By Karen Meberg and Juontel White
Every year since 1998, Search for Common Ground has presented Common Ground Awards to people and organizations that have made outstanding achievements in conflict resolution, community building and peacebuilding. Recipients came from all parts of the world and combined, their work positively impacts a variety of peoples and groups—from inner city youth to former child soldiers, small communities and international agencies.
This year Search for Common Ground honored the following awardees: CeaseFire, Luma Mufleh and the Fugees Family, Karen Armstrong, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, Congressmen John Lewis and Elwin Wilson, Playing for Change, Melissa Etheridge and Salman Ahmad.
The Ceremony
Reception guests enjoy food and a live jazz band
Hosted at the Canadian Embassy on October 29, the 2009 Common Ground Awards was a grand affair. The embassy was a prime location for the occasion as it is the only embassy to stand directly between Capitol Hill and the White House- and thus is a true symbol of common ground, Guy Saint-Jacques, Deputy Head of Mission for the Canadian Embassy jokingly remarked.
Ambassadors, musicians, congressmen and even her majesty, Queen Noor of Jordan, joined SFCG staff in celebrating the honorees. The evening began with a reception, where guests and recipients mingled while tasting savory appetizers and listening to the smooth sounds of gypsy jazz. Then, everyone filled an auditorium eager for the program to begin.
Mistress of Ceremonies, Susan Collin Marks, co-founder of Search for Common Ground, gave a warm greeting and awardees were each introduced through a 5-minute video montage. After the video, they were invited to the stage to accept their award and give a speech.
(l-r) Susan Collin Marks, Queen Noor congratulate Luma Mufleh on her award
The acceptance speeches were far from the provincial and curt thank-you remarks followed by traditional polite applause. Rather, recipients shared their personal stories, revealing the life changing experience(s) that motivated them to perform their work.
For some it was overcoming a tragedy, for others a serendipitous encounter; but all shared a common desire to make peace and uplift humanity. The sincerity of their stories caused tears to swell in the eyes of some audience members and all recipients received boisterous applause.
In addition to the speeches, several musical sections were interspersed throughout the program—namely a screening of “Ring the Bells”
Salman Ahmad performing live
SFCG’s promotional video by Melissa Etheridge and Salman Ahmad as well as a live performance by Ahmad, who strummed his guitar while singing a medley that included traditional Pakistani music and John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
SFCG Co-founder, John Marks gave closing remarks, and the celebrations were brought to an unwanted, but inevitable, end.
About the Awardees
CeaseFire is an antiviolence initiative in Chicago, IL and received the Common Ground Award for Community Peacebuilding.
Founded by Gary Slutkin, M.D. and based at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, CeaseFire treats gun violence as a public health problem, and works to cure it by changing both individual and community behavior.
Tio Hardiman accepts CeaseFire's award
Much of CeaseFire’s success has resulted from the work of “violence interrupters”—streetwise individuals (some former gang members) who use their connections to dispel conflicts before they become violent.
The Chicago community where CeaseFire was launched experienced a 67 percent decrease in crime within the program’s inaugural year. Tio Hardiman, director of CeaseFire Illinois, accepted CeaseFire’s Common Ground Award for Community Peacebuilding
In 2004, Luma Mufleh began coaching a team of refugee boys outside of Atlanta, GA. Two years later, she founded Fugees Family, Inc. an organization that uses soccer as a tool to give hope to child survivors of war and help them realize their potential.
The organization consists of a year-round soccer team and has expanded to include after-school tutoring, a private academy and an academic enrichment camp for about 90 boys, each of different backgrounds. On Fugees Family teams, Northern and Southern Sudanese, Sunni and Shia Muslims and boys of many other ethnicities all play together. Mufleh believes the collaborative nature of team sports allows the boys to put aside their differences and focus on their commonalities. She hopes to one day have girls join the team.
British author Karen Armstrong is widely known as one of the most provocative and original thinkers on religion and its role in the modern world. She has published more than 20 books on comparative religion, preaching the similarities of Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
In 2008, Armstrong received the TED Prize, which grants each recipient “One Wish to Change the World.” Armstrong’s wish was for the creation, propagation and launch of a Charter for Compassion, based on the principles of universal justice and respect. The Charter focuses on what Armstrong believes is the one thing all major religious, spiritual and ethical traditions have in common: the mandate for compassion!
Submissions to the Charter were open to the public and more than 150,000 people from over 180 countries contributed their words. The final document will be unveiled on November 14 and on that day, will be posted in churches, mosques, temples and other religious centers throughout the world. Though she was unable to attend the ceremony, Armstrong sent a video acceptance speech to SFCG.
Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Palestinian doctor who has practiced in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. He has conducted joint research projects with Israeli physicians and worked to bring injured Palestinians to Israel for treatment.
As one of the few Palestinians with a work permit in Israel, Dr. Abuelaish serves as a bridge between the two worlds. During the Gaza crisis earlier this year, three of his daughters and a niece were killed in their home. Despite his grief, Dr. Abuelaish remains committed to spreading his message of forgiveness, hope and non-violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
In honor of his daughters’ legacy, Dr. Abuelaish is developing a foundation that will provide leadership training and access to education for Middle Eastern women.
Rep. John Lewis' speech expresses his deep gratitude
Almost 50 years ago, Representative John Lewis was a member of the Freedom Riders, a move that would propel him to become anational leader of the Civil Rights Movement. When he and other Freedom Riders attempted to enter a waiting “Whites Only” area in Rock Hill, SC he was brutally attacked by a mob.
Elwin Wilson was part of that mob. This January, the two men met on Capitol Hill, where Wilson expressed remorse for his racist attitudes and for taking part in Lewis’ beating.
Rep. Lewis and John Wilson embrace after accepting their award
Rep. Lewis forgave Mr. Wilson without hesitation and the two hope that their reconciliation will inspire others who were involved in Civil Rights-era violence to come forward and work towards healing the wounds of racism thatpersist in the United States.
Two music videos, both expressing messages of peace and unity, were shown at this year’s awards. “Stand By Me,” produced by Playing For Change (PFC), is an international collaboration of 37 musicians. PFC traveled the world collecting footage of musicians playing Ben King’s classic. The video has become one this year’s most unexpected cultural phenomena and has gone viral, with over 20 million views online.
Ring The Bells was created as a result of conversations and jam sessions between Melissa Etheridge and Salman Ahmad. The song blends Melissa’s raspy vocals and pop-folk style with Salman’s Sufi singing in a call for worldwide unity and change. The video was produced by Participant Media, whose mission is to tell compelling stories that raise awareness on global issues and encourage the audience to make a difference. Youtchi von Lintel accepted the award on behalf of Participant Media.
Design Monitoring & Evaluation: An Inside Look on SFCG Programs
By Alisa Albee
Search for Common Ground is one of the largest peacebuilding organizations worldwide. We are often asked how do we do what we do? Integral to our operations and success is our Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation team.
Fondly known as DM&E, our specialists provide essential information to our many programs. Below are answers to some frequently asked questions regarding DM&E. It’s a compilation of responses from Search’s Washington-based DM&E specialist Jerome Helfft, Regional DM&E Advisor in Guinea Patrick Masuba, and my own research as intern for SFCG’s Children & Youth Department.
What is the role of DM&E in Search for Common Ground programs?
DM&E is the backbone of SFCG programs. It develops a framework for SFCG to create programs and projects but is also a way to examine the their impact. DM&E provides an opportunity for programs to reflect, learn and improve the effectiveness of their work and pave the way for future projects.
What are Design, Monitoring and Evaluation?
Design is the process of transforming an idea into a tangible program. The key to design is creating a framework of prioritized objectives that will achieve the overall goal of the project. Each objective is, thus, a step towards the goal. Design also involves the creation of indicators that allow a program to gage the success of its project. For example, if a project goal were to facilitate the participation of marginalized groups into a country’s democratic process, then an indicator of the project’s success would be the percentage of people from the marginalized group who report participating in democratic decision-making. These clear statistics can help a program assess whether or not it’s on target for reaching its goal.
Monitoring is an ongoing process that tracks project implementation by evaluating the immediate results of accomplished activities. For instance, monitoring can involve surveying participants immediately after training to determine what they learned.
Evaluations are conducted at the onset and conclusion of a project in order to assess the project’s impact on the targeted population. Occasionally, a program may conduct an evaluation long after a project has ended to appraise its long-term effects. The evaluation results are used to improve the effectiveness of current programs and fuel concepts for newer ones.
How are evaluations conducted?
There are multiple tools that can be used to evaluate a project including; surveys, questionnaires, interviews and discussion groups. Each tool has a unique purpose and its use depends on the type of information a program is trying to gather.
According to Patrick Masuba, focus group discussions and key informant interviews are useful for capturing qualitative data—which helps to “describe situations or issues, before, during and after the life span of the project.” Surveys and questionnaires, on the other hand, are ideal for quantitative data—concise, hard statistics such as the number of people who experienced positive attitude changes as a result of the project.
Is DM&E a universal process for all Search programs?
The same general process and techniques of DM&E are used for each SFCG programs but for some, there are differences. For the Children and Youth Program, DM&E must be altered to effectively reach that target group.
Children have shorter attention spans then adults, so it is important to ensure that questionnaires and surveys are short and concise and that interviews are not lengthy. In addition, questions are simplified so that surveys are easily understood by youth.
When conducting focus group discussions, the size should be limited between 7 (ideal) to 10 youth. And, it is advisable to obtain parent permission and/or go through the structure (office, community, facilitators) established within the community.
What challenges does DM&E experience when working with Children and Youth?
Most children and youth are willing to participate in evaluations, but there are several challenges to collecting data. First, surveys and other tools of evaluation take time to administer, and does not easily fit into the schedule of the project. Working with project facilitators to choose an evaluation tool that fits their schedule is key to achieving both the goal of DM&E and the SFCG program.
A second challenge is though children are typically enthusiastic about partaking in the evaluation, they often do not fully understand the importance or duties of their role as an evaluee. Lastly, it can be difficult to obtain authentic, reliable answers about topics that are considered taboo, such as sexual violence.
Although, children and youth typically give more genuine answers then adults, most feel they need to give a politically correct answer. For example, in a patriarchal society, when asked, “do you think women participating in government is an asset to your country?” a majority of participants may answer “Yes” simply because they think that’s the answer project facilitators would like to hear. For this reason, it’s important to use multiple tools of evaluation, in hopes of uncovering the superficial answers and revealing participants’ actual beliefs.
Alisa Albee is an intern for SFCG’s Children and Youth
Vice Pres. Joe Biden Names U.S. Senate leader in Finding Common Ground
Orrin Hatch: Senator Reaches Out to Democrats
He is one of America’s Best Leaders for finding common ground while passing legislation
Read original article here
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Through word and deed, Sen. Orrin Hatch has demonstrated that a member of Congress can work to pass meaningful, bipartisan legislation without compromising his core principles and strongly held ideological convictions.
Indeed, no one would ever accuse Senator Hatch of being a liberal. He is, by all accounts, a true and proud conservative. What sets him apart and makes him an effective legislator is his willingness to find common ground with Democratic counterparts when he believes it is the right thing to do—even when it isn’t the politically convenient thing to do.
It is common knowledge that Senator Hatch had a good working relationship and friendship with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. The two made an unlikely tandem, but they teamed up to pass a number of landmark pieces of legislation, particularly in the area of healthcare. I served alongside Senator Hatch for 33 years. We hailed from different parties, different parts of the country, and different ideological traditions. But in those 33 years, he and I also shared more than a few legislative victories.
Over the years, we worked on a number of laws designed to make Americans safer. For example, in 1994, he cosponsored my proudest legislative achievement, the Violence Against Women Act. VAWA created some of our most successful federal programs aimed at reducing domestic violence and providing assistance to community shelters that aid victims of such violence.
Party and principle. That bill and others we worked on together passed through Congress with broad, bipartisan support. This was due, in good measure, to Senator Hatch’s ability to recognize common goals among his colleagues and his unwillingness to put party ahead of principle. He knew then, as he knows now, that when it comes to protecting the Ameri-can people, particularly the weakest among us, no lines should be drawn between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives. When other Republicans saw that Senator Hatch was on board, they were more inclined to give their support. In many cases, he was able to persuade even some his most conservative colleagues to join him.
This is not to say that Senator Hatch and I were frequently in agreement. In fact, far more often than not, the opposite was true. But even in those circumstances when partisan divides were the widest, he didn’t make his disagreements personal. And while he didn’t always have many Democratic allies, he had even fewer Democratic enemies.
Continuing in this tradition, Senator Hatch worked with the Obama administration and Senator Kennedy to enact the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, legislation that will greatly expand opportunities for public service. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the true Kennedy-Hatch fashion, with both Democrats and Republicans on board.
It was another lesson in bipartisanship that politicians of all stripes, from staunch conservatives to committed liberals, can learn from Orrin Hatch.
Audiences Praise Search’s Kenyan TV Program
By Juontel White
Common Ground Productions, a program of SFCG, partners with the Media Focus on Africa Foundation to produce the television series, The Team.
The Team tells the stories of seven young Kenyan football/soccer players from different tribes and socio-economic backgrounds. Each must overcome their prejudices so that their team can have a chance at winning the league tournament.
Since premiering in Kenya in July 2009, the program has expanded its broadcast to 10 other African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries, including Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire—which are now producing local versions.
Actors and camera crew on the set of "The Team"
Viewers are encouraged to send feedback on the program, by responding via text messaging or email to the mobile telephone number and email address provided at the end of each episode.
Below is a sample of translated messages received from Kenyan viewers after a recent episode.
“Jambo! Thumbs up to Radio Jambo & Media Focus on Africa for such an educative play- The Team! It’s the play of the season fit for all Kenyans.”
“The show has come at the right time. Kenyans can live in harmony regardless of culture, creed, gender and tribe. Coach is a great guy, he is not tribal.”
“Johari is very brave, a leader who does not promote tribalism or chaos. True, leadership is not just for men but for all- men or women.”
“Tribalism has haunted us since independence. I think it’s high time the government used sports and programs like the team to educate Kenyans in the spirit of to togetherness. The Team shows I don’t have any reason to hate my fellow Kenyans over their tribe.”
“I really enjoy the show. it teaches me to live in Love and peace with all; without putting too much thoughts to their tribes.”
Nora Amajane
SFCG Morocco recently celebrated the opening of two mediation centers in Casablanca. The openings mark the culmination of the team’s project aimed at providing mediation training for youth.
The project is titled, “Mitigating Communal Conflict by Engaging Youth Constructively in Local Democratic and Economic Development Through the Establishment of Youth Community and Mediation Centers in Casablanca and Tetouan.”
Youth participant receives her mediation certificate
To honor the project’s achievements, SFCG Morocco along with project partners, USAID and the National Initiative for Human Development, hosted a daylong conference and concluding ceremony in late September. Project workers, participants and media all convened to celebrate.
A group of 100 Moroccan youth were awarded certificates for the mediation training they received as a result of the project. And, another group of approximately 50 youth were recognized as they are now certified trainers of the mediation program.
The two new community mediation centers in Casablanca were officially opened later that day. The youth mediators will sustain these along with other project centers.
By the conclusion of the project, SFCG Morocco found that 70 percent of those surveyed in both cities (Casablanca and Tetouan) reported a reduction of social tension as a direct result of the mediation centers and 67 percent of youth said they can identify sustainable employment opportunities, an increase from 36.5 percent during an initial evaluation.
By Juontel White
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” wrote Shakespeare in King Henry IV. While Ol’ Henry may have been speaking from a purely figurative standpoint, it’s likely that his royal responsibilities quite literally caused his head to feel heavy and ache.
On Oct. 15, SFCG staff participated in a half-day workshop to learn about how physical attributes are directly connected to leadership. The “Somatic Practices for Leaders” served as a crash course for approximately 20 staff to discover how to embody their leadership roles, skills and vision.
The workshop was sponsored by SFCG’s Leadership Wisdom Initiative and led by Paul Louis, a somatic leadership coach and senior consultant for the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding.
Louis directed the group through a series of physical practices, encouraging them to analyze how their body responds—are their shoulders heavy when they walk or do their eyes tend to drop when making a statement, for instance.
These responses, when assessed within the context of leadership, can be altered and/or strengthened to help an individual become a more effective leader.
I was enlightened by one particular exercise in which group members were asked to make an assessment of each other.
It was my turn to share what I’m most committed to when another participant noticed that while making the statement, my voice was strong and convincing but my eyes did not meet with anyone else’ in the room—a sign that while I am firm in this commitment, I have yet to fully engage with others to assist in fulfilling my mission.
The assessment was valid and because it was revealed, I am now implementing ways to improve this quality.
On the surface, somatic practices may seem trivial—make eye contact, walk from your core, etc. But as chaos theory suggests, even the smallest changes can lead to drastically different results. By making small somatic changes leaders, can strengthen their voice/vision and even garner more followers.
For some participants, the workshop was a tool for strengthening their personal leadership style, while for others it was a motivator to discover just what that style is.
Still, all learned how to embody leadership. And, there was a collective understanding of how Search for Common Ground as a leader in peacebuiliding can incorporate somatic practices in its work.
When fostering peace between parties in conflict, it is vital to understand the emotional extremes those parties may be experiencing (vulnerability and anger for instance).
In order to balance the two extremes, peacebuilders must be grounded mentally and physically . Here, somatic practices are key because when peacebuilders exude a calm state, the greater the ability they have to effectively mediate and truly foster peace.
