Identifying actual or potential ‘resource people/bridge builders/ bridging agents’

2. Identifying actual or potential ‘resource people/bridge builders/bridging agents’

A tried and tested method to prevent polarisation is to rely on local people who can act as ‘bridge builders’ because they are trusted by the local community and seen as legitimate mediators by the opposing groups. They can play a valuable role in decreasing tensions and rebuilding dialogue and trust. Once identified, they should be trained and provided with ongoing support for short, medium and long-term engagement in the local community (both within specific population groups and between different groups). Such a process should allow these bridge builders to foster social cohesion by increasing intergroup trust and cooperation, and by building on shared interests.

Required resources

In order to identify these potential bridge builders, local and regional authorities can consult local stakeholders that have a good knowledge of local communities on the ground and can recommend people who could play that role. These can be mediators, social workers or associations who know and have access to local communities.

Once the resource people are identified and engaged, they should be provided with training sessions on the tasks in question and offered constant support and supervision. Furthermore, the municipality should have adequate resources for when the bridge builders eventually reach out to and involve other people and thus help expand the network of bridging agents and render the process more sustainable. Establishing a training programme for bridge builders might require collaborating with local educational institutions or organisations that can provide accreditation or official validation, for example by elaborating a practical test based on a set of required skills and competences.