A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the nation's premier civil rights and human relations agencies, fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals, and protects civil rights for all. When ADL was established in 1913, its charter stated,

With this charter, ADL was calling for a society in which any minority group would be granted the same rights of citizenship and freedom from discrimination traditionally enjoyed by the majority. ADL's long-term commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry is the basis for all of its antibias initiatives.

In 1985, ADL collaborated with WCVB-TV in Boston to create the A World of Difference campaign, a yearlong series of education and media-driven programs designed to provide greater awareness of prejudice and effective tools to help address these issues in the classroom and community. The campaign's immense success led to ongoing programs in Boston and other U.S. cities and several national awards including Peabody, Gabriel, and Scripps-Howard awards. In 1992, in an effort to meet the increasing demand for its services and to formalize and coordinate its antibias research, programming, and training efforts, the League created and officially launched the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute, consisting of four distinct programs, each reaching a particular segment of the population:

Today, the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute is a market leader in the development and delivery of antibias training and curricular materials. The overall goals of the institute are to promote respectful, inclusive, and safe learning environments and communities; to build understanding of the value and benefits of diversity; to improve intergroup relations; to eradicate anti-Semitism, [Page 2]racism, and all forms of bigotry; and to encourage personal responsibility in the promotion of justice and equity. In pursuit of these goals, the institute has developed a variety of research-based, interactive training programs that are tailored to the unique needs of sponsoring schools, communities, and organizations. On the basis of data gathered from an initial needs assessment process, training programs are developed to address the specific issues of greatest relevance to the participant group.

The institute's educational programs and resources include

• standards-based curriculum based on the ideals of justice and equality and designed to engage students and ensure that the voices of all students are heard;
• inclusive, antibias strategies that help people explore their beliefs, communication patterns, and behaviors to be responsive to the cultures, abilities, and beliefs of others;
• facilitation techniques that enhance active learning, assist people in expanding their existing bases of knowledge, and build empathy for the experiences of others; and
• cooperative learning to foster inclusiveness, break down stereotypes, and lead to equitable relationships that model respect for differences.

The educational approach of the institute's programs follows a sequential process of awareness, skill development, assessment, and action planning. Antibias training and curricular resources provide participants with initial opportunities to build awareness of the sources of prejudice, how prejudice is learned, and factors that promote its development. This increased awareness expands from a common understanding of concepts to an exploration of how prejudice manifests in society, and finally, to the specific issues being faced by participants in their schools, communities, or organizations. Building on this understanding, participants develop and practice a variety of skills and strategies for responding to incidents of bias and bullying. They engage in personal and institutional assessment to identify existing strengths and areas of need, and finally, develop meaningful action plans to apply their learning to make their own school and community environments inclusive, safe, and respectful.

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