2012 International Advocate for Peace Award

In his role as President and Founder of SFCG, Mr. Marks has used journalism to promote conflict resolution and prevention on an international scale. Through SFCG and Common Ground News Service, Mr. Marks has spent over thirty years training organizers and reporters in conflict and post-conflict areas, using inter-ethnic reporting teams and framing questions to find areas of consensus. Through these efforts, SFCG has transformed the way global conflict is perceived and addressed, combining grassroots community engagement with political and institutional advocacy. This creative formula has fostered meaningful and constructive dialogues around the globe. In addition, the News Service has exposed many areas where more work needs to be done to foster mutual understanding.

Mr. Marks also worked extensively on problems surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, and was both writer and producer of The Shape of the Future, a four-part TV documentary series that was simulcast on Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab satellite TV. Mr. Marks also serves as executive producer of The Team, a TV and radio series in 16 countries, as well as numerous other TV and radio programs.

John is a Skoll Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Peace in Costa Rica. He served as a US Foreign Service Officer and as Executive Assistant to the late US Senator Clifford Case. A graduate of Cornell University, John was a Fellow at Harvard's Institute of Politics and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School. He is an award-winning author and a Senior Ashoka Fellow

Because of his extensive work in conflict prevention, transformation and awareness-building, the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution was honored to award Mr. John Marks with the 12th annual IAP Award.

Past recipients of this Award include: President Bill Clinton for his administration's pursuit of peace and democracy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the development of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and pursuit of peace and justice in South Africa, and Senator George Mitchell for his work negotiating peaceful dispute resolution in contentious conflicts around the world. Additional recipients include: filmmaker Dr. Abigail Disney, former Israeli general, politician and mediator Amira Dotan, Ambassador Stuart Eisenstaedt, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, international human rights advocate Betty Kaari Murungi, Ambassador Dennis Ross, and economist Jeffrey Sachs.