In this Summit, empathy activists talk about how we can build the Empathy Movement to make mutual empathy a primary cultural value.

Join this Summit if you are ready to roll up your sleeves and help build the Movement. The Empathy Movement is a transformative force in addressing the growing fragmentation and polarization in modern societies. At its core, the movement seeks to reorient how individuals and groups relate to one another, shifting from transactional, adversarial and authoritarian interactions to ones rooted in mutual listening, deep dialogue, understanding, constructive collaboration and seeing our shared humanity. 

For empathy to become a primary cultural value, it needs sustained, coordinated effort across multiple domains. A movement brings all groups together across the social and political spectrum who support this vision.  It also provides the organizational structure needed for long-term cultural transformation rather than short-lived initiatives. 

Register Now

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Time: 9 am PT to 12:30 pm PT  -  World Times

Location: Zoom https://zoom.us/j/9896109339  
RECORDING:   Part of the event will be recorded and posted to social media for educational and promotional purposes. You have an option of being in a non recorded breakout group. 

INVITE FRIENDS

• LinkedIn Event 

• Facebook Event 

Speakers and Hosting Team
Speakers will have 5 to 15 minutes to speak on some aspect of how to build the empathy movement.

To Be A Speaker
If you would like to be a speaker fill out the Application.
Send a one sentence bio, the title of your proposed talk, a 2 or 3 sentence abstract for consideration,

Topic: From Story Time to System Change: How Reading Can Power the Empathy Movement   
9:15 am - Speaker: Imogen Bond   (15 min) 

• Bio:   Managing Director of EmpathyLab, a UK not for profit which activates, develops and celebrates the power of stories to build real life empathy.  Passionate advocate for social equity and creating the conditions to raise thriving generations within connected communities. (LinkedIn) (Website)

• Topic:  From Story Time to System Change: How Reading Can Power the Empathy Movement   

• Abstract:   EmpathyLab is working with cross sector partners in the UK to drive forward a powerful, accessible reading-based empathy education. Explore how this evidence-led approach is changing the narrative, impacting 1 million children each year, and raising empathy-educated generations inspired to create a better world for everyone.  What are we doing now, and what comes next? 

Topic: Building the Empathy Movement with mutual-empathy and by widening the circle, exponentially.  
9:30 am - Speaker: Tony Scruggs    (15 min) 

• Bio: Tony Scruggs is a 30-year SAG member, former MLB player, and champion of nonviolence for communication, using Marshall Rosenberg’s 'Life-Enriching Education' to drive systemic change.  (LinkedIn) (Facebook) (Website)    

• Topic:   Building the Empathy Movement with mutual-empathy and by widening the circle, exponentially.

• Abstract:  We can expand the Empathy Movement by multiplying the impact of need-based communication (& empathic understanding), through a repeatable blueprint for widening the circle (& training more people to translate pain into universal needs).     

Topic: An Empathy Movement in Organizations: Making Empathy Repeatable, Tansferable and Scalable
9:45 am - Speakers:  Marie Miyashiro & Ranjitha Jeurkar   (15 min) 

• Bio: Marie Miyashiro (LinkedIn) (Facebook) (Website)

• Bio: Ranjitha Jeurkar (LinkedIn) (Facebook) (Website)

• Topic:  An Empathy Movement in Organizations: Making Empathy Repeatable, Transferable and Scalable

• Abstract:  Three key lessons from first-hand experience bringing a movement of empathy into organizations. What does empathy look like in organizations – not just in interpersonal interactions, but as lived culture? And what does it take to transform organizational cultures so that effectiveness, efficiency, and empathy go hand-in-hand?
  
  Marie Miyashiro and Ranjitha Jeurkar share their experience working with organizations with the 3x3 Empathy Factors® framework, based on the Nonviolent Communication process and field-tested in over 60 countries and 55,000 employees with a 93 to 100 percent participant satisfaction rating. 

10:00 am PT 
Host:  

Topic: Building the Empathy Movement with Rhetorical Empathy
10:00 am - Speaker:  Lou Agosta     (15 min) 

• Bio:  Lou Agosta, PhD, is an empathy consultant; the author of three peer-reviewed books on empathy, including Radical Empathy in the Context of Literature (2025) and Empathy Lessons (2022); and he is Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Ross University School of Medicine at Saint Anthony Hospital, Chicago, USA.   (LinkedIn) (Facebook) (Website)

• Topic:  Building the Empathy Movement with Rhetorical Empathy: How empathy gets inside the listening of the audience, expanding their participation 

• Abstract:  Usually we think of empathy as listening and rhetoric as speaking - this talk tells you how to get inside the listening of the audience (listener) with your empathic speaking. The empathic skills of re-description, speaking truth to power, and  imaginative variation are engaged and examples from business, politics, and personal development are provided as contributions to building empathy as a movement. 

Topic: Creating Empathy With ‘Others’ When It’s the Last Thing You Want to Do!
10:15 am - Speaker:  Ruth Sirman (15 min) 

• Bio:  As a professional mediator for 30+ years, Ruth has worked with more than 7,000 people around the world, chaired the World Mediation Summit for 5 years and has a reputation for providing clients with practical, strategic, wisdom.  (LinkedIn) (Facebook) (Website)

• Topic:   Creating Empathy With ‘Others’ When It’s the Last Thing You Want to Do!

• Abstract:  It’s easy to have empathy with those who share your ideas and values. It’s tough to create empathy with those with whom you disagree. Join Ruth for 6 key strategies you can immediately use to change the narrative without losing your soul. No magic wands, no silver bullets – just tried and tested tools that can help!

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PENDING

Topic: The Empathy Movement, Needs a Clear and Practical Definition of Empathy  
9:xx am - Speaker: Edwin Rutsch    (15 min) 

• Bio: Edwin Rutsch is Founding Director of The Empathy Center, and a leading organizer in the global Empathy Movement. He is a creator and long-time advocate of the Empathy Circle practice—a simple yet powerful tool for building understanding and bridging divides.  (LinkedIn) (Facebook) (Website)

• Topic: The Empathy Movement, Needs a Clear and Practical Definition of Empathy 

• Abstract:  Every movement needs a foundation—and for the Empathy Movement, that foundation is a clear, shared definition of empathy. Without it, our work risks fragmentation and confusion, which is already the case. People, including empathy critics, are using the same word, but talking past each other. 

In this session, I will lay out a practical, action-oriented definition of empathy rooted in the Empathy Circle practice and the work of Carl Rogers. I’ll show how this framework can unite diverse initiatives, empower communities, and turn empathy from an abstract ideal into a concrete force for social and cultural transformation. This is a call to clarity, coordination, collaboration and shared action. 

 
Empathy Summit: Saturday, January 3, 2026: Links

Website: http://EmpathySummit.com

Event Page: https://www.empathysummit.com/dates/jan-3-2026-movement 

World Times: https://bit.ly/ES2006-01-03 

Registration:   https://forms.gle/GSoPGssEKjAZ6utP8 

Partners: http://EmpathySummit.com/sponsors 

Volunteers: http://EmpathySummit.com/volunteers

LinkedIn Event: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7372729455326191616/ 

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/796200626437739/ 

Feedback: https://forms.gle/zezSGaeuiPKB9A577 

Final Report Location: https://www.empathysummit.com/dates/jan-3-2026-movement