Intersections Hosts 27th Veteran-Civilian Dialogue in New York City

NEW YORK, NY— After months of planning, Intersections International hosted its 27th Veteran-Civilian Dialogue as part of Intersections’ continued work with veterans of war. As with previous VCDs, the overarching goal was to address the cost of war on American veterans as well as civilians on the home front.

“We are not trying to lift up veterans through their stories,” said Scott Thompson, co-creator and facilitator of the dialogue. “We are trying to redeem the word ‘dialogue’ by creating a level playing field between the two [veterans and citizens].”

The event, hosted June 10 from 6-9 p.m., gathered more than 70 people. Some were veterans, others were friends or family members of veterans, and some said they felt that they had no connection at all to any war. But by the end of the session, everyone in the room was touched in some way through the freedom of creative expression inherent in each session. 

Two media outlets, CBS Evening News and Soldiers Radio & Television, were on hand to cover VCD. “Media generates media,” said Thompson regarding the networks’ attendance. “[For example,] we were covered once by the New York Times. Through them, Huffington Post and other media outlets found interest in our program.” 

That media exposure, said Thompson, increases exposure to the Veteran-Civilian Dialogue program, thus expanding the national conversation. 

Focusing on the upcoming 10th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, Soldiers Radio & Television’s coverage of VCD will show the impact the war has had on all Americans. The network plans to feature the Veteran-Civilian Dialogue project as a resource for veterans and civilians seeking help to understand the conflict in society that can be caused through misunderstanding or lack of communication.

“People are surprised the first time they leave a VCD,” said Thompson. “Soldiers need to hear how civilians feel affected by the war personally.” Participants in each VCD reach “a very deep place of emotional expression,” Thompson says. 

More than 1,500 civilians and veterans have attended the 27 VCDs, with many returning for more than one session. The Veteran-Civilian Dialogue project has new sessions approximately every six weeks. The next event will be in September. VCD also will expand into more social media platforms, essential for the “digital natives” born after 1984, said Thompson.