SCG News

Building Bridges for Peace Short Films Premiere

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 20:58:06 -0600

Building Bridges for Peace Short Films Premiere
SCG, in partnership with the Denver Film Society, will premiere a series of short films made by the Leaders in Training (LITs). For the first time this summer, BBfP’s second year LIT’s participants will work with filmmaker and Educational Media Organization founder, Scott Kinnamon, and Oscar- and Emmy nominated filmmaker, Daniel Junge, to co-create short films about BBfP. The films will address why the participants became involved and why the BBfP experience is so critical to their hopes for a peaceful future. Join us for this special screening, discussion and Q&A with the filmmakers. Sunday, August 15, 3:00pm - 4:00pm.

Sunday, August 15, 2010
3:00pm - 4:00pm

Starz Film Center
900 Auraria Parkway, Denver, CO 80204

$5 General Admission
Tickets available at the door and coming soon online at www.denverfilm.org

Building Bridges for Peace Celebration

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 20:48:11 -0600

Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of the 2010 Building Bridges for Peace participants and alumni and in acknowledging our board chair, Chuck Jacobs, for his years of dedicated service.

Sunday, August 15, 2010
7:00pm - 9:00pm

DU School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management
2044 East Evans Ave. Denver, CO 80208
(Evans Ave. and High St.)

There is no charge for this event. Space is limited.
Please click the link below to R.S.V.P. by August 10, 2010
http://www.paperlesspost.com/events/215535-f560dcf9/guests/6826918-1e48d508/card

Interns for Peace Update

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:32:43 -0600

The 2010 Interns for Peace, Or, Amani, and Rachel, had a busy and meaningful 6-week internship in Colorado. Some of the highlights were a retreat in Winter Park, speaking and facilitating workshops with teens at Boulder Hebrew High, Regis High School, The Odyssey School, and the Student Interfaith Peace Project (SIPP), speaking at Bnai Havurah and the Iliff School of Theology, observing Muslim and Jewish religious services, meetings with Marco Nunez of Jovenes/Padres Unidos, Senator Michael Johnston, SCG Founder Melodye Feldman, and Tori Wunsch of the American Indian College Fund, site visits at SafeHouse Denver, RedLine, and Warren Village, traveling to South Dakota to co-facilitate a joint Badlands International PEACE – Denver International PEACE retreat, and working in the SCG office on art for the new office, composing LIT biographies, and developing a series of themed workshops for diverse American teens.

For information about the Interns for Peace program, please contact Aviva at Aviva@s-c-g.org.

1st Annual Open House

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:06:14 -0600

In April we celebrated the opening of our new office space in Uptown Denver with our 1st Annual Open House. SCG board members, staff, student interns, Interns for Peace, participants, volunteers and supporters gathered to share great food and conversation. Denver International P.E.A.C.E. participants held a bake sale to raise funds for the upcoming Middle East Encounter Trip. This new annual event will invite community members to visit SCG each spring to connect, meet new SCG faces, and stay current on programs, developments, and accomplishments.

We want to thank the nearly 100 people who came and "warmed" SCG's new home! If you would like to see photos from the evening, please click here.

Denver-Badlands Int’l P.E.A.C.E. Joint Retreat

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:18:39 -0600

In April, participants from SCG’s Denver International P.E.A.C.E. and Badlands International P.E.A.C.E. programs came together for a meaningful weekend retreat in South Dakota! The participants enjoyed getting to know one another and exploring the themes of monuments and historical narratives.

The weekend included interactive learning, sharing, and fun. Programming included workshops on historical timelines, communication and leadership, cross-community understanding, Israeli and Palestinian personal stories, and site visits to the Red Cloud Indian School Heritage Center and the Wounded Knee Massacre site, both located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Denver International P.E.A.C.E. participants also visited the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments.

At the conclusion of the weekend, participants and staff and Interns for Peace expressed a deep sense of growth, learning, and the desire to know more about one another and the diverse communities that we all come from.

International P.E.A.C.E. Programs Update

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:57:50 -0700

In January, SCG held the first 2010 Denver International P.E.A.C.E. retreat! Teens from diverse areas of the Denver community came together for an afternoon of workshops about identity and communication. Over the next six months, the participants will continue to develop their own leadership skills and understanding of one another and different cultures with an emphasis on the Badlands region of South Dakota and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East. Programming will include day-long retreats, a meet-up with SCG participants in the Badlands, and an International Encounter trip to Israel and Palestine in June. We are excited to continue getting to know and working with such a great and inspiring group of young people!

Also in January, the Badlands International P.E.A.C.E. program met for their second follow-up retreat in South Dakota. The participants gathered in Rapid City to focus on leadership and activism skills. They participated in an interactive workshop “Building a Just Community” which required them to creatively decide how to use scarce and abundant resources, and in games that taught them even more about key geographical, identity, and historical terms related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They also explored what it means to be a leader, and how to apply those concepts at home.

For information about the International P.E.A.C.E. programs, please contact Aviva at Aviva@s-c-g.org.

450 Guests Attend 4th Annual Circles of Change Awards Breakfast

Sun, 6 Dec 2009 17:27:36 -0700

Denver, CO – 450 guests attended Seeking Common Ground’s (SCG) 4th annual Circles of Change Awards Breakfast to honor the dedication, knowledge and passion of four outstanding individuals from across the world. This year’s honorees included William Ury, Senator Mike Johnston, Adva Kafri, and Rawan Zaitoun.

“It was inspiring to see so many people in the room in honor of this year’s agents of change. The Denver community is engaged and dedicated to creating more just, equitable and peaceful communities here in Colorado and worldwide,” said Erin Breeze, SCG’s Executive Director.  Inspiring peace, hope and social action is the spirit behind SCG’s annual Circles of Change community event which helps raise money for programs that have supported diverse American, Israeli, Palestinian, Northern Irish, and South African young women and men to become changemakers in their home communities and beyond for more than 15 years. Through this special breakfast, SCG honors the work of outstanding individuals whose creative vision and unwavering determination have effected positive change in local, national and global communities.

“Look at us; we are the face of the conflict and prior to Seeking Common Ground we could have just become another nameless, faceless, statistic,” said Ms. Zaitoun, a Palestinian, standing side-by-side with Ms. Kafri, an Israeli, as they shared their stories. “Look at us; we will be the change of the conflict. We are the future of what could be,” added Ms. Zaitoun.

The Circles of Change breakfast was not only a time for guests to hear first-hand the amazing stories of those honored but it was also an opportunity to find motivation in the strength of others around the world dedicated to making a difference. “People often think that conflict has two sides but there is a third side and that’s to encourage the other two sides to come to a peaceful resolution,” said Mr. Ury. “The real breakthrough in resolving conflict will come from ordinary citizens like you and I acting as a third side to help others share stories and remind us all that we are brothers and sisters.”

Senator Johnston, an education leader in the state of Colorado, addressed the change that can be made on the local level through determination and motivation. “The students at Mapleton Expeditionary School of Arts are examples of what is possible today,” he said, reflecting on the school’s perfect graduation in May of 2008 - the first Colorado district public high school to achieve this accomplishment. “The success of the school is due to the strength of those students.”  Honoree Information
William Ury , negotiation adviser and mediator in ethnic conflicts in the Middle East, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Union. With former president Jimmy Carter, Ury co-founded the International Negotiation Network, a non-governmental organization seeking to end civil wars around the world. His most recent project is the Abraham Path Initiative, which seeks to address the growing chasm between the Western and Islamic worlds by creating a permanent tourism and pilgrimage path in the Middle East that retraces the footsteps of Abraham, the unifying figure of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ury also is the author of The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No & Still Get to Yes (2007) and co-author of Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, a five-million-copy bestseller translated into over twenty languages.

Senator Mike Johnston is a nationally recognized school principal, author, and education entrepreneur. Johnston co-founded New Leaders for New Schools, one of the foremost education reform organizations of the last 15 years. Senator Johnston also served as one of President Obama’s top three education advisors during the 2008 presidential campaign and is continuing his role as and advisor to the White House and the Department of Education. President Barack Obama captured Senator Johnston’s importance by saying, “Every school in America needs a Michael Johnston. We are here to celebrate MESA as an example of what is possible in educational reform today.”

Adva Kafri is an Israeli living in Tel Aviv. She first became involved with SCG at age 15 as a participant in our Building Bridges for Peace program. After high school she fulfilled her Israeli national service requirement by working with children with mental and physical disabilities instead of serving in the military. She co-founded SCG’s Interns for Peace program in which past Building Bridges participants continue their peacebuilding work. Ms. Kafri now is completing her degree in Education for Social Justice, Environmental Justice and Peace Education at Kibbutzim College of Education.

Born and raised in the city of Jerusalem, Rawan Zaitoun recently completed her Master’s of Social Work from McGill University through the McGill Middle East program in Civil Society and Peace Building. She now works in the old city of Jerusalem leading programs and activities to empower Palestinian women in the areas of education, cultural heritage, social rights and employment. She co-founded SCG’s Interns for Peace program with Ms. Kafri. 
Established in 1993, Seeking Common Ground (SCG) is a Denver-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower individuals to change the world by creating peaceful communities through integration, socialization, communication, and leadership development. SCG is one of the oldest organizations in North America offering international leadership development and peacebuilding programs to youth from throughout the United States and conflict areas worldwide.

4th Annual Circles of Change Awards Breakfast!

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:05:55 -0700

Save the Date: SCG's 4th Annual Circles of Change Awards Breakfast.

Friday November 13th, 7:30-9:00 am.
Grand Hyatt, 1750 Welton St., Denver.

Please join us as we honor William L. Ury, author of Getting to Yes and founder of the Abraham Path Initiative at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School; Senator Michael Johnston, principal of MESA (Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts); and Rawan Zaitoun and Adva Kafri, two Building Bridges for Peace alumni current engaged in women's empowerment work in the Middle East.

Contact 303.691.2393 or circlesofchange@s-c-g.org to RSVP or for more information.

Reaching Across the Divide

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 09:33:28 -0700

Reaching Across the Divide

A world where every person is treated respectfully and equally is a vision the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado shares with Seeking Common Ground. With a focus on advancing equality, the fund envisions a Colorado where hatred and discrimination cease to exist. We value the role SCG plays in empowering individuals to make change; together, we can create peaceful communities and promote friendships across cultural divides.

Our philanthropy supports nonprofits in Colorado, where there is still much work to be done in terms of advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people. Colorado has come a long way. Whereas a few years ago it was legal to discriminate against LGBT people due to sexual orientation or gender expression, many laws exist today to protect these individuals from discrimination.

But legal protection is only part of the solution. In some cases, a cultural shift needs to happen so that our places of work, places of worship, schools, and neighborhoods are safe places that encourage and celebrate diversity. That is not always an easy transition for some to make – especially those who’ve grown up in a milieu where hatred and bias are the norm.

That is why the work of SCG is so crucial. By encouraging young people to become agents for change, SCG’s messages about peace and acceptance are carried everywhere, and these values will be passed on for generations.

At the Gay & Lesbian Fund, we believe it is possible to build inclusive communities with communication and collaboration – and an open mind toward co-habitation. Whether we realize it or not, each of us co-habitates with people who are different. All we need to do is look around to see differences in ethnicity, age, and physical ability. Other differences are impossible to see – sexual orientation, for example. But for the things that matter in life, an LGBT person and a heterosexual person can share very similar values.

Jaala Hemingway, a 27-year-old Denver native, is one shining example of someone who learned to put her values into action thanks to SCG.

Growing up, Jaala’s beliefs about the world had been firmly planted. “I didn’t want my world shaken,” she says. But she was intrigued when friends invited her to join SCG, and decided to give it a try. The move completely changed her life.

“There was no way I could stand idly by and know about all of the atrocities going on in the world. I also couldn’t accept that the Muslim and Jewish girls I’d met were going to hell. So I started to question my rigid religious beliefs, and formed my own conclusions about them. And I questioned whether one religion could be true to the exclusion of all others.”

Jaala also began taking a deeper look at her sexuality, which she had questioned as a teenager, but ignored. “I was grappling with religious and political issues, and now I needed to grapple with my own life as well.” Today, Jaala openly leads her life as a lesbian, and speaks out for equality and justice.

In addition to her participation as a staffer, summer counselor and volunteer at SCG, Jaala obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international studies to learn about and address world problems. SCG was a major influence in her decision to study in Israel and study the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, with an emphasis on women’s issues. On campus she became involved with women’s rights groups and a gay rights group.

Today, Jaala is co-chair of the leadership team at PeaceJam, an organization that mentors youth in partnership with Nobel Peace Laureates. Professionally, she works for an online public charter school that helps at-risk youth succeed. In all aspects of her life, Jaala is a leader – a phenomenon she gives SCG full credit for.

“SCG put a magnifying glass-focus on my need to be active, achieve peace, and work on problems I see in the world.”

U.S. Alumni Meet-up: November 13-15, Denver

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:59:13 -0600

We are excited to announce the first Alumni Meet-up, part of the new Alumni in Action program! Program alumni from any program and any program year are invited to participate in the Meet-up, which will be held in Denver from November 13th-15th, 2009. Join us for as much or as little of the schedule as you can!

The goals of the U.S. Meet-up are to provide alumni with a meaningful leadership and service learning opportunity, the space to reconnect with one another and Seeking Common Ground, and a forum to learn about and contribute to the development of the new Alumni in Action program.

Please contact aviva@s-c-g.org as possible to let us know your level of interest. We look forward to reconnecting with you and building SCG’s Alumni in Action program!