They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.

他们想发起一次关于经济学的讨论。

《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

Don't initiate a discussion when you're angry.

不要在生气的时候开始一场讨论。

youdao

a post asking a question to your readers and aiming to initiate a discussion

文章内对想你的读者提出问题，旨在发起一次讨论；

youdao

Initiate a discussion on the requisites that need to be addressed to bring into action the professional standards.

UNESCO: EDUCATION

The Corps is a unique internship program that connects business school students with companies who want to initiate a discussion of sustainability, with an emphasis on energy efficiency.

FORBES: Finally, An Internship Program That Gets Corporate Sustainability

Hopefully this repeal or modification might initiate a wider discussion and review of information reporting that looks to lightening the burden on small businesses seeking to comply with the tax laws, while balancing that with the fair concerns about addressing the tax gap.

FORBES