ZOCALO Public Square connects people to ideas and to each other by examining essential questions in an accessible, broad-minded, and democratic spirit. At a time when our country's public sphere and our global digital conversation have become ever more polarized and segregated, ZOCALO seeks to create a welcoming intellectual space and engage a new and diverse generation in the public square. We pursue our mission by convening events and by publishing ideas journalism. Because democracy is as much a culture as it is a system, we believe that creating meaningful opportunities for citizens to communicate with and learn from one another both nurtures and protects it.