14 May, 2026
Oxford Interfaith Forum joined the 2026 THINK dinner at Christ Church, Oxford, an event designed to foster meaningful conversation across differences through the practice of attentive listening. Organised and sponsored by Dr Joel Bell, founder of THINK for Academia, the dinner brought together participants committed to understanding others with greater depth, empathy, and openness.
The venue: Christ Church College and Dining Hall
THINK for Academia began in 2022, when students at Christ Church’s Graduate Common Room responded to growing polarisation, groupthink, and isolation in academic life by gathering 13 participants over a shared Thai takeaway. What started as a small experiment in listening across differences has since developed into a structured series of curated dinner conversations. The initiative now spans eight universities in the United Kingdom and the United States, including Oxford, Cambridge, London, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania, and has welcomed more than 1,000 participants.
What happens when we take the Golden Rule seriously in how we listen?
THINK for Academia explores what it means to apply the principle, ‘do to others whatever you would like them to do to you’, to the act of listening. It aims to encourage more grounded, reflective individuals while helping to build a more pluralistic society. This vision closely aligns with the Oxford Interfaith Forum’s own guiding principle: cultivating and practising respect for others, especially those whose views or backgrounds differ from our own. For that reason, we were especially pleased to take part in the event and contribute to open, welcoming, and respectful discussions. The evening began with a drinks reception on the Christ Church Grand Staircase, where Dr Bell welcomed guests before dinner.
Oxford Interfaith Fellows joined colleagues from various faculties, together with external guests, to reflect on how people can better listen to and understand one another across differences. As Dr Bell observed, ‘gathering with trustworthy people of goodwill from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and stories is not just a fun detail — it is the whole point.’
After the reception, guests moved into the dining hall and were seated in carefully curated groups of four that brought together students, academics, and external guests with differing perspectives. Dr Bell opened the dinner with the traditional recitation of Grace in Latin and invited participants to listen with empathy and curiosity, resisting the urge to prepare immediate rebuttals or premature judgements. Guests were encouraged to practise patience, remain open-minded, and engage with one another with genuine attention.
The evening’s Special Guest of Honour, Mr Daniel Rugholm — former Director of Government Relations at the UN World Food Programme, whose work contributed to the organisation’s Nobel Peace Prize recognition — addressed the dinner participants after the welcome. Drawing on his professional experience, he shared examples of meaningful ‘listening connections’ with Heads of State and reflected on how those encounters shaped his own understanding of listening. He described listening to others as an act of ‘the recognition of their humanity’.
Left: Dr Joel Bell; Right: Mr Daniel Rugholm
Dr Narmin Ismayilova shared her impressions: ‘The event offered a fantastic opportunity to practice compassionate listening without judging or imposing our ideas on others. We have all been created uniquely different, and that makes us human. But what makes us truly humane in the current state of chaos is listening to others’ opinions, even when they may be fundamentally different from our own. The Japanese word, ‘Aizuchi’, means ‘mutual hammering’, alternating precisely timed rhythm at decisive movements. This beautiful metaphor for active listening means continually affirming others by pausing, asking questions, and fully engaging.’
Dr Valentina Ferrary echoed the above notion, saying: ‘It was a distinct pleasure to share the THINK for Academia experience with my fellow diners; a precious opportunity to reflect on how well we truly listen.’
Revd Dr Dru Johnson and Dr Gomelauri
Dr Gomelauri reflected on the richness of her own table conversation, which included a guest who had flown from the United States the night before specifically to attend the event, an Iranian-born scientist from Oxford’s Chemistry Department and member of Christ Church whose mother tongue is Farsi, and Revd Dr Dru Johnson, Templeton Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall. Despite their different cultural, educational, linguistic, professional, national, and religious backgrounds, the group quickly connected through shared interests and sustained a conversation marked by mutual respect.
The THINK dinner at Christ Church offered a powerful example of how universities can create spaces where people learn to understand, fairly represent, and engage with views they may not share. In a time when public and academic discourse can easily become polarised, events like this highlight the importance of taking listening seriously as both a personal discipline and a public good.
Oxford Interfaith Forum extends its sincere gratitude to Dr Joel Bell and THINK for Academia for organising and sponsoring the 2026 Oxford THINK dinner conversation, and to Christ Church College for generously hosting the event.
