Othering & Belonging Institute

The Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley brings together diverse stakeholders to identify and challenge the barriers to an inclusive, just, and sustainable society in order to create transformative change.

The Institute is a vibrant hub of researchers, community leaders, policymakers, artists, and communicators that advances research, policy, and work related to marginalized communities. We engage in innovative narrative, communications, and cultural strategies that attempt to re-frame the public discourse around marginality and inclusion and respond to issues that require immediate and long-term action. Our work is informed by understanding how structures and systems work to create or exacerbate othering and exclusion.

The work of the Institute is centered on care for the earth and the belief in the foundational belonging of all people. Belonging means more than having access, it means having a meaningful voice, and being afforded the opportunity to participate in the design of political, social, and cultural structures. Belonging means being respected at a basic level that includes the right to both contribute and make demands upon society and political institutions.