CHICAGO — The W.K. Kellogg Foundation presented the Every Child Thrives Festival in Chicago on June 23, 2026. Leaders from FrameWorks Institute, More in Common US, and BridgeUSA discussed strategies for addressing societal division through child development and dialogue.

Nat Kendall-Taylor, CEO of FrameWorks Institute, a think tank that studies people's mindsets about social issues, addressed the topic of division. "The answer to division is not compromise, it's capacity," Kendall-Taylor said. He explained that the approach involves "thinking about the skills we need to have conversations across differences." Kendall-Taylor noted that division impacts support for policy changes. "Two things can be true: There are really meaningful ways in which division keeps us from the broad support necessary to create demand for the changes kids and families need," he said. "But there is way more that people hold in common."

Kate Carney, Deputy Director of More in Common US, a research organization that studies the forces that divide society, discussed public narratives. "Division sells," Carney said. She stated, "The people who get the most airtime are the ones who often hold the most divisive views on either end, so that's what is shaping the public narrative." Carney described a study in which the organization asked research subjects to supply words that describe the country. "Division always comes up number one in terms of the nation," she said. Carney also identified a gap between national and local perspectives. "Broadly, there's this disconnect between what's happening at the national level and what's happening in your own backyard," she said.

Hailie Addison, representing BridgeUSA, a student movement that works on college campuses, addressed bridge-building strategies. "A common mistake people make when thinking about bridge-building is that everyone has to come together to agree," Addison said. "But bridge-building is a skill." She added, "Even slight, informal interactions can really build trust."

Why It Matters

The Every Child Thrives Festival brought together organizations focused on understanding and mitigating societal division. The discussions centered on developing strategies to equip children with the skills to navigate differences, identifying factors that contribute to public division, and exploring the role of dialogue in fostering unity. The event covered ongoing efforts to bridge gaps in a divided societal landscape.