Listen First Project Announces First-Ever In-Person Bridging Movement Summit and Bridge-Building Innovation Showcase

7/3/2025

The Listen First Project is hosting its first-ever in-person Bridging Movement Summit on September 24–26, 2025, at the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, marking a major milestone for the 500-member Listen First Coalition. This historic gathering will bring together bridge-builders from across the U.S. for deep connection, collaboration, and shared learning. The summit kicks off with the 2025 Bridge-Building Innovation Showcase & Awards, celebrating six diverse community teams solving local challenges across divides. Selected teams will receive national recognition, travel support, and access to the full summit. With generous support from partners like More Perfect and Mount Vernon, the event invites community leaders to apply, participate, and help strengthen America’s bridging movement. Read more in the blog post below.

The Listen First Project is taking a historic step forward in building America's bridging movement by hosting its first-ever in-person gathering. After five years of successful virtual Coalition meetings, the organization is bringing together bridge-builders from across the nation for an unprecedented three-day event in Washington D.C.

Historic Summit Comes to Mount Vernon

The inaugural Bridging Movement Summit will take place September 24-26, 2025, at the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. This marks a significant milestone for the Listen First Coalition, which has grown to include 500 partner organizations working to bridge divides across America.

The summit represents years of Coalition member requests for deeper, in-person connections. Thanks to funding support from Coalition members and generous contributions from More Perfect and George Washington's Mount Vernon, this gathering will provide an opportunity for field leaders to connect, collaborate, and build capacity for bridging work in their communities.

For the past five years, the Listen First Project has hosted annual virtual gatherings that typically drew strong attendance for 4-5 hours of connection and reflection. While these Zoom meetings consistently received positive feedback about the value of bringing the Listen First community together, participants have long expressed a desire for more meaningful, face-to-face interactions.

Innovation Showcase Celebrates Community Bridge-Builders

The summit will launch with the 2025 Bridge-Building Innovation Showcase & Awards Event on September 24th, titled "Founding Debates 2025: Bridging Divides from George Washington to Today." This special evening event will celebrate six teams of community members from different geographic areas who are following what organizers call "a patriot's path" - working across differences to solve problems in their communities.

The showcase aims to give community problem-solvers a national platform to share their concrete initiatives for strengthening communities and building relationships across divides. Selected teams will receive dignified awards for their accomplishments and have their work featured on stage at Mount Vernon, with travel and lodging expenses covered for two team members.

To be eligible for the showcase, teams must include at least five Americans working across generational, racial, ideological, and other key differences to solve problems in their local communities outside of their primary employment. Teams must demonstrate they are coming together across differences to address community challenges through collaborative, action-oriented solutions.

Application Process and Selection Criteria

The application deadline for the Bridge-Building Innovation Showcase is July 9, 2025. The selection process involves three steps: completing an application form, participating in a Zoom interview with showcase judges, and awaiting the final decision from showcase organizers.

Teams must meet specific criteria to advance in the selection process. They must involve at least five individuals from their local area, have been working together for a minimum of three months, and be addressing issues that bring people together across lines of difference. Team members themselves must represent different backgrounds or perspectives to model working across differences.

Additionally, teams must be developing collaborative, action-oriented solutions and meeting in person at least some of the time. While their work may involve constructive dialogue activities, dialogue alone cannot be the full scope of their efforts. Team members must either all be volunteers or represent a collaboration between local organizations and community members volunteering their time.

Selected teams will receive multiple benefits beyond the awards ceremony, including a multi-media national platform to share their efforts, opportunities to connect with other diverse problem-solving teams across the country, and invitations to attend the full Bridging Movement Summit on September 25-26 following the showcase.

For more information about the summit and to register, visit https://www.listenfirstproject.org/innovation-showcase-application-2025. The organization encourages community leaders and bridge-builders to spread the word about the application opportunity and help amplify this historic gathering for America's bridging movement.

Listen First Project is a strictly nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves as the backbone organization for collective impact to bridge divides in America. The organization connects the efforts of 500 Listen First Coalition partners and manages national campaigns and strategies for social cohesion.

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