Mission Statement
Seeking Common Ground strives to empower individuals to change the world by creating peaceful communities through integration, socialization, communication, and leadership development.
History and Overview
Established in 1994, Seeking Common Ground (SCG) received its non-profit status in 1997. Melodye Feldman co-founded the organization and is its current Executive Director.
Seeking Common Ground operates from these guiding principles:
· Prejudice can be transformed into understanding by confronting fears of the unknown and breaking down stereotypes;
· Communication is a learned skill, and is integral to understanding other perspectives;
· Meaningful encounters with diverse groups of people decrease stereotyping of those groups;
· In order to approach conflict effectively, the parties involved must build relationships;
· Young women need access to programs that enable them to become leaders in their communities;
· Every individual has the power to effect positive change in her own life and the lives of those around them.
The diversity of Seeking Common Ground's community offers our participants unique learning opportunities. SCG welcomes people from diverse religious, cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds. Our participant populations also include people with disabilities, alternative sexual orientations, and individuals with diverse political views.
Statement of Purpose
Seeking Common Ground believes that in order to create peace people must accept that conflict is an inevitable part of life, and learn skills with which to approach it effectively and constructively. People in conflict who come together intentionally, create relationships through social interaction, and practice new communication skills, approach their conflicts from a place of connection rather than detachment. That connection is integral to building a lasting and deep understanding between people in conflict.
Hebrew University's David Bargal aggrees, and writes that efforts to build peace must address the basic human needs for security, self-determination and justice on a personal rather than political level. He found that peace-building efforts must begin at the individual level before moving to the communal, national, or international levels.
Seeking Common Ground offers individuals the opportunity to come together, learn communication skills, and create those foundational relationships. These individuals acquire the skills to assume ongoing leadership roles in their own homes and communities.
Components of Building Peaceful Communities
Since its inception Seeking Common Ground has created programs or partnered with other organizations, communities, schools, and institutions to plan programs that facilitate building peaceful communities.
Our work incorporates the following core program components:
Perspective
Using a variety of exercises participants come to understand the role that perspective plays in understanding another's point of view. Understanding the role that perspective plays in a person's opinion, thoughts and feelings is integral to promoting a 'safe space' for dialogue to begin.
Identity
The exploration of identity and the role that it plays in understanding cultural, religious, racial and political views of participants informs us of how we view our selves and others. Our identity gives us a name and a face and takes one from being invisible to "being in the room" and counted.
Integration
SCG intentionally works with communities in conflict with one another. Whatever their differences participants come together to express their feelings and their fears, and learn about those of others. In situations where programs are residential in nature participants live in integrated housing, and have the opportunity to visit, work and learn about communities outside of their own. This living environment promotes the disintegration of stereotypes, and fosters communication about every day differences and similarities.
Socialization
Participants have the opportunity to connect through universal activities such as music, art, dance, and creative play. Through constant social contact, the participants form relationships that facilitate communication, and strengthen their commitment to dealing with their conflicts.
Communication
Participants are introduced to a process of Intentional Listening, through which two individuals come to deeply understand one another's thoughts and feelings. In doing so, they begin to see themselves in the other person. Seeking Common Ground believes that seeing one's self in the "other" provides powerful incentives to create constructive alternatives to violent conflict. The participants also learn that listening and speaking are skills which must be cultivated and practiced, and which are crucial to effective problem solving.
Leadership Development
The participants of Seeking Common Ground build self-esteem by learning to express themselves, feeling heard and understood, and becoming part of a positive and safe community. They also become more informed about conflicts around the world, learn about issues facing humanity, and have a battery of exercises and workshops that they can share with their communities. Participants commit to assuming leadership roles in order to build peace and acceptance of differences in their communities.
Roles can be formal and informal and have involved presenting workshops, public speaking, panel discussions, and written testimony to interested groups. SCG's follow-up programming provides support and organization for those leadership efforts.
On-Going Follow-up Programming
Programs often have a follow-up component to the initial intensive program phase. The goal of follow-up programming is to continue to develop the communication and leadership skills they acquire during the initial intensive program phase. Follow-up programming also offers a forum for organizing community outreach efforts, continuing to address the issues and dialogue begun in the initial phase and to engaged participants in on-going life-long learning.
Mentoring
Seeking Common Ground is committed to on-going mentoring of program participants. Students have the opportunity to return to further develop their skills in our Leaders in Training (LIT) programs. Past participants, when eligible, are encouraged to apply for summer staff positions. It is our goal to have past participants staff our programs as they continue to increase their skills and leadership development. Past participants continue to serve as mentors to new participants and they also play an active role in recruitment and selection of new participants. Past participants are actively involved in setting policies, sitting on the SCG board of directors and shaping the vision of the organization.
Program Outcomes
Program personnel rely on on-going evaluations both written and verbal sent to staff and participants. Program evaluations allow for dynamic not static programming changes on a yearly basis to update and facilitate fresh ideas.
The following outcomes remain consistent throughout our programs:
· Participants learn communication tools that enable them to listen to the 'other', especially when hearing a dissenting point of view;
· Participants note a decrease in their likelihood to stereotype, prejudge, or generalize to specific groups;
· Participants come to understand that a person's background and history inform their perspectives. They also express an understanding that sharing diverse perspectives enhances rather then limits their own understanding of the world;
· Participants report a greater sense of self-esteem. After completing the program they tend to take on leadership roles within their respective schools and youth organizations.
In Conclusion
Seeking Common Ground is committed to creating inclusive communities while maintaining the integrity of the group and/or individuals represented. We are interested in providing young people the skills to learn to live together with their differences and to address the difficult issues that face us all sharing this planet. The participants develop relationships that transcend race, nationality, religion, and other differences, and are a source of strength and commitment to working towards peace.
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