Xiwei Huang Named the First Recipient of the PLEDJ Solidarity Dialogues Excellence Award 2026
- PLEDJ
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
The Solidarity Dialogues Program is proud to announce Xiwei Huang as the inaugural recipient of the PLEDJ Solidarity Dialogues Excellence Award 2026!
The award was established to recognize individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership, creativity, and commitment in advancing dialogue within their communities and spheres of care. We honour those who embody the core values of fostering brave spaces for engagement across difference, strengthening relationships rooted in empathy and active listening, and contributing to cultures of solidarity, inclusion, and collective learning.
As the very first recipient of this award, Huang’s work represents a powerful example of how dialogue can be thoughtfully adapted across cultures and educational contexts to strengthen connection, understanding, and social change.
Advancing Dialogue Through Social Work Education
Xiwei Huang is an assistant professor at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences and is currently pursuing her PhD in Social Work at McGill University. Her academic research focuses on migration, family relationships, and the long-term developmental impacts of childhood experiences shaped by parental migration in China.
Through the Solidarity Dialogues Program, Huang has explored ways to localize dialogue-based practice within Chinese social work education. Her work emphasizes culturally grounded approaches to empathy, belonging, and human connection, creating opportunities for students to engage deeply with care and community.
One of Huang’s most impactful contributions has been the development of a localized adaptation of the “Alligator River” exercise, redesigned to reflect ethical and social realities more familiar to Chinese social work students. This adaptation allowed participants to engage with dialogue in ways that felt meaningful and culturally resonant.
Building on this initiative, Huang co-facilitated a six-hour Solidarity Dialogues program for Master of Social Work students at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences alongside her co-facilitator, Jing Feng.
The sessions created participatory classroom spaces where students practiced open dialogue, reflected on values and conflict, and built relationships across differences. By integrating dialogue into social work education, Huang helped students develop skills rooted not only in professional practice, but also in empathy, reflection, and human connection.
Building Brave Spaces for Connection
The Solidarity Dialogues Excellence Award recognizes individuals who foster brave spaces for engagement across differences while addressing polarization constructively. Huang’s work exemplifies this mission by demonstrating how dialogue can become a transformative educational and community-building tool.
Her approach reflects a commitment to making dialogue accessible and sustainable within local contexts. Rather than importing a framework unchanged, Huang has carefully adapted the practice to align with cultural realities and educational needs in China, creating a model that is both innovative and deeply community-centered.
Looking ahead, Huang hopes to continue integrating Solidarity Dialogues into her Human Behaviour in the Social Environment classroom while mentoring future MSW students to become facilitators themselves. She envisions building long-term facilitation capacity within the Academy so students can experiment with dialogue-based practice in supportive learning environments.
In the future, Huang hopes to expand dialogue initiatives into broader community settings across China, particularly in contexts shaped by inequality, misunderstanding, or social polarization. One aspiration includes facilitating conversations between urban residents and migrant workers to encourage listening, reflection, and shared understanding across social divides.
A Recognition of Emerging Leadership
The Solidarity Dialogues Excellence Award was created not only to recognize achievement, but also to encourage continued innovation in dialogue facilitation and community engagement. Award recipients receive a certificate of recognition, public acknowledgment through Solidarity Dialogues and PLEDJ platforms, and financial support for future initiatives advancing dialogue and solidarity.
By naming Xiwei Huang as the inaugural recipient, the Solidarity Dialogues Program reaffirms its commitment to cultivating leadership grounded in empathy, collaboration, and transformative dialogue.
Thank you for all your hard work, leadership and dedication!
To learn more about the award:
The solidarity dialogues are an initiative of PLEDJ in collaboration with the Network for Peace and Social Harmony. This initiative is partly funded by the Government of Canada (Canadian Heritage).
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