mitra, professor of education policy studies

Donovan, Crowley and Brennan served on the planning committee.

Speakers at the event discussed how empathy research can be translated into both government policy and into classrooms worldwide, as well as in non-formal, experiential learning environments. Mitra and Cameron both presented their research about empathy education.

Attendees identified high-priority action areas for investing in youth empathy work — Penn State, led by Brennan, is very active in this space, one example being the Youth-as-Researchers program — and shared personal experiences about their work with both formal and non-formal empathy education.

“It was remarkable to engage in such fruitful planning with youth leaders, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers from across regions working as a genuinely global learning network, seeding empathy-focused initiatives with opportunities to span schools, community organizations, experiential learning opportunities, faith-based groups and emerging scientific study of the field, all across multiple continents with massive potential impact," said Max Crowley, director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center.

Empathy education: What is it?

Empathy is described as “the capability to understand the emotions and perspectives of others” and has been linked to better mental health and well-being in individuals. There are two components of empathy — affective and cognitive — which both influence if one engages in prosocial behavior, such as standing up for others and connecting with their community. Affective empathy refers to if an individual can share in another’s emotional state, while cognitive empathy is one’s ability to understand another’s thoughts, feelings or experiences.

The development and nurturing of empathy is especially important in adolescence, as it is considered a milestone in cognitive development, Brennan said. Ultimately, greater empathy among young people would manifest as lifelong active global citizenship, which would benefit communities and create more peaceful societies.

Brennan also pointed out that benefits go beyond personal wellness. Encouraging the development of social-emotional skills can positively impact other aspects, such as performance in school, the workplace, and professional development.

“These are seen as core skills that we need leaders to have … If you have these skills, you’re just able to understand people better and make better decisions,” he said.

Brennan said he believes the value of studying empathy is often misunderstood. Dispelling misconceptions about the worth of social-emotional skills may be an important part of securing support for future empathy campaigns.

“I think people hear empathy or compassion, and they think we’re giving out hugs and kisses,” Brennan said. “There are very measurable, tangible impacts of doing this work, and I think getting that out to people that wouldn’t otherwise listen to an argument for why we should develop empathy for a skill set is key.”

There’s also evidence to suggest the level of empathy in young populations worldwide is declining amid increased ideological polarization and social tension. The emergence of what experts call the "empathy deficit" in young people is cause for concern and is why Brennan said promoting empathy in adolescence is crucial now more than ever.

“Bridging those kinds of divides is key, and it’s not just in the U.S. — it’s global,” said Brennan.

In addition, cultural variations may influence how empathy is understood and expressed across the world — the majority of social-emotional development research underrepresents the global south. Understanding why empathy gaps and biases form in different cultural contexts will be important in developing programs targeted toward a younger population, according to Brennan.

What’s next?

Short-term goals of the Wilton Park event involve creating a hub of resources and a structure for further empathy research — a “global clearinghouse,” as Brennan put it. Individual countries or organizations would be able to pull from research methodologies or adapt policies to fit their specific needs.

A long-term plan would implement a framework to evaluate how countries are instilling emotional skills and applying empathy research to formal and informal education practices. Some are already actively working on this — for example, Ireland is one of the many nations already including empathy education in formal curricula.

Experts also are creating an "observatory" to facilitate empathy development and civic engagement in young people while utilizing both informal and formal education as delivery mechanisms. The development and operations of the observatory will be guided by a joint multi-college committee, which will include the Penn State representatives who attended the event.

“The forum set out to move empathy from rhetoric to practice, by co-designing youth-centered interventions, building a global observatory of evidence and tools, and positioning empathy as core infrastructure for more peaceful, inclusive societies through broad coalition building —leveraging the great work that is already happening,” said Donovan.

Rigorously measuring the impact of these initiatives will also drive interest in supporting further empathy research and adapting new ways of teaching social-emotional skills. The support of UNESCO and Penn State Global has also played a significant role in in expanding outreach and building partnerships.

“Penn State Global has really made our work grow exponentially over the past year,” Brennan said. “We’re grateful to every Penn Stater that continues to support our work.”

How to get involved

Brennan identifies three ways that Penn Staters can get involved:

• Faculty members whose work aligns with empathy education or research, can become a part of the efforts at Penn State.
• Those with access to resources or funding opportunities for this work, can connect the working group with those potential donors.
• Anyone can explore ways to implement empathy education into their own work.

“The more people who want to be a part of it, the better,” Brennan said.

To learn more about the Observatory, including a forthcoming report on the forum, Penn State’s ongoing work with UNESCO, or how to become involved, visit Penn State Global's webpage on the UNESCO chair.

To learn more about the forum, visit Wilton Park's webpage on the event.

Additionally, for more information reach out to Michael Donovan at michaeldonovan@psu.edu.