On 17 June 2026, during Global Loneliness Awareness Week, people from over 36 countries gathered for GILC's Global Connection Forum around one question: What heals division in societies that feel increasingly polarized? 

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Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working at the intersection of social connection and polarization shared practical insights from decades of applied work. What follows are the forum's central findings and a pledge for action. We invite you to read, reflect, and sign the pledge. The actions are small, specific, and available to all of us whether in our work, communities or everyday lives.

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Read the Global Connection Forum Action Summary for the full set of findings, quotes, and resources.

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Why Polarization and Social Connection Belong in the Same Conversation  

GILC exists to make social connection a systemic priority in our institutions and communities by convening, cross-pollinating and mobilizing researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and narrative builders. We believe a world with stronger social connection is inherently a world with less division. The forum's evidence makes it clear: healing division and building connection are not separate goals; they work in parallel.

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Polarization is a sign that trust, belonging, and relationships across differences are breaking down. Its consequences extend well beyond politics and reach into everyday life. Polarization erodes everyday cooperation, weakens institutional trust, and makes it harder for communities to solve problems that affect everyone, from public health and housing to economic mobility.

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What We Learned at the Connection Forum

1. Most people are not as divided as they think. People consistently overestimate how political, extreme, or different others are. A person's vote reveals almost nothing about who they are in their day to day. The space for connection is bigger than it looks, and someone's politics is just one part of their multifaceted identity, not the whole of it.​

2. People soften their stance when they feel heard, not when they are persuaded. When people feel genuinely heard, they experience connection, which opens self-insight and leads to a more open attitude over time. People aren't moved by facts alone; they are moved by the relationships those facts come through.

3. ​Shared apolitical actions build trust that conversation alone cannot. Data shows that the thing people most want to do with someone different from them is to work together to solve a real problem.

We invite you to reflect on these findings and translate them into practical actions in your everyday life. Below are three ways to commit, based on where you sit and what you can influence.