News > 2005
Review and 2006 Preview
Mark Gerzon, President, Mediators
Foundation
Executive Summary
This brief summary will review key developments
during the past year and look ahead to some of the major,
emerging initiatives. The summary includes review and
preview of the following program areas:
MEDIATORS FOUDATION PROJECTS
Abraham Path (report from Bill Ury)
Global Leadership Network
Leadership Is Global book
Global Leaders Program (with Outward
Bound International)
Transpartisan Dialogues
The Art of Global Thinking
OTHER ACTIVITIES
International Consulting
Corporate Consulting
Leading Through Conflict
The Trial of Osama bin Laden
As you read, you will notice the common
theme that unites all the Mediators Foundation projects
as well as the other activities: fostering a new civic
consciousness, both domestically and internationally.
Every activity we undertake is about helping
humanity cross the borders that have divided human beings
from each other. In our globalizing world, this human
tendency to erect walls, rather than build bridges, not
only creates violence, hostility and fear; it leads to
the misuse of resources, countless unnecessary deaths
by hunger and disease, and a growing inability to deal
with global challenges such as climate change and endemic
poverty.
We believe that fostering
global awareness, both among high-level “global leaders” and
among grassroots “global citizens,” is the
greatest challenge of our time. We are dedicating ourselves,
and our resources, to meeting this challenge — while
there is still time.
Thank you for your continued interest
in our work, and for your support.
MEDIATORS FOUNDATION
PROJECTS
Abraham Path: from Bill Ury
Among the many activities
undertaken this year, the Abraham Path Initiative has
primarily invested money and time in building connections. While
there have been many smaller meetings, this fall a group
of individuals from Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, and the
United States – clerics and laypeople, gathered
in Harran to discuss and plan Abraham’s Path. The
meeting focused on building relationships and practical
arrangements for the Path. Host committees and a network
of partners were formed for Syria and Turkey. These
committees are comprised of individuals and organizations
that will now be working together in those countries,
supported by our central office at Harvard University.
This year we launched
the Abraham Path Initiative website, www.abrahampath.org,
which will continue to expand. We hope to have the
website translated into regional languages during this
upcoming year. We
have begun research on a guidebook for future travelers
of the Path and a white paper that will be used to provide
details and information on the project to funders and
potential partners.
The Abraham Path Initiative
has established a director’s office at the Global Negotiation Project
at Harvard. The Global Negotiation Project will
act as the coordinator for the project.
In 2006, the Abraham
Path Initiative plans to hold meetings, similar to
the meeting in Harran, in Jordan, Israel, and Palestine
to continue to build partnerships and to develop the
route. The Initiative will publish
a simple version of a guidebook and a white paper, create
a DVD for promotional purposes, map the route with a
team on the ground, and as mentioned above, translate
and expand the website.
In the fall of 2006,
the Initiative will host an official ten-day Harvard-led
delegation. The
Harvard delegation will meet with communities along the
Path and develop contacts, enthusiasm, and create political
good will towards the project.
Global Leadership Network
In 2005 we spent a significant
amount of time further developing a clear vision for
the GLN; with this in place we are moving slowly and
methodically attending to the main two initiatives. We
have moved away from actively creating a structure
and towards developing these foundational initiatives
to further connect and build the network.
Leadership Is Global: book and
video
We have received more than a dozen contributions
from around the world for this powerful book, which will
be the first independent, globally collaborative volume
focused on identifying the kind of leadership needed
to take care of each other and our small wonderful planet.
Co-editors Walter Link, Thais Corral and Mark Gerzon
devoted most of 2005 to identifying the authors, outlining
the book, and securing commitment as well as manuscripts.
The goal for 2006 is
to assemble an initial edition, to be published in
May (courtesy of the Shinnyo-en Foundation). With this
self-published volume in hand, we will seek additional
contributors and a commercial publisher. We are
now raising funds for and designing a video that will
enable the contributors to meet each other and develop
a more coherent, collective vision.
Global Leaders Program (with
Outward Bound International)
During the past year,
we established a solid working partnership with OBI,
which has campuses in 33 countries and 200,000 graduates
annually. Mark conducted a workshop for Executive Directors
from 15 country programs, and the response from the
global OBI team led to renewed commitment and an emerging
global steering committee. Mark and Kimani Njogu met
in New York City with OBI’s Executive Director Ian Wade
and Board Chair Kelly O’Dea (as well as new project
director Rory Donaldson) to refine strategy and agenda.
As of year’s end, the process of designing the “global
leaders” curriculum was underway.
In 2006, the first pilot
program (already funded) is scheduled for 20 emerging
leaders in the Mount Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania.
OBI is undertaking
a fundraising effort to support additional pilots in
Hong Kong, Singapore, and other sites.
Transpartisan Dialogues
In December 2005 Board
Members Bill Ury and Mark Gerzon co-facilitated a dialogue
for the Democracy Campaign consisting of groups from
Left to Right across the political spectrum representing
70 million Americans. The powerful “cross-spectrum” dialogue
is now leading to a number of follow-up, issues-based
dialogues, with which Mediators Foundation will be
involved.
To further this work,
Mediators is allocating $10,000 (including a $5000
contribution from Bill) to enable us to pursue this
vitally important work. The funds will be used to enable
Bill, Mark and/or our colleagues to respond quickly
to opportunities to convene or assist other Left-Right
dialogues, and to promote the concept of “transpartisan” dialogue
in general.
The Art of Global Thinking
Inspired by Katia Miller,
who has served skillfully as the coordinator of the
Global Leadership Network, Mediators Foundation has
begun exploring ways of using the arts to promote global
thinking and global citizenship. There are two main
projects we will focus on for 2006 in this program
area: Katia’s initiative Art
Through The Continents (to which Mediators has made
a small initial grant) and a visual exploration I’ve
begun with Katia currently titledThinking Globally: Awaking
our global citizenship.
Art through the Continents: The
core of Art through the Continents is to provide engaging
experiences for individuals, organizations and communities
using the stories and form of modern and ancient arts
from around the world to explore who we are, the world
we live in and our ability to create powerful outcomes
and foster our individual expression, community connections
and global awareness.
Currently Katia is focused
on transforming her original Art through the Continents
curriculum into a deeper and wider frame. This
frame includes: 1) collecting stories from artists
and art historians from around the world describing
their art form and the artist journey of artists in
their region and, 2) developing a guidebook for individuals
and educators to share these stories and offer reflections,
3) exercises and projects to connect these stories
to each individual; and 4) expanding the existing curriculum
to include these global voices and distributing the
curriculum and methodology to various audiences.
Thinking Globally: Awakening
our global citizenship: This project is in its
early stages of development. Katia and I have spent
some time exploring the development of a visual experience
of images to support the individual awareness that holds
the principles of leading beyond borders. We
will continue to develop the vision of this project in
2006 and look forward to engaging many of you in this
creative process. In 2006, we will be actively seeking
funds to enable us to expand our efforts in this program
area.
OTHER ACTIVITIES (Mark Gerzon)
International Consulting.
During 2005, I worked
extensively for the United Nations Development Program
to assist them in developing a global learning community
among practitioners who are seeking to prevent wars
and/or facilitate healing processes after wars. This
community, spread throughout the world and often with
little internal communication, represents humanity’s
best hope in limiting the spread of violence, and in
promoting healing from the many wars that have scarred
our planet.
In 2006, this effort— which
has been centered in Latin America — is likely
to spread throughout the world, and I will be playing
a supportive, facilitative role in helping to build this
global team. My key allies are the Bureau of Crisis Prevention
and Recovery, and the Bureau for Latin America and the
Caribbean. I will also be helping them, when possible,
to raise funds for these activities, since they are not
covered in the core budget of UNDP.
Leading Through Conflict.
After eight years of various drafts (often
under the title Leading Beyond Borders), my book
on leadership and conflict is being published by Harvard
Business School Press in May. Spanish rights have already
been purchased; the Chinese edition is also underway.
Other language editions, particularly Arabic and Russian,
are currently being explored.
I intend to use the book to promote the
foundation and its projects, and I welcome your support
in promoting the book. Copies of the galleys are available
upon request.
The Trial of Osama bin Laden.
The production of the
play, co-written with Peter Goldmark, is opening in
Minneapolis-St. Paul on February 17 for a three-week
run. If you
have contacts in the Twin Cities who you would like me
to notify, please let me know. The following is
a single paragraph summary Peter wrote for use with those
who need a simple way to understand what it's about:
Osama bin Laden is
captured and put on trial in New York City. An ACLU lawyer defends
him. The White House guides the prosecution. And
Osama himself plans how to continue his jihad from
a prison cell. The intersection of these forces
and characters produced a drama that throws harsh light
on the era of terrorism we have now entered, and commands
the attention of all of us who will have to live through
it.
I have also written
a movie treatment, and I intend to use the production
of the play to galvanize interest in it. For
more information on the Minneapolis production, please
see the attached letter by Peter Goldmark.
9 January, 2006
Dear friends,
"The Trial of Osama bin Laden" will,
at last, be produced in Minneapolis.
You generously supported
this effort when we came to you last summer, and that
meant a great deal to us. The alert among you, however, noticed that
the play was not presented this fall, as originally intended. Ah
. . . the mysteries and complications of the theater.
It opens now for a three
week run Feb. 17 in an experimental theater. It is produced by
Charles Neerland of Stagewright Productions and directed
by John Donahue. The details are as follows:
Dates: Feb. 16 (dress rehearsal),
Feb. 17 (opening) – 19
Feb.
23-26
Mar.
2-5
The
Sunday dates (Feb. 19 + 26 and Mar 5) are 2 pm matinees;
the Thursday dates (Feb. 16, Feb. 23 and March 2) are
7:30 pm. The other dates are Friday and Saturday,
and are all 8 pm.
The place is the Old
Arizona Theater, at 2821 Nicollet Ave. It seats
about 125-150.
We realize it is February. We realize
this is not the sunlit Caribbean. And we realize
this is short notice. But we would love to have
you come to see a performance of that which you have
helped to wreak. If you have in mind a performance
plus a party afterwards, try to shoot for Saturday, Feb.
18. There will be a hotel or two with special rates
and deals for those hardy ones among you who choose to
make the trek. Let Peter or Diane Walker-Sealy
know at Peter's email, pgoldmark@environmentaldefense.org,
and we will get those details to you.
Above all, now is the
time to make noise. If
you meet a Minnesotan, please tell them about this. If
you see someone from the world of the theater anywhere
else in the country, tell them about this and urge them
to send someone to see it. If you know theater
critics or others who can get the word out, please contact
them. The next logical step for this play is to
go to one coast or the other. In addition, my co-author
Mark Gerzon is working on a screenplay whose early version
looks terrific, which he would be glad to share with
anyone with film industry leads. (He can be reached at markgerzon@aol.com.)
And remember – you are all entitled
now to refer to yourselves as "Producers".
With thanks for your support and optimism
about the road ahead,
Peter Goldmark and Mark Gerzon
|
