CONTACTS
Massimiliano Colonna | [email protected] | +1 (202) 768-7539
Manager of Digital Communications, Editorial, and Campaigns
Search for Common Ground
Mark Daley | [email protected] | +1 (202) 779-1854
Chief of Development, Marketing, Communications
Search for Common Ground
Washington, DC — Search for Common Ground has launched My Peace, Our Future, a new campaign to offer hope, inspiration and action to close out 2020 — a year of crisis and struggle for billions of people— and lead into 2021, the UN Year of Peace and Trust.
“2020 has been really, really tough — and continues to be. Our new campaign My Peace, Our Future is designed to encourage people to think about the possibilities of a world where we can live with our differences and solve our problems without violent conflict. For those who yearn to heal divides in their communities but may not be ready to take a first step, perhaps some of the stories shared during the campaign will help,” said Search for Common Ground CEO Shamil Idriss.
Launching in November 2020 and culminating in February 2021, My Peace, Our Future brings together people from across the world to share their personal visions of peace — and how their lives would be different in a more just and equitable world, free from violent conflict. Through a global petition which will be presented to the United Nations on February 25, 2021, the campaign is sending a powerful message to government heads across the world, urging them to use their power to reduce the risk of violent conflict, invest in nonviolent methods to solve disputes, and support peace and stability.
My Peace, Our Future highlights Search for Common Ground’s four decades of work in places as diverse as Sierra Leone and Myanmar to Tunisia and Sri Lanka — places that have gone through elections that were just as divisive as the recent U.S. election. It also highlights the organization’s work in the United States to engage college students — a powerful generation of change-makers — to find common ground and model respectful discourse, even when they profoundly disagree, as part of an initiative called First Year Connect.
My Peace, Our Future has something for everyone — from virtual-salons to online actions, awards, and interactive events. It will culminate in a must-attend online event in February.
Search for Common Ground is a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated organization known the world over for the Common Ground Approach.
This methodology:
- Brings divided people together to find their humanity again, with activities such as mediation and dialogue facilitation, social impact entertainment shows on TV, radio, and online, sports leagues, and public art projects.
- Supports people to cooperate on issues of shared concern as a way to break down barriers and to build trust, which is the foundational building block of any healthy society.
- Enables people to see “the other side” differently, creating the opportunity, if they choose to take it, to get on a common path — with their respective principles intact — and move forward together.
“Leaders can help set the tone for a world where we live together with our differences, without violent conflict. It’s a choice that they often need to be reminded of. You can do just that at sfcg.org/mypeace. Please sign our petition. Urge world leaders to do more to prevent and end violent conflict,” Idriss stressed.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Search for Common Ground is the world’s largest dedicated peacebuilding organization, founded in 1982. Search’s mission is to transform the way the world deals with conflict, away from adversarial approaches and towards cooperation, so that everyone has a better chance to thrive. Outside experts have credited Search for Common Ground with helping avert genocide in Burundi, facilitating a breakthrough in the Iran nuclear deal, and playing a key role in the adoption of landmark legislation on youth, peace, and security.
Search for Common Ground has been working for decades to eliminate electoral violence and protect democratic, transparent elections in countries across four continents. For example:
- In Sri Lanka, Search helped a polarized society emerge from a 25-year civil war by organizing a nationwide initiative to restore justice.
- In Burundi, Search helped avert genocide by building trust between ethnic groups through media and dialogue initiatives.
- Search has defused tensions around elections in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and many more.
