In 1993, Melodye Feldman founded SCG in response to the overwhelming lack of opportunities, both in the US and worldwide, for individuals (particularly girls) to acquire the skills to communicate, cooperate and cohabitate with the ‘other.’ While communities worldwide speak of their desires for peace, they often lack the tools to create and sustain peaceful relationships – the foundation for just, inclusive, and equitable societies. SCG’s programs target this gap; participants explore the benefits of inclusive communities and work together across religious, cultural, ethnic, and other lines to develop their leadership, communications, and peacebuilding skills.
SCG is at the forefront of the movement to promote the ‘transformational’ or female leadership style to build peace. In the transformational model, leaders make an effort to recognize each person as an individual outside of his or her political or cultural identity; they also make a sincere effort to understand the practical and political needs of the ‘other’ community. It was immediately apparent that SCG’s “people-to-people” approach worked and resonated with communities in conflict, but it took many years to develop a formal evaluation process. We are very proud of the recent release of Building Bridges for Peace: A Report on Theory, Best Practices and Evaluation after Fifteen Years, which demonstrates overwhelmingly that the research-based and field-tested methods used in our flagship program are effective.
The "people to people" work of SCG and other peacebuilding organizations is referred to as “Track III diplomacy”. (Track I is the formal interchange between government representatives and Track II, while technically informal, relies on exchanges between powerful players in both government and civil society.) Track III “people to people” work (sometimes referred to by the U.S. government as “hearts and minds” work) in local communities is essential if high level diplomacy is to succeed. Without genuine understanding of the “other” and true willingness to build bridges across conflicts by people at the grassroots, no official agreement—even if supported by armed peacekeepers—can succeed.
SCG is best known for the flagship Building Bridges for Peace program (BBfP) which was created in 1994 and which brings together American, Israeli and Palestinian teens for leadership development and peacebuilding. Over time, the BBfP program has been and can be culturally adapted to be replicated locally, nationally and internationally. It has been equally effective in working to increase understanding between and among groups including the Middle East, Northern Ireland, South Africa, as well as various diverse American communities such as Muslims, Jews, Christians, Native Americans and Anglos/Non-Native Americans.
Up until 2007, the flagship Building Bridges for Peace program, was exclusively for teen women but it became increasingly apparent that young men also needed a space to build their communication, leadership, and peacebuilding skills in an environment that recognized their gender specific needs. Through BBfP, young men are encouraged to develop the interpersonal relationships (‘the female model’) that are often denied to them in traditional programs. They are supported in cultivating empathy for the ‘other,’ engaging in dialogue rather than oppositional counter-point debate, and in approaching conflict resolution from a place of greater cooperation and inclusion. As a result, young men learn how to communicate more effectively and to work alongside their female peers as partners for peace.
Since our founding, SCG has partnered with numerous organizations at the local, national and international level on both short- and long-term projects. Several partnerships have been spun off into independent projects. One of these is Face to Face/Faith to Faith, an interfaith program created in partnership with AuburnTheological Seminary serving teens from throughout the United States, Israel, Northern Ireland and South Africa. Introduced in 1999, Face to Face/Faith to Faith is predicated on the BBfP methodology, and promotes an advanced understanding of other religions, cultures and peoples.
The year 2009 marked a major change at SCG. After leading the organization she founded for 17 years, Meldodye Feldman stepped aside so that she can spend more time in the Middle East working on independent media projects that highlight the conflict and the path toward peace. Melodye will continue to collaborate with SCG on some of these projects. She also noted that as new programs are coming to fruition, such as the Alumni in Action Association and the Peace Practitioner Institute, it was the right time to hand over the reins to a new executive director who she worked with and mentored for more than five years, Erin Breeze.
